Changing things starts with analyzing how things are done today. And changing things, is a big part of consultancy. If everything worked fine, there would be no need to change things and there would be no need for consultancy. The world would be perfect and nobody would have to change things for the better. Unfortunately : Utopia!
We are living in a dynamic world, things around us change faster then we sometimes want them to. But people like habits and processes. It’s easy. So from time to time you hit that wall when trying to change something: "That’s not the way we do things over here". Which also comes in other forms, like "Our processes don’t not allow that" or "I can’t see how this must be changed, we’ve been doing this for years".
In short in comes down to the fact that people have been stuck in the same old process, but never have gotten around to challenge the process from time to time. Or even worse, they are afraid to change anything because it could have repercussions. Nobody want to be the one “sticking their head above the parapet”.
Unfortunately this won’t lead to change. If you do what you’ve always been doing then you’ll end up with the same results as the results you’ve always gotten in the past. And wasn’t my job as a consultant to provide you with better options?
This is were consultancy takes place. Options need to be created. Let people see what the benefits are of doing things in a different way(s). Key to this is to “deliver the message”. Not only to the people that are involved, but also to the rest of the company. Involving everybody will expand the base to change the process. To get a higher acceptance rate and let people see what you are doing.
The next time you hit the “Can’t be changed” wall”, thinks of the different options, present them and make everybody part of the thinking process.