Conclusion
“Culture eats Strategy for Breakfast” is a frequently used management quote usually attributed to the iconic Peter Drucker. And rarely is it more true than when an organization is faced with profound change.
At the same time, it has never been more dangerous for businesses to remain static, being subject to change rather than driving change.Whether it is culture, politics or just human nature that keeps adding challenges in your specific situation, I hope that you will find Gleicher’s formula to be of some help as a framework and methodology—or simply structure for thought. Good luck!
Liquid Legal Context
by Dr. Dierk Schindler, Dr. Roger Strathausen, Kai Jacob
Whatever angle we take to the transformation of the legal industry, it is a fact that it brings about change in fundamental ways and at large scale to individuals that work in the industry. “Known territory”, one is tempted to say, as we are all somewhat literate in the traditional methods of change management.
Byberg, accepts that—but makes a convincing case why we need to look beyond proven models like e.g. the Kubler-Ross-curve. He identifies a shortcoming in models like that, if they are applied in commercial settings, like business or in legal. Commercial reality has the potential power to make change fail.
This is why the author proposes to use a different approach to change and to assess first, if there is even a chance to make it happen. He advocates to use Gleicher's formula, which basically helps to answer the question whether the team's dissatisfaction with the current situation and the first steps for improvement you can offer—in aggregate—are greater than the team's inherent resistance to change. If not—don't waste your resources and the team's goodwill until you have a better plan.
Byberg concludes with a tangible example that allows for taking his approach to practice. Yet, let's also test his approach by applying it to the impressive journey that Roux-Chenu and de Rocca-Serra took their team on, turning legal into a profit center.
Arne Byberg is General Counsel at EVRY, a leading IT company in the Nordics with headquarter in Oslo, Norway. Prior to joining EVRY, Arne was Associate General Counsel at Hewlett-Packard (HP), Palo Alto, California. At HP, Arne worked extensively with Innovation and Strategic Solutions, as well as Legal Management, in several global roles. Arne is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association for Contract and Commercial Management (IACCM). His academic background is from Bergen University (Norway), Bond University (Australia) and Stanford University (USA). Arne is a member of the Bar Association in Oslo, Norway.