[updated] I received one comment on my Invensys Operations Management client conference post. Every time I'm positive, I'm certain that I'll hear from the negative side. Sure enough, someone from a hotmail account noted that I've been sold a bill of goods, that none of the new management team has a process control background. I have a couple of comments--first, that is not a true statement and second, that may not be the future anyway.
Discussing with some industry colleagues, we count several of the new team with process control backgrounds. On the other point, although Emerson Process Management is unveiling a new I/O architecture today that is certainly an advancement, I don't think that company growth will be tied to process control alone. You must have it--and maintain technological validity--but growth is going to come in what and how a company builds on that platform. In that, the new IOM is poised for success. Note--I'm
not guaranteeing success, just pointing out that steps are being taken to reverse the decline and set the company on the right path.
On the plane to Orlando, I caught up on a bunch of reading. One was a pamphlet on innovation and change. One of the points was that there is a 20-50-30 rule. 20 percent of the people in an organization will embrace change; 50 percent can be swayed; 30 percent will be opposed to any change It quoted Casey Stengel, the baseball manager, who said something to the effect that a manager must know that many people will hate him, The trick is to keep them away from people who are undecided. I have worked for large corporations and am familiar with feelings in the trenches when there are so many shifts at the top. (Note, I now work for a small company.) But, I take a message from today's keynote address in Orlando about winning--you can choose your attitude. Winners choose to be positive and passionate.
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Friday, October 2, 2009 at 3:58AM