Whenever an organization rolls out a major change, clarity and alignment are essential. Without those two things all the best intentions amount to little more than heartburn and headaches.<\/p>\n\n
As a leader responsible for a large company, I have experienced the difficulty of getting clarity and creating alignment with my team. In one instance, we shuttered more than a dozen division of our publishing operation and restructured the entire business.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019ve also found myself on the other side of things\u2014outside of the leadership seat and in the role of observer. Only in this case people were making decisions about my brand!<\/p>\n
Earlier this month the National Speakers Association announced a significant change to their name. They announced that they would adopt the name \u201fPlatform.\u201d<\/p>\n
They noted that their members do a lot more than public speaking and their initials are far from popular right now. I sympathize. \u201cNSA\u201d is tarnished brand, regardless of what you think of the federal government\u2019s operations. The initials simply invoked the wrong feelings.<\/p>\n
But, as many of you know, the one they adopted was already taken\u2014by me. All of NSA\u2019s reasons for picking<\/a> the \u201cPlatform\u201d brand made sense. It\u2019s just that I\u2019d already planted a flag on that word with my book<\/a>, conference<\/a>, and membership site<\/a>. And many people in my audience let the NSA know.<\/p>\n Within a ten days\u2014which is like light speed for a nonprofit organization\u2014they\u2019d reversed course<\/a> and abandoned the name. I was extremely pleased that they came to this conclusion. The last thing I wanted was a conflict with an organization I have held in such high esteem over the years.<\/p>\n As the whole situation played out, I was reminded of five key steps for any organization before rolling out a major initiative. Each of these steps is designed to achieve either clarity or alignment. Both are essential if an organization wants to avoid a backlash to its proposed changes.<\/p>\n\t\t