Anwar Ibrahim : Lessons for Change Agents (?)

What do you do when you have to bring a tremendous change into your organization and the odds are heavily stacked against you?

You do the Anwar thing!

First you say something so grand that nobody takes you seriously. You repeat it now and then to keep it hot. Of course it will become the butt of jokes and there will smirks when you pass by the office water cooler. In fact, your old office sex scandal will be rekindled to cast doubts on your grand plans.

While the rest are doubting your ability to bring about that grand change of yours, don't loose heart. Work silently behind the scenes to influence key stake holders. Remember, in any organization these are not necessarily from the top ranks alone, they can also be from the lower ranks. Talk to them, cajole them and gain their confidence. Sometimes there are enough silent dissatisfaction with the goings on in your organization that you can have enough ears to listen to your change proposal. Getting them to listen to you is a fantastic start because you know that if only they listen, you can convert them to your cause.

Next, you wait for a opportune moment to blast into your organization’s radar. This may be in the form a company strategic retreat or town-hall (in the case of Anwar, it was the general election). Once again state your grand change plan. There will still be those who doubt you but you also have a band of change coverts now. Your doubters may even taunt you with words like ‘Lucy’, ‘Back seat’ and ‘doggy’ which are all somehow related to your alleged office sex scandal. Don’t despair as with more heads nodding to your favour, an amazing transformation will take place! Your idea will not sound so preposterous anymore! ‘Lucy’ will slowly fade into the background where she deservedly belongs.

Now, you are ready to move to the next stage : A personal victory to reinforce the fact that you can make the change happen. Anwar did that with Permatang Pauh. You have to find your own Permatang Pauh. It can be a 20 minutes meeting with your group CEO or your Tan Sri Chairman. Make sure that as many people hear about your little ‘success’ even if the CEO just said that he appreciates your pro-activeness and nothing else. But be smart; tell your CEO that you would like to speak to him again during his next visit for a more refined presentation. Plead with him to give you a chance. All the better if your wife used to work for him as his PA. Remind him what a good job she has done for him. Only a dumb CEO will not make the connection between a good PA-wife and a would be change agent-husband.

With this little but hugely meaningful victory, you state your change plan with more boldness. You increase your confidence meter a little more. The only difference is, this time you say to all and sundry your change plan’s time frame. Nothing gives purpose more life than dates and numbers. State it as if it is already happening. Let your doubters loose sleep over these dates and numbers.

Now, this is when your distracters will decide that they have had enough of you. They will try to derail you by ensuring that the CEO’s next trip coincides with your planned trip to Taiwan for a conference on new agriculture technology although your company is the motor lubricant industry. Anyway, you know best why you need to go there.

But you are too smart for that childish trick because you have already developed enough change agents who will be able to present the more refined change plan to the CEO with as much passion and conviction as you can. So, off you go happily to Taiwan.

Once you are back from Taiwan...

NOTE : As the Anwar saga has not ended, his continuing lessons to us will have to be put on hold while the story unfolds. Will keep you updated.