The phrase/idiom ‘Resting on your laurels’ dates back to ancient Greek and Roman traditions where victorious Olympians or generals wore crowns made of laurel wreaths as symbols of victory, success and status.

Having won a campaign, a Roman general could spend the rest of their careers savouring their past successes, basking in the memories of former glories.

A ‘laureate’ is still an esteemed title today, with recipients of the Nobel Prize being referred to as Nobel Laureates.

Past achievements and successes are something to celebrate and learn from; however, they can prevent progress according to John Kotter in his seminal work on Change Initiatives (Leading Change HBS Press 1996). He refers to it as the biggest mistake companies make and the first of a series of hurdles, that must be overcome to implement a successful change initiative:

Overcome the inertia caused by complacency.

Inertia means lack of real movement, a tendency to do nothing or to remain unchanged. By using the term ‘real movement,’ I exclude activity that perpetuates what already exists, the status quo. This may mean maintaining existing standards, market share or even turnover.

Kotter points out that the company presence (profile and assets like cars, property and history) can lull us into a false sense of security, feeling that the company (and our future within it) are unshakeable. This very set of assets makes it more difficult to generate a sense of urgency that will compel people to get on-board and support our change initiatives.

Another great writer Jim Collins (Good to Great – Collins 2001) highlights the problem with his key phrase:

Good is the enemy of great

People can easily fall into the trap of thinking “We are quite good at what we do,” or “This company is good.” Good is the enemy of great because somewhere out there, a competitor has fire in their belly and is not content with being good, they want great, or excellent. They may be pushing harder, innovating more effectively and looking further over the horizon. They may be investing more in R&D or their people, or just setting the bar higher than your company is. You know where this story is going . . .

Here is one of Kotter’s models based on his extensive research into change initiatives, it highlights the range of underlying causes of resting on our laurels:

quiver-mangement-complacency

So; if you want your change initiative to succeed (it would be rather weird if you didn’t) then you will have to address all nine of these issues to even get some traction and movement.

In order to gain momentum and ensure the sustainability of your change initiative, I can only encourage you to buy (and study) Kotter’s book, or arrange a Leading Change training workshop for your business.

Shaun Topham
Quiver Management

 


About Shaun Topham

Shaun has worked across a wide range of industries including financial services, automotive, hospitality, utilities, retailers, UK local government and the NHS.

He has designed and delivered a broad range of training programmes to help organisations, teams, and individuals improve performance including leading change and innovation, communicating more effectively and improving decision making and personal effectiveness.

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