Every organization wants to be in a groove.  But no one wants to be in a rut.  The key is to be able to recognize when you’re in a rut and then (figure out) how to get out of it.

Personal change is difficult for most of us — think old dogs and new tricks.  Organizational change is more challenging — think a bunch of old dogs and many new tricks.  A recent article in stategy+business draws our attention to the importance of understanding what neuroscience has to teach us about how individuals learn new behavior and apply it to the organizations we lead.

When I attended the Neuroleadership Summit last fall, I learned that over 90% of our actions are rooted in habits.  In order to change we need to be “mindful” of what we’re thinking and doing.  That is the first step – recognizing the need for change – in what the authors of the article call “The Virtuous Cycle of Focused Values.”  Greater awareness of your current situation and the future you want to co-create with your colleagues is essential if you want to initiate either personal or organizational change.

The awareness of reality is often our biggest challenge since it is so easy to be disconnected from what is really happening in the organizations we lead.  We often believe that what we hope is happening is actually happening.

Are you in a groove or a rut?  And how are you incorporating objective perspectives to help you continually assess the answer to that critical question?

I went to hear Carlos Brito, CEO of AB InBev, speak last week at Washington University.  It was his first public appearance in St. Louis, and I was excited to have the opportunity to hear him speak.

This town went nuts when it heard that our beloved Anheuser Busch was going to be bought by InBev.  It was as if the crown jewel of St. Louis was being stolen.  Washington University sent out notices before the event regarding its intent to have an open conversation and to not bring in signs or protest the event.  That made it all the more intriguing.

I read  a great blog post this morning by Rosabeth Moss Kanter.  You can read it here (Five Tips for Leading Campaigns for Change).

In many ways, her post relates to two important concepts we try to emphasize in our work:  sync and cognitive filters.  She points to the need for a memorable message, the need for stories, action tools, partners, and “point of action” nudges.  Together, these five elements relate to creating a direction, building a culture that supports the change, giving process to the effort and connecting the ideas in concrete ways to stakeholders.

Typically, we find that most of us can’t do all these things well because they are very different strengths (i.e. filters).  By making sure that each of Rosabeth’s elements work well together (i.e. they’re in sync), you have a better chance of enabling change.

When you think about the change efforts you’ve been a part of, did leaders recognize our cognitive diversity and use that knowledge to their advantage?

In his book, Start with Why, Simon Sinek challenges us to ask Why?  Sinek has a background in marketing, and proposes that most people know what they do and how they do it.  But if you ask them why they do it, they often don’t have an answer.  Sinek wants to “inspire people to be inspired” by finding their why.

His thinking is simple, straightforward, and powerful.  It resonates with my experience and from a personal perspective, it can be hard to keep the why in mind when dealing with the challenges of business and life.

We recently talked to a large company that has merged two divisions.  The company leaders are asking the question, How are we better together?  I believe their how is Simon’s why.

When is the last time you’ve really looked at your why?

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Danny Ludeman, CEO of Wells Fargo Advisors, recently spoke at Webster University as part of its Success to Significance Speaker Series.  He spent part of his time talking about lessons learned during the A.G. Edwards: Wachovia Securities merger including several surprises that even a CEO as experienced as he was not prepared for.

We’ll share just a few them for your consideration.  First, he talked about never underestimating the human impact of an acquisition or merger.  He noted that the economics of the transaction were fairly simple.  It was the effect on people that one should never underestimate.

Secondly, he felt that his team focused too much on the similariites of cultures.  For example, both were customer-centric cultures.  But the ways in which they expressed customer service were quite different.  They underestimated the impact of those differences on their efforts to integrate the organizations.

One final observation of Ludeman’s that he spoke of as a both a business and a life lesson:  the importance of differentiating between wants and needs.  The concrete example he used from the A.G. Edwards:Wachovia Securities merger was the legacy A.G. Edwards employees’  ”need” to be part of an organization with a reputation for integrity and customer service.  As a result, they expressed their “want” to retain the A.G. Edwards name.  Their “want”  was a barrier to seeing other ways to meet their legitimate need.

As you think about mergers and acquisitions you have experienced, which of these lessons resonate with you?

I had a great conversation with Mark Sylvester yesterday during a webinar on promoting organizational sync.  Mark has a company called introNetworks that helps connect people via smart social networks.

I first used introNetworks software when I attended the TED Conference (Technology, Entertainment and Design).  The software allowed me to choose attributes that best describe me and then view the attributes of more than 1,000 people at the conference. Being part of this smart network allowed me to quickly recognize people, gave me ideas for conversation starters, and help me find people with common interests.

I hope that if you participated in the webinar today you found the conversation helpful.  If you missed it, you can listen to it here.  I think there is great potential to promote organizational sync with a resource like introNetworks.  Anything leaders can do to facilitate different ways to connect like minded people is helpful in promoting sync.