“Some examples of social issues that have prompted strategic changes within business organizations over the years include environmentalism, civil rights, gender equality, and domestic partner benefits for gay employees. In each of these issues, private organizations led the way by challenging social norms and redefining the issues.”

Initiating Controversial Strategic Change in Organizations

By John R. Austin "It is “Whata bad plan follows that isadmits for those of no who modification." want to behalf of the organization in line with their change the world from what it is to what own values and standards. they believe it should be.” Leading change in organizations — Publilius Syrus –Saul Alinsky, Rules For Radicals is a difficult and politically dangerous First Century BC balancing act. These risks increase in I recently spoke with the CEO of an energy controversial strategic change, change that company. He told me of his frustration challenges deeply held organizational with his industry and his company. He saw norms and perhaps even broader social an urgent need to develop multiple alterna- norms (Austin, 1997). Tradition and history tive energy resources. On a personal level, strengthen resistance to the change at the he saw this as an ethical issue of global individual, organization, and industry level. stewardship while, as an executive, he saw Some examples of social issues that have the shift towards renewable resources as prompted strategic changes within busi- essential for the long-term sustainability ness organizations over the years include of his company. However, the pressure environmentalism, civil rights, gender to maintain growth, meet shorter-term equality, and domestic partner benefits for ­financial objectives, and not ‘rock the boat’ gay employees. In each of these issues, of industry solidarity made it difficult for private organizations led the way by chal- him to initiate strategic change in this lenging social norms and redefining the key area. issues. Strategic business changes that fit We sometimes assume those at the this category can include exiting markets, top of an organization have the capability large scale restructuring of supply chains, to initiate and carry out successful stra- or merging with long-time competitors. In tegic change because of their positions. this article, I offer some general observa- This assumption fails to recognize that tions for initiating such controversial organizational leaders are constrained by strategic change from a position of power organizational and environmental expecta- within an organization. At its core, this tions as well as perceptions about the types model assumes that a controversial change of actions that are legitimate for people of any kind will have greater likelihood in their position. Furthermore, we must of success if it is carefully framed and recognize that the power of these leaders is planned to fit within the existing value often derived from the status quo and any structures of the organization and its significant social reordering may under- environment. mine their base of power. Often, these When initiating a controversial change leaders are caught in the bind of radical process, the change leader(s) has two expectations. Activists (and this can include essential tasks to complete before begin- stockholders) can’t understand why the ning the change process. First, the change organizational leaders don’t act, while the leader develops an understanding of the leaders struggle to bring their actions on change that connects the change with other

52 OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 41 No. 3 2009 Figure 1: Reframing Steps in the Controversial Change Process

Change goes public he struggled to align these two aspects of his value system. Racial segregation posed a unique opportunity to fuse these values. He began a series of exchanges with lead- Change Team/Champion Change Team/Champion ing academic experts on the integration of institutions. Rickey viewed segregation 1. Re-conceptualize domain 1. Focus on behavioral an issue with moral undertones, but he of possibility change, not value change also saw a business opportunity to secure 2. Identify “non-negitiable” 2. Link change with current a deeper talent base for his team. core of the change stakeholder strategic The end result of these discussions was a imperatives deep understanding that he could act in a manner that was simultaneously good for business and also good for the country. In January 1943, met with the Dodgers board of directors at the Athletic club to get their approval. Rickey raised the issue of recruit- ing black ball players in the context of legitimated strategies within the organiza- would play a large part in transforming improving the depleted talent pool (World tion. This requires an ability to re-concep- the Dodgers from loveable losers to envied War II had reduced the quality of available tualize the issue and create new strategies winners. More importantly, he paved the players at the time). Rickey was given the linking the controversial action with other way towards a broad desegregation of OK to proceed and he implored the board strategic imperatives. Second, the change baseball. However, Jackie Robinson was to keep the discussion secret in order for leader identifies the “non-negotiable” core only part of this change story. In fact, the Dodgers to keep ahead of other teams. of the change. Institutional pressures will that day in April occurred years after the By 1944, Rickey had the secret backing of tend to rework controversial changes into change effort had begun. Branch Rickey, the Dodger’s board to recruit black ball less controversial actions. The change the general manager and later part owner players. leader needs to have a clear understanding of the Brooklyn Dodgers, had been working After fully investigating Jackie of the parts of the change not up for nego- towards Robinson’s debut since 1943. Robinson, Rickey decided that he was the tiation during this process. I focus on the central role of Branch Rickey best choice. He had a record of stellar ath- Once the change is made public, the as the initiator and leader of this change letic performance, experience playing on a change leader works to generate behavioral initiative. desegregated sports team (UCLA football), change and link the change with accepted Desegregating baseball was a highly and evidence that he was a man willing to stakeholder strategic imperatives. Both of controversial action at the time. Segregated take risks for something he believed in (his these steps act to minimize the controver- institutions were deeply ingrained in court martial in the army). On August 28, sial element of the change. The change American culture and few institutions 1945 Rickey met with Robinson in Rickey’s leaders keep the focus on the strategic were desegregated. Black Americans and New York office. Robinson agreed to sign benefits of the change and attempt to keep white Americans operated in different and on October 23, 1945 Jackie Robinson the change from becoming a referendum social spheres. In the South, Jim Crow laws signed a contract with the Montreal Royals, between sets of deeply held values. institutionalized racism, while in the North the Dodgers minor league club. deeply held norms limited racial interac- Branch Rickey and the signing tion and encouraged social and profes- Change Strategy #1: of Jackie Robinson sional segregation. Re-conceptualizing what is possible In 1942, Branch Rickey found himself by creating a new frame I illustrate this process using the example wondering how he could make an impact of a successful controversial organizational “outside the park”. He was in his early Successful initiators of controversial change: the actions leading to the racial 60’s and had a record as a successful and change are able to redefine the change into integration of in innovative executive. He became an avid a less controversial change that is consis- the United States. On April 15, 1947 the reader of research about race relations and tent with current social norms while at Brooklyn Dodgers open the baseball season segregation and informed his friends and the same time prompting a rethinking of against the Braves. Starting at first family that he intended to work towards the those norms. This reframing of the change base was Jackie Robinson, the first black desegregation of Major League Baseball. enables the initiator to harness the current major league baseball player in the modern Rickey was a religious man as well as an mental models of the influential stakehold- era. Over the next few years, Robinson astute business man. Throughout his life ers and redirect these models to accommo-

Initiating Controversial Strategic Change in Organizations 53 date the change. Branch Rickey was able gation before he could convince others of its the issue risk settling back to a modified to fundamentally redefine the issues prior value. status quo or fading away over time. Rickey to his initiation of the change attempt. His For many years, researchers have associ- needed to not just show that desegregation redefinition enabled him to use numer- ated paradoxical thinking with creativity. was compatible with baseball success, but ous justifications for the signing of Jackie Rothenburg’s (1979) concept of that desegregation was essential for future Robinson without betraying his belief in Janusian thinking is an example of this. baseball success. social justice. Janusian thinking enables the individual As another vivid example, consider Branch Rickey’s actions were guided to hold two contradictory thoughts to be the actions of Covington Hall, a poet and by two motives that initially seemed to be true simultaneously. The creative think- labor activist in the early twentieth cen- at odds with each other. The first motive ing triggered by Janusian thought leads to tury who attempted to mobilize southern was his insatiable drive to create a winning major insights and new worldviews. This labor across racial lines. His approach was and profitable baseball team. The second type of thinking enables more flexibility in to appeal to the worker’s gender identity motive was to live his life in a manner thought by freeing the individual from the rather than their racial identity (Roediger, that was consistent with both his religious preconceived notion that the opposites are 1994). He argued that union members beliefs and his understanding of social jus- incompatible. The resulting framework is were real men and questioned the mascu- tice. Rickey was able to reframe his world often more than just a combining of the linity of those workers who didn’t organize view such that these two motives were not two antagonistic elements, it is a fusing of to stand up to management. Initially, Hall’s only compatible but mutually reinforcing. the two elements into a new framework appeal was successful but over time the In a sense he recreated his understanding that contains significant parts of each but racial division reemerged and divided the of what was possible in his position in the also contains entirely new parts. southern labor movement. One possible Dodgers organization. By fusing these two explanation for the short-lived success of motivating factors into a single justification Sustainable Reframing: Fusing divergent this social change is that Hall’s arguments for action, Rickey was able to plead his case ideas not just replacing one idea with show no evidence of paradoxical thought. in business vernacular without undermin- another He successfully shifted the frame of the ing his social justice motivations. Not once Schumacher (1977) explains the implica- discussion from race to a more inclusive did Rickey make a statement that was at tions of Janusian thinking in his discussion gender framing but he did not challenge, odds with his ideals of social justice. In of convergent and divergent problems. directly or indirectly, the underlying belief fact, earlier speeches indicated that Rickey Convergent problems deal with distinct, that black workers were inferior in some felt that growing racial stress in America precise, quantifiable, logical ideas that are way to white workers. As a result, this divi- threatened to undermine the supports for a amenable to empirical investigation. As sion reemerged at a later time and was in healthy capitalistic society. these problems are studied in more depth, some ways held more strongly because the solutions tend to converge into a single belief had survived the labor upheaval. Understanding why the controversial can accepted solution. Divergent problems are work: A Janusian reframing problems that are not easily quantifiable Change Strategy #2: The first, and perhaps most sig- and that do not have a single solution. Using the new frame to change actions, nificant, part of the controversial strategic As these problems are examined in more not values change effort involves redefining the depth the solutions diverge or become domain of possibility for social action. As contradictory. Schumacher suggests that Developmental theory points out that mentioned earlier, controversial change through the recognition of the divergent individual value change cannot be forced challenges widely held norms. The first nature of a problem, we can generate a from an external actor (Kegan, 1982). Such reaction of many people to such norm transformation as expectations of a right a transformation must come from an inter- challenging behavior is that the change is answer are relaxed. nal contradiction that can no longer be tol- ill conceived because it is inconsistent with Controversial strategic change is a erated. The value change can be triggered a realistic view of ‘how things work’. Before divergent issue. The breaking of social by a changing environment that exposes the change initiators can sway the opinions norms can have unpredictable results. The old mental models to new, potentially of others, they must redefine their own attempt to change the social structure of incompatible, situations. One way to trig- understanding of how the social goal of an organization does not by itself indicate ger this transformation is to create a situa- their change effort (desegregation) can be paradoxical thinking. In order for the tion in which the individual must test their complementary with other more immedi- change to result in a transformation, the values through behavior. This is similar to ate goals of their organization (maintaining initiator must generate a new framework the parenting technique of allowing a child profitability). This reframing may require a that challenges the status quo in a way that to learn through experience rather than type of paradoxical thinking. Rickey needed suggests the need for paradoxical thought. through a lecture. For example, the child’s to understand how business and baseball Social change attempts that do not fun- understanding of the need to bundle up success could be compatible with desegre- damentally change the understanding of in the winter may come less from parental

54 OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 41 No. 3 2009 pleas than from an experience of walking Baseball desegregation as a attempted to attribute broad social motives home with snow down the back and numb social justice issue to his actions. When it became clear that hands. It is useful to contrast Branch Rickey’s several journalists for black newspapers actions with those of William Benswanger. began to view him as their best hope to Changing deeply held beliefs through In 1944, Benswanger, president of the desegregate baseball, Rickey held a news personal experience Pirates, made a very public conference to attack the integrity of the Controversial social change can be success- attempt to break baseball’s color barrier. Negro league and announce the forma- fully accomplished by focusing on chang- The Pirates invited two black players, Josh tion of his own Negro league team. This ing behaviors not values. Once the behavior Gibson and Buck Leonard, to try out for announcement had the effect of diffusing has been changed, the individual actors are the team. In a statement about the try- any public discussion of his ambitions to able, and perhaps encouraged, to ques- out, Benswanger said “Colored men are desegregate the Dodgers. tion their old value system. In effect, the American citizens with American rights…I change advocate creates the opportunity for know there are many problems connected Change Strategy #3: a dialectic between the new organizational with this question but after all, somebody Strategically communicating the new behaviors and the old organizational value has to make the first move.” The tryout was frame by linking it with accepted system. One method for doing this is to well publicized and received a considerable stakeholder goals downplay the social aspects of the change amount of local and national attention. The until after the behavioral change. It was public response, according to the Pirates, The change agent must justify the change not until after Jackie Robinson was play- was overwhelming. The Pirates office was in such a manner that it addresses the ing for the Brooklyn Dodgers that Rickey flooded with protests and threats. As a concerns and needs of the various stake- and Robinson began to speak about social result, Benswanger backed down and let holders. This involves careful analysis to justice as a motive for their actions. By that the issue drop. identify the essential stakeholders and point, other people who were affected by Benswanger justified his effort to understand how the stakeholders view the change had already begun to question integrate the Pirates as a matter of social the organization’s place in the broader their preconceived social value system. For justice and appealed to the common experi- society. One immediately noticeable fac- example, Pee Wee Reese, who while not ence of World War II to make his case. The tor in Rickey’s success was his in-depth against the signing of Jackie Robinson was result was a very strong negative reaction knowledge of the concerns and goals of skeptical at first, became a vocal advocate the effort. Why? One possibility is that the various Dodgers stakeholders. The for desegregation over the next ten years. Benswanger’s framing came into direct plan that Rickey developed in 1944, with By not publicly pushing his social agenda, conflict with another more salient social the assistance of NYU sociologist Daniel Rickey enabled the participants and observ- belief, that of racial segregation and ‘sepa- Dodson, focused on winning the approval ers to the Robinson signing to reconsider rate but equal’. By framing the discussion from multiple stakeholders before the player their beliefs about segregation by observ- as a social issue, Benswanger invited others played for the Dodgers. Rickey used this ing the success of both Robinson and to respond to his actions using other social knowledge to modify his arguments for the the Dodgers. Such evidence is harder to tradition arguments, namely that ‘separate Robinson signing to appeal to the differ- dismiss, or to mobilize resources against, but equal’ had worked, was an important ent stakeholders. He was able to due this than abstract social justice arguments. cultural tradition. without being insincere or manipulative Rickey’s initial linking of social justice Like Benswanger, Rickey viewed because of his initial reframing of the situ- with business strategy allowed him to integration as a social issue right from ation. As I noted earlier, Rickey’s Janusian anticipate the value change that could the start. This is evident in his public reformulation of the issue of desegregation follow the behavioral change. He actively reflections on the issue prior to 1945. allowed him to extol the strategic benefits avoided social justifications while creating Unlike Benswanger, Rickey did not offer of desegregation (advantage over other situations that challenged the social frame- social justifications for his actions. From teams, new potential fan base, higher qual- works of the other individuals involved. 1945 through 1947, Rickey explained his ity players) without betraying the social Often, values are actively debated during attempts to sign a black baseball player benefits. The limited vision that Rickey social change attempts. The weakness of in business terms. To the team owners, gave for the Robinson signing involved the current tradition system is brought he emphasized the strategic advantage of socially legitimate justifications such as into the open and actively debated. This recruiting black players. To the players, winning the World Series. Rickey’s astute is appropriate since social change is an he emphasized the increased chances of political actions combine his crucial insider attempt to change the dominant tradition winning. To the journalists, he focused on knowledge of baseball with his newly devel- system. The most direct way to do this is the corrupt owners of the Negro league. oped inclusive metal model of success. through directly challenging the offending Not only did Rickey avoid talking about tradition. Yet, Rickey avoided this values his actions in social terms, but he actively debate. distanced his actions from those who

Initiating Controversial Strategic Change in Organizations 55 Table 1: Questions to Guide Change Planning

Guiding Definition Using subtle rather than bold arguments We often take as a given that a significant 1. What is the change? The change task needs to be clearly defined. If you are organizational change needs to be com- unable to clearly measure when the change has been successfully completed, bined with a strong new organizational then the task needs more definition. The process of defining the change includes vision. The new vision articulates the identifying the “non-negotiable” parts of the change. organization’s new perspective and place in 2. Who are the key stakeholders? There are numerous ways to classify stakeholders. its environment. During strategic change, One helpful exercise is identifying stakeholders with the power to stop the change such a vision is essential in order to coor- or an interest in the outcome of the change. dinate and clarify the new organizational 3. Which stakeholders are likely to be most antagonistic towards the change? processes. The benefits of a forceful vision are not as clear during a process of contro- Guiding Strategic Action versial strategic change. This is because controversial strategic change involves a 4. What is the stakeholder engagement strategy? What is the order for approaching rethinking of fundamental relationships the stakeholders and how will you approach them? within society. The participants actively 5. What are the trigger points in the change process? A trigger point is something question their traditions and values. that has to happen in order for a change to be successful but that is outside of the Building a vision around a particular value control of the change leader. structure can alienate those groups or individuals who disagree with the value Guiding Sense Making structure. An articulation of social vision may polarize the listeners into those who 6. What are the underlying values that will frame the issue for the key stakeholders? agree with the underlying values and those This question should be addressed separately for each stakeholder. who don’t. If the social vision advocates a minority view, then the vision articulation may have the effect of mobilizing powerful organizational action but also changing the the people, their positions, and the institu- opposition to the social view. This counter- accepted rules of discourse in an organiza- tional norms. mobilization is likely to occur even when tion. Many attempts at social change are the proponents of the new social vision side-tracked because the change is not Practical Pointers for Implementing support their arguments with specific considered a legitimate topic of conversa- Controversial Change empirical evidence. tion within the organization. One method Rickey did not champion his actions for avoiding this pitfall is to use the current Once a leader makes a commitment to as being a new direction for baseball. He discourse patterns and content of the implement a change, they all too often rush consistently downplayed the transformative organization to justify the social change right into action. Prior to any public action, nature of desegregation (at least initially). (Creed, Scully, & Austin, 2002). The social the change leader with the assistance of a It was merely a new tactic for winning. It change can then be explained and sold to strong change team should work through was hard to mobilize passionate opposition the various stakeholders in a manner that some key issues (Table 1). to the idea of making the Dodgers a better appeals to the stakeholders’ expectations of Each one of these questions helps baseball team. the organization. a change leader reframe the change in a It is difficult to mobilize people if manner that increases its odds of success. Using accepted topics and structures to the initiator is unable to link the change The answers to these questions start the make the change an insider change attempt with their immediate concerns. process of reworking the change initiative Rickey was a consummate insider. By the Branch Rickey was able to challenge the to fit within the institutional and political 1940s, he was well-connected into the polit- black leaders to support Robinson because environment. Taking the time to consider ical networks of New York and the business he was able to tailor his justifications to them upfront will save immense time and relationships of baseball. He knew, perhaps match the concerns of the black commu- frustration during the implementation. better than anyone else, which arguments nity. In a similar way, Rickey communi- Implementing controversial strategic would be persuasive with which people. cated his plan to the players in a way that change in an organization is extremely dif- He also knew how to wield his power and would resonate with them. These argu- ficult and doing it well is extremely impor- when to ease up and let someone else push ments could succeed because Rickey had a tant. Controversial strategic change directly the issue. working understanding of which justifica- challenges widely accepted organizational Executives, like everyone else, face the tions for action were legitimate within the norms, and, to be successful, it must temptation to avoid controversial issues. A different stakeholder groups. Controversial change not only the members’ behavior social change agent is faced with the daunt- change requires deep insider knowledge of but also the members’ interpretations of ing job of not only changing a particular societal norms. Successfully initiating this

56 OD PRACTITIONER Vol. 41 No. 3 2009 JohnJohn AustinAustin is is a a Principal Senior atConsultant inDecision Executive Strategies Development International. with Dr. Austin helps organizations Decisionstrategize Strategies for uncertain International. futures, type of an organizational change requires implement strategic changes, and the creation of a new mental model that Helink earned organizational a Ph.D. expertise in organization with studiesstrategic from action. Boston John has College. taught combines the seemingly incompatible executives at several leading social and strategic justifications for the Johnuniversities helps organizationsand worked with strat - change. Social change can be explained at egizeexecutive for uncertainteams of numerous futures, global companies. various levels (individual, organizational, implement strategic changes, and or societal) and the interpretation of actions Dr. Austin has a B.A. in economics link organizational expertise with will depend on how observers understand from The Johns Hopkins University strategicand a Ph.D. action. in management John has taught the reasons for the change. Interest groups from Boston College. will attempt to interpret actions in a man- executives at Wharton, Duke You can reach Dr. Austin at ner that forwards their cause. A successful [email protected] Education, Georgetown facilitator of controversial strategic change University, and Penn State provides a justification for the change and For More information: University.www.DecisionStrat.com He can be reached actively distances the change from compet- at [email protected]. ing justifications.

References

Creed, W. E. D., Scully, M., & Austin, J. R. (2002). Clothes make the person? The tailoring of legitimating accounts and the social construction of identity. Organization Science, 13(5): 475-496. Kegan, R. 1982. The evolving self. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Roediger, D. R. 1994. Towards the abolition of whiteness. New York: Verso. 127- 180.

Initiating Controversial Strategic Change in Organizations 57