A Class Act...Late last week, I received an email from a colleague, Patti Lewandowski telling me about a book she was reading, called Our Iceberg is Melting by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber, that describes an 8-step process of successful change. 

If anyone knows about successful change, it's Patti and the other employees of Supply Chain Management Services (SCMS) in Plymouth, MI. About 6 months ago, this Unisys business unit was told that the entire organization was to be disbanded by June of 2009. Employees would be asked to help find "homes" for some of the lines of business, ensure a smooth transition and clean out a large production floor and warehouse space in preparation for a new tenant.  

And that's exactly what happened. As Patti, Director of Operations, went on to say in her email, "Speaking of change, ours is almost complete. What once was a business full of excitement is winding down in its final days. The one thing that hasn’t changed is the dedication of the people. Even as we train others to take over our services the SCMS Team is going out with pride and professionalism. Employees continue to say good-bye, wishing their co-workers all the best, returning to bust their butts doing whatever needs to be done. Every nook and cranny will soon be empty and ready for the next new tenant. We thought the building would be empty for a while, but it looks like it will fill up quickly. Payment Systems [another Unisys organization] won a fulfillment engagement that will soon replace the emptiness. Great news for our friends in Payment!"

I could talk (and I will soon) about the importance of trust, strong leadership from the top and a culture of transparency in navigating through a sea of change, but it's obvious that the tenacious, resourceful, and dedicated actions of the people of SCMS already speak volumes on the topic.