REBUILDING BEHAVIORAL CONTEXT - A BLUEPRINT FOR CORPORATE RENEWAL

IN THEIR FALL 1995 ARTICLE, THE AUTHORS DISCUSSED THE FOUR ELEMENTS NE CESSARY TO ESTABLISH A BEHAVIORAL CONTEXT THAT REJUVENATES A COMPANY'S EMPLOYees - discipline, support, trust, and stretch. In this sequel, they trace the common threads in successful companies' transformation processes - simplification, integration, and regeneration. In an exten sive study, they discovered that carefully phased or sequenced process es were more effective than sudden frenzied commitment to the latest m anagement fad. Along with a phased approach, the successful companies recognized that the real challenge in transformation was to change peo ple's attitudes, assumptions, and behaviors. Only when managers commit ted to the long-term effort required to establish the four characteris tics necessary for a new behavioral environment were they able to crea te companies that could renew themselves.