Motivation to Change
In 2003, outdoorsman Aron Ralston set out on a hike through the remote Utah desert. As he descended a narrow passage into Blue John Canyon, the boulder he was climbing over became dislodged and pinned his right arm against the canyon wall.
All of Ralston’s strength couldn’t budge the 800 pound rock, and soon he realized that he was in serious trouble. Ralston was hiking alone and he hadn’t told anyone where he was going or when he would return. No one would come looking for him, and it was unlikely that anyone would stumble across him in this secluded slot canyon.
Ralston made the little food and water he had last as long as possible, but after three days he was out of water, dehydrated and had lost hope of rescue. With time running out and no better options to consider, Ralston began to think the unthinkable – to save his life, he would have to amputate his trapped arm to free himself from the boulder.
The only tool he had to perform this lifesaving procedure was a knife described as small, dull and cheap. The knife could cut, but Ralston realized that he would need to break two bones in his arm to complete the amputation. Unwilling to proceed further, Ralston carved his name and expected date of death into the canyon wall and waited for the end.
On the fifth day in the canyon Ralston had a dream in which he saw himself with an amputated right arm, and he was playing with a child that he knew was his future son. The vision gave Ralston the hope and motivation to bear the unbearable. It took him about one hour to complete the amputation. He applied a tourniquet and kept walking until he found help.
Six Sigma and the Motivation to Change
A vital part of the Six Sigma methodology is motivating employees to make changes. Of course, the story of Aron Ralston is an extreme example, but change often requires powerful (and sometimes creative) motivation to get employees to leave behind a process that is holding them back.
The Change Acceleration Process (CAP), developed by General Electric, gives Six Sigma project teams several different tools to motivate employees to make needed change:
Threat vs. Opportunity Matrix – This tool helps build the case for change by using both the carrot and the stick. The project team starts with a diagram of four empty quadrants and fills them with the threats of not changing and the opportunities that change will bring over the long term and short term. The information in these quadrants is then crafted into several statements that the team can use to influence key constituents.
Three D’s Matrix – The project team uses this matrix to help build a case for change. This change is driven by one or more of the Three D’s:
Demand – The degree to which executive management can simply demand that change take place.
Data/Facts – Captures the extent to which external or internal sources, such as competitive data and benchmarking, drive the need for change.
Demonstrate – Best practices and pilot programs can also help create the motivation for change.
Backwards Imaging – Project teams apply this tool to illustrate and convey the behavior they want to instill. The team first imagines how employees behave when the project is completed. Then they describe how this behavior looks, sounds and feels. Once the team agrees what successful behavior looks like this mental picture is approved by key stakeholders and then used as a vision for guiding change.
The attachment to long-standing practices and processes can be so strong that employees may feel that making a change will cause them to lose something valuable. This makes change both emotional and difficult. But as Aron Ralston learned, when the motivation is strong enough, individuals and organizations can make incredibly hard changes that can ensure their future success.
