“One thing managers know is that many of the best ideas never get put into practice…. A pilot may prove to everyone’s satisfaction that a new approach leads to better results, but widespread adoption of the approach never occurs.
We are coming increasingly to believe that this… stems not from weak intentions, wavering will or even nonsystemic understanding but from mental models. More specifically, new insights fail to get put into practice because they conflict with deeply held internal images of how the world works. … But what is most important is that mental models are active – they shape how we act.”
(Peter Senge – The Fifth Discipline)
Anyone who has been involved with a major change programme will have experienced the situation where people within the organisation who need to change their ways of working or their attitudes will say – “what you are proposing may work elsewhere but things are different in our country, or with our products, or with our customers, or with our competitors etc.” They will make predictions- “If you try to make the changes here we will loose customers, or our competitors will take advantage etc.” Generally this is not a matter of people trying to undermine the project in most cases these are examples of entrenched mental models. In some cases these models may be accurate but in all too many cases they are based on one single experience, a story or a flawed assumption.
JustOne have developed three ways of changing mental models in addition to the established technique of using Scenario Planning. Using these techniques, JustOne clients have had great success in overcoming negative mental models that were inhibiting progress in reducing OWC reduction.
Sales staff who are reluctant to reduce payment terms with existing customers is perhaps the most common negative mental model we encounter. Typically the sales staff will say “If we try to reduce terms, our customers will go to the competition and we will lose sales” JustOne and the clients Internal Consultants have had great success in changing these mental models and helping the sales staff to successfully negotiate shorter terms with no price concessions and no loss of business (see case studies Terms Reduction Japan, Terms Reduction USA)
