Podcast: Walk a Mile in Their Boots for Change Management Success

We all know that change can be hard, especially at work.  And in the retail environment, where every store manager has his or her own business to run, change mandates cascading down from corporate aren't always welcome.  There are leaders out there, however, who are adept at leading change in their organizations and from whom we can learn a thing or two.

One of those leaders is Jim Thompson, chief financial officer at Cavender's, a family-owned and operated western wear and cowboy boot retailer with more than 70 locations across the United States.  In the last several years, he has been rolling out Kronos workforce management technology across his organization in order to optimize both customer service and productivity.  He has done so successfully through the savvy application of change management principles - especially with regard to involving representatives of the stakeholders most impacted by the proposed changes, the store managers.

You can listen to a podcast of our conversation below to hear Jim's responses to these and other questions:

1. What are Jim's "5 C's" for change management success?
2. How Cavender's choose employees to help design the solution?
3. How did involving store managers in the process impact the timelines and outcomes of the projects?
4. How did this approach impact user adoption of the new system?
5. Are they receiving the benefits they expected?

What are your thoughts about what it takes to lead a successful change effort?