What did Frankel do wrong?
1. Didn’t establish trustworthy relationships with Lebedev(the head of Russian subsidiary)
2. Pushed too hard at the very beginning (insisting on the office next to Lebedev’s)
3. Didn’t take his wife with him (had to travel a lot and missed some events)
Recommendations:
Adapted from Kurt Lewin’s Model
Unfreeze Unfreezing/ Refreeze
Stability Change Stability
Chaos
Undesired Unpredictability Desired
Situation No control
Confusing
Situation
Loss-Attachment n
1. Establish sense of urgency
a. Should have expressed the disapproval upper management had with this branch.
b. Warn of consequences if numbers did not improve.
2. Create guiding Coalition
a. Nadia (head of HR): She had the inside knowledge of company culture and the ability to
recruit others for coalition.
b. Someone above Lebedev: This would prevent Lebedev from speaking out against Pierre
c. Neutralize those who stand against the change.
3. Communicating the vision
Vision wasn’t openly and frequently communicated to the employees. The employees’ goals
need to be in sync with the organizational goals for better performance.
4. Aligning Goals
He had to surmount the huge challenge of changing the way the employees thought and
worked , to make the work environment full of energy, collaboration and trust for each other
which would help achieve the goals for which he had taken up the assignment.
5. Before any change can occur, the employees must believe the change is needed.
6. Very important for him to understand the ‘ soul’ of Russia