The main problem: MBA thinking is backward.

Generally, business schools are about mechanistic solutions (functions, structures, process, systems, policies…), necessary but insufficient.  The truth is that all business is done by, through, and for people. MBA programs are void of relevant thinking and skills regarding culture and change.
Yes, there are degrees in OD (Organizational Development).  However, if these OD programs are so good, why can’t you think of any successful CEOs with a degree OD?  

What is an Effective Consultant?

I worked for many years as a consultant, and then I became a consultant. I use to think that walking into a company, quickly figuring out the problems, and coming up with smart solutions, was what consultants do. I did it well, but I wasn’t a consultant.
Unless clients think they came up with the ideas themselves, change usually doesn’t happen. Involvement equals ownership. Ownership equals commitment. Commitment is the juice that creates change.

People bring, to organizations, intentions. Intentions are wants, desires, motivation, vision, purpose, etc. It’s not hard to understand how energizing and aligning intentions within an organization produces extraordinary financial results.

Typical Change and Culture.

MBA programs teach structure, organization, processes, systems, tools, techniques, methodologies, etc. to create change and improve performance. Do they work? Sure, to some extent. I’ve been on many such projects, installing ISO9000, TQM, BPR, CRM, and other acronyms. The projects are typically top-down, mechanistic, reactionary. Usually the company’s performance has slipped because the current mechanisms are out of date, out of sync with current markets and competitor capabilities. The expectation is that people will adapt to the new systems and processes. It’s not like there will be an alternative. Those who don’t adapt will find employment elsewhere, by will or force.

Some of these projects fail. Either the projects are never completed (not enough willpower) or they are finished, but don’t produce the expected results. At Cap Gemini, we did a study of ERP projects. Eighty percent of those completed never reach their expected value. Of those implementations, 80% of the problems had nothing to do with the technology. Organizations, processes, and people’s thinking didn’t change to fit the system. In other words, the ERP projects were implemented to force organizational change, but active and passive resistance, as well as inertia prevented the benefits from materializing.

Why is MBA School thinking backward?

Because, when intentions are strong and aligned, mechanistic solutions are no longer problematic. People make or break projects. Most organizations are at subtle war with their own people.  That is why most companies under-perform compared to those firms with compelling visions, adaptability, involvement, and aligned customer and internal processes. 

Further, OD programs tend to only have a humanistic perspective (that’s why they aren’t taken seriously my most students and business leaders).  There’s political correctness in OD that ignores the gritty side of group dynamics. Sometimes nice, soft, and consensus is great. Sometimes strength and commanding is exactly what moves people and what they want. 

While leading with mechanisms is backward, leading intentions with only one style, lets be nice and loving,  is sometimes the exact opposite of what works.  The bottom line: MBA programs don’t do a good job with culture or change.

BTW, don’t expect effective MBA programs in the near future.  The mechanistic and humanistic belief systems are deeply ingrained in higher education. 

The good news is that pragmatic and less ideological approaches to leading intentions, change, and creating adaptable cultures exist.  Like right here at Engaging Change for example.  ;-)

Keywords: organizational change, change leadership, organizational effectiveness, transformational leadership, engaging change

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Michael Cushman, The Engaging Guru, wants you to master enrolling others in your truth, get the goodies of life, and change the world.  www.engagingchange.com