change effort

Several years ago I was working with an organization that was taking on a major transformation effort. They were restructuring the business, changing how people worked, and shifting the culture to one of “open communications.” Information had been power in this business so at face value, these goals made good sense.

I was meeting with the senior human resources executives in the company, exploring what these changes would mean for them and those they served in the organization. How were they going to “open communications” across the organization to support the transformation effort?

In the middle of a brainstorm to identify ways to do this, one of the executives (let’s call her Sandy) blurted out, “To tell you the truth, I am not that interested in more "open communications."