Sooner or later, your company change process will reach The Moment of Truth - the point where you, the key decision-maker, are faced with a choice between the past and the future. Every atom of your being, every instinct and every ounce of experience will urge you towards the familiar, safe decision. But if you take that route, the process is doomed to fail.

You and your board of directors may have committed yourselves to an environment based on "trust and respect"; or to a culture where "initiative and creativity are recognised and rewarded". But the people who work for you will be watching and waiting for the evidence that this time it's for real. That's because actions speak louder than words. And that's where 'Zero Tolerance' comes in.

Two Examples

The Master Salesman

In company A, the Sales Director was a master salesman. Over the previous three years he had personally closed deals worth 30% of the company's gross sales. The downside was that he was an arrogant person, capable of behaving very unpleasantly. He believed that his value to the company meant that he could behave however he liked, and no-one would dare to challenge him. He announced that they could come up with "any fancy ideas they liked"; he had no intention of changing the way he behaved.

We suggested that at this point the rest of the Directors had three options:

The Sales Director might be persuaded to play a full, positive role in the change programme; a long shot, but worth trying.

They could abandon the programme now, before involving anyone outside the Board; to proceed with a member of the team blatantly acting in contradiction of the new values would be worse than doing nothing.

They could replace the Sales Director; not a choice to be made lightly, given the (commercial) value he brought to the company.

Within weeks it became clear that persuasion wasn't going to work; and after some difficult conversations they negotiated his departure.

That decision did more than anything else the Board could have done to make the change programme a success. Before they even knew what the new company values were, every member of staff knew that this time they were for real; this was one change programme that the Directors really intended to deliver. What's more, within 12 months they'd recovered the lost business, and staff turnover in the Sales Department had dropped from eleven to five per cent.

The Partnership

Company B was an old-fashioned partnership, a firm of accountants. They'd recently been taken over by a plc, and had now decided that they needed to change the way they worked, shifting from a "partnership" culture to a more 'commercial' style. A key part of the change was for Senior Partners (now 'Directors') to take on a much stronger management role. Until now, their bonuses had been based solely on the amount of business they personally brought in; in future, it was to depend on the development and performance of the 'consultants' and 'associates' they managed.

One by one, they rebelled; and one by one the company backed down and let them have what they wanted. 'Charles' would no longer be a Director; he was to take on a role as 'Senior Adviser' on Financial Services - without any line management responsibility. 'Tom' would be a Senior Adviser on Insurance - the company was keen not to lose his expertise...

Unfortunately, everyone in the company was perfectly well aware of what was happening. (They always are!) The message sent out was that the new 'commercial' culture was optional; and like most optional change, it didn't happen.

The Moment of Truth

Every change programme, sooner or later, reaches the point where it's easier and more comfortable for you and your fellow leaders to stay with the status quo than to go forward. This is the moment of truth. It's the moment that everyone in the company has been waiting for; the moment when they make up their mind whether this time it's for real. The signal that you send at this moment is critical. The right decision will do more to drive things forward than any number of motivational posters and company meetings. The wrong decision is fatal.

What would it take to have your company culture operate Zero Tolerance, in respect of any behaviour which falls outside the Values you, your fellow Directors and your staff are committed to? It would mean that everyone, from the most senior executive to the most junior trainee, demanded the same high standards of themselves and of those around them.

And it might mean taking those tough decisions. Think long and hard about this before getting into a company change programme - one day, it might come down to (temporarily) risking those familiar, safe patterns of running the business, taking action to uphold your values, and actually putting your money where your mouth is!