This is a bold statement to make for a CEO of a billion $ organization. It is also a provocative statement. What follows could determine the future of the organization. Any change process starts with instilling a sense of urgency within the organization that there is something that needs to change and it needs to change now. I think that is exactly what Vineet is trying to do within his organization.
Next steps that HCL could take could be
- Identify and name a change champion high up in the organization who will be responsible to channelize all the energy that this provocative statement could bring in the organization.
- Create multiple small project teams (not more than 10) to brainstorm and come up with possible role that HCL could play in the future. Answer questions like what markets should HCL be addressing, what products/services should HCL invest in, what would be the best way to get the employees trained so that they can perform better for HCL to achieve the vision. Get all these team members to present their ideas to Vineet and his executive team.
- Decide the vision of the organization and communicate the same back to the employees.
- Create process changes so as to enable employees to act in ways that the organization can move towards their vision. If realizing the vision requires that employees continuously engage with customers/partners and take key tactical decision as they go along, create processes and rewards systems that will encourage this behavior. Similarly, change processes & policies to inhibit behaviours that you want to change in order to be successful in the new reality. Failing to execute this step successfully will lead to a situation where nothing changes on the ground à Another failed change project.
- Identify and celebrate short term wins which will re-inforce the vision and the good behaviours required to achieve the vision. Celebrate the passion behind new initiatives irrespective of their final success/failure. Learn from the failures and continuously share these with all employees.
- Consolidate and work on keeping up the momentum. Continuous feedback (two-way) with employees on what is working and what is not working is key. The more they know, the better will they respond to their situation.
I am sure Vineet Nayar knows exactly what he is trying to achieve and hope that the HCL employees also rise to the occasion and take HCL to an entirely new level of success in the future.
