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Leading Change

You’ve seen them on store shelves. Maybe you even use some in your home,

office, or dorm room. We’re talking about those squiggly bulbs that cost

four or five dollars but promise to last fi ve times as long as bulbs that cost
less than a buck—and help save the environment in the process.

Compact fluorescent bulbs that fit in standard light fixtures have been

around for more than 20 years. Yet two-thirds of the lighting technology used

in homes and offices today dates to before 1960, practically the dark ages as
far as leaders at Philips Electronics NV, the world’s largest lighting manufac-

turer, are concerned. Philips invented the compact fluorescent bulb in the early
1980s and has been trying ever since to get people to use it. The company has
spent millions on research and development and millions more on market-
ing, yet most consumers still reach for the familiar bell-shaped incandescent
bulb. The higher up-front cost has been a major turn-off for many consum-
ers, as well as for builders, organizations, and city governments. Yet equally

significant is that the bulbs just don’t look right. Recent versions of compact
fluorescents look more like an old-fashioned light bulb, but they still conjure

up in people’s minds the idea that the light they produce won’t be as desirable.

When the bulbs first came out, they indeed emitted light that was not as warm
and inviting as that of incandescent bulbs. Years of research have solved that
problem, but many people still associate fluorescent lighting with harsh offi ce

settings and don’t want to use the bulbs in their homes.
Philips, as well as rival lighting makers General Electric (GE) and Siemens,
have embarked on a massive campaign to make the compact fl uorescent
bulb—which uses 75 percent to 80 percent less electricity to produce the
same amount of light as an incandescent bulb—the fi rst choice for lighting
homes, offices, public buildings, and street lamps around the world. GE,

for example, teamed up with Wal-Mart for displays that educate consum-

ers about compact fluorescents. Philips is sending marketers to talk to city
governments around the globe. All three companies are offering rebates and
special offers. How many marketing campaigns does it take to get people to
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change a light bulb? The answer remains to be discovered.
Companies produce new products and services every day, and many
have been huge successes. Yet the story of compact fl uorescent light bulbs
illustrates that getting people to change long-entrenched habits—whether it
be changing their style of light bulb or changing the way they work together
in an organization—is not easy. The hard fact is that most people don’t like
change. By some estimates, two-thirds of all organizational change efforts
fail. Scientifi c studies suggest that people tend to resist change even when
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their lives depend on it. Ninety percent of patients who have had coronary
artery bypass surgery, for example, don’t change their lifestyle habits, even
for seemingly simple changes. 3
Within organizations, leaders almost always encounter some degree of
resistance when they attempt to implement changes. However, change is neces-
sary if organizations are to survive and thrive. Leaders in many organizations,
from small companies such as Gemmy Industries, which invented infl atable
holiday yard fi gures, to major corporations such as Boeing and large govern-
ment agencies such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA),
have had to reconceptualize almost every aspect of how they do business to
meet the changing needs of customers or clients, keep employees motivated
and satisfied, and remain effective and competitive in a complex, global

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