Leading Change

There can be a good deal of talk about changing the story of a group and that as a means of making their enterprise better. Undoubtedly, stories of lore or founding stories are sometimes replaced but not likely changed. I think this is so because a story of the group's founding is approximated in the real - what is being talked about actually happened and you can't change facts.

What is possible however, is to replace one story with another. Founding stories and the identity they confer upon a group are ready for replacement when the practices they foster are no longer needed or accepted by the larger culture the group purports to serve. Here's an example: an entrepreneur begins a business and as success comes decides that to reward those who have stayed during the lean times there will never be a layoff. In the ensuing years the wisdom of this policy is seen in employee loyalty, low job turnover, high-quality production, and cost containment. Then the time comes when the product loses appeal in the marketplace. There is nothing wrong with either the policy of no layoffs or the product that supports them. What is wrong is that the culture the organization serves no longer supports the organization through the consumption of its product. If it will remain viable it must change. This could entail change to the product and even, for a time, change to its founding story of no layoffs. It is possible that for the company to survive the founding story could be replaced entirely.