The theme this week is Evolution vs. Revolution.

When is an evolution-level of change an acceptable mode for the business and when is it necessary to go big with a change that will spark a ‘revolution’?

A Lesson from My First Client

One of my first clients was running several companies, one in the US but the majority in Europe, where he spent most of his time.

After being in the US for a few months working with that business – which involved hiring me to help with their CRM development and selling effectiveness – the week before he was to leave, he wanted to talk to me in his office.

He said to me: “I am going to be gone and won’t be back for three months. While I am away, I want an evolution, not a revolution.”

He knew what I was capable of doing (a lot) and he knew what his team was capable of handling (a little, as far as change went). What he wanted was for the company to continue to adapt and grow, to do more sales with better tools. He wanted the team to do well, and only those necessary reps to be removed from the team (overall the team was comprised of tenured reps, with typically no turnover).

What he didn’t want was drama. He didn’t want to be a handful of time zones away, working on the opposite schedule, to have to manage people’s issues with change or have the company go backwards in revenue without him being there to directly keep things on track.

He wanted evolution when it came to the CRM roll out and ways to help the team to sell more and better. He wanted me to maintain the team as much as possible while helping them grow. But without anything that was a ‘shock’ to the system.

“Evolution, not revolution. Got it – I will take care of that.”

Then he left the next week.

The Outcome: Evolution Achieved

Evolution was maintained. CRM was rolled out. Team was supported through the process. Sales training and guidance on closing more of their deals was provided. Even had the turnover of a long-term manager that was not a good fit.

No revolution was trigger…no riots…no coups…no mutinies threatened.

Assessing Change: Evolution or Revolution?

For you – as a sales operations leader – when there is a necessary change to help the company maintain or to grow, you must assess if that change will trigger a revolution or if it will lead to an evolution for the team.

There are times when you cannot afford to trigger a revolution.

It could be that you don’t have the staffing to handle a portion of your team revolting and leaving.

It could be that you don’t have a strong enough culture to withstand the negativity that can occur.

It could be that you have to put things in place (play chess…looking many moves ahead, further out…instead of constantly playing checkers) now, focus on evolution or maintenance-mode, and build up for a revolution moment.

When a Restart is Necessary

There is also a third level of change: Restart.

This is where the necessary change (usually around comp plan/pay, price, terms, schedule) will lead to an absolute change-management meltdown by the team. It will be too much for them to handle, at the same time. Too many BIG changes. You know it will trigger an uprising that cannot be managed or satisfied. It will trigger what feels like a mutiny (but its not a mutiny…in a mutiny, the crew wants to get rid of the captain and take over the ship…in this case the crew wants off the ship).

Your best plan is to do a restart – completely remove the current team, and restart with a new team. This is an especially important strategy when you know that existing team members will ‘poison’ new hires with their attitudes, mindset, and stories (“things suck now, before it was easy to make money, but now they screwed it all up” type comments that you can’t keep them from making). It will be like pouring clean water into a dirty cup…it will just taint your new hires.

Conclusion: Evolution, Revolution, or Restart?

Out with the old, in with the new. Short term it is a lot of work. Long term it could be the best thing for the team and company.

Predict, plan, and execute: Evolution, Revolution, or Restart