Dale had to admit that Lucas was a problem, just as Barb had predicted. "I don't know what to do about him," he said. "Sometimes I just want to wait until the next reorg and then try again after we boot Lucas."

A game of Pick Up Sticks in progress. Photo (cc) by SA 4.0 by Mokkie.
"Oh, great idea. And you can cancel Marigold the same day," Barb suggested, not seriously — they needed Lucas. "And then you can resign, too. Neat. I like it."
"Yeah," he said. Dale sighed, staring at nothing. "I get it, I just don't know what to do."
Culture change is difficult. Complex change projects tend to expose management problems of long standing, which then interfere with the change effort. But culture change is easier if we keep in mind some lessons from the game of Pick-Up Sticks.
When I was little, we had to while away a lot of summer days, mostly doing kid things I can't tell you about. But I can tell you about a game called Pick-Up Sticks. It came in a cardboard tube with a jillion thin, colored sticks, about five inches (13 cm) long, with sharp, pointy ends. Because of the pointy ends, the game is probably illegal today, or frowned upon, even though hardly anybody ever got seriously injured playing Pick-Up Sticks.
Organizational change
is like playing
Pick-Up Sticks.
You want to change
some things, and keep
others as they are.
Surprises pop up
everywhere.You play the game by gathering all the sticks (except the black one) in a tight fist, and then dropping them on the floor so they land in a tight jumble. Then the players take turns picking up the sticks from the pile one by one, using the black stick as a tool, until more than one stick moves. When that happens, you lose your turn and the next player takes over.
Executing organizational change is like playing Pick-Up Sticks, because you want to change some things, and keep others as they are. Surprises pop up everywhere. Here are some lessons for change agents from the game of Pick-Up Sticks.
- Isolate
- Address first those issues that stand alone. Dealing with interlocking problems is hard.
- Focus
- If two players work on two sticks at the same time, both lose. Work on only one issue at a time.
- Be deliberate
- Change, like Pick-Up Sticks, requires patience and concentration. Move slowly, plan carefully, and simulate.
- Watch for interlocks
- Sometimes sticks rest on each other in an interlocked loop: A on B, B on C, and C on A. Removing one disturbs the others. When you have no choice, do the best you can.
- Watch the weather
- Pick-Up Sticks is more fun on a calm day. Winds make it difficult. Change efforts are much easier when the outside world is stable and supportive. Don't wait for turbulent times.
If you're working on a change project, get a can of Pick-Up Sticks for your desk. Once in a while, when you're stumped, play a game — it will help clear your mind. Top
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Related articles
More articles on Organizational Change:
Outsourcing Each Other's Kids
- Outsourcing is now so widespread that it has achieved status as a full-fledged management fad. But many
outsourcing decisions lack the justification that a full financial model provides. Here are some of
the factors that such a model should include.
On Beginnings
- A new year has begun, and I'm contemplating beginnings. Beginnings can inspire, and sometimes lead to
letdown when our hopes or expectations aren't met. How can we handle beginnings more powerfully?
Changing Blaming Cultures
- Culture change in organizations is always challenging, but changing a blaming culture presents special
difficulties. Here are three reasons why.
Deciding to Change: Choosing
- When organizations decide to change what they do, the change sometimes requires that they change how
they make decisions, too. That part of the change is sometimes overlooked, in part, because it affects
most the people who make decisions. What can we do about this?
The Storming Puzzle: I
- Tuckman's model of small group development, best known as "Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing,"
applies to today's task-oriented work groups — if we adapt our understanding of it. If we don't
adapt, the model appears to conflict with reality.
See also Organizational Change and Organizational Change for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming April 30: On Planning in Plan-Hostile Environments: II
- When we finally execute plans, we encounter obstacles. So we find workarounds or adjust the plans. But there are times when nothing we try gets us back on track. When this happens for nearly every plan, we might be working in a plan-hostile environment. Available here and by RSS on April 30.
And on May 7: Subject Matter Bullying
- Most workplace bullying tactics have analogs in the schoolyard — isolation, physical attacks, name-calling, and rumor-mongering are common examples. Subject matter bullying might be an exception, because it requires expertise in a sophisticated knowledge domain. And that's where trouble begins. Available here and by RSS on May 7.
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