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March 2004
What Managers must Learn From
Broadway ...
Theatre people know that “Change is the
Rule” because they are dead certain that no play lasts forever.
The certainty of that knowledge gives Broadway folks a different
attitude about change, a more positive, energizing attitude.
Managers in many firms could stand a dose of that Broadway
attitude. But how do you get it to them?
The theatre metaphor works. We
look at an organization as though it were a theatre company,
putting on a given play that meets the need of an audience. When
an organization needs to change the way it does business (for
whatever reason), it is like a theatre company that must change
to a new play. Unlike many business organizations, however,
theatre companies work by unwritten rules that make change far
more effective and efficient than in the typical firm.
And the three Broadway rules /
attitudes that get right to the point of change are:
1.
Actors know that no play lasts forever … there
will always be new plays as long as there are theatres and
audiences
2.
Actors know that if they want to eat, they must. get
into the next play … and the next … and the next
3.
Actors know that to get in the next play, they need to
do a great job in the current one.
So give these rules a try when
working with change. See if you can get at the “change
attitudes” the organization members hold. Put the Broadway
attitudes together with the mechanics of Engineering
Organization Change and you’ve got a great change formula!!
By Dutch Holland, PhD
 Dutch Holland,
CEO of HDI, has worked as a management consultant for 30 years,
helping organizations and leaders manage and implement change
successfully. And if you enjoyed this short article, you'll
love his book, Red Zone Management: Changing the Rules
for Pivotal Times (Dearborn Trade, Chicago, Fall 2001).
Check your local bookstores or read a review at amazon.com
or barnesandnoble.com!
Contact Dutch at 713.877.8130.
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