Changing fast is hard, but has never been more important. While your existing organization likely excels at ongoing incremental improvement, executing on innovative ideas aimed at leveling up your capabilities can be met with resistance. We'll talk about why that is and show one way to implement this type of change, with some real examples and lessons learned along the way. More details available here: http://robiscool.com/blog/2013/04/28/chefconf-2013-keynote-level-up-your-change/

1. Level Up Your
Change
ChefConf 2013
Rob Cummings
@opsrob

2. About Nordstrom
Why Change is Hard
How to Change
Two Examples

3. About

5. We strive to provide our customers
with the best possible service—and
committed to improving it every day.

7. 242 stores in 31 states
Nordstrom.com
Nordstrom fsb
HauteLook.com
65,000 Employees
1,000+ in Technology

8. Change is hard.

9. Your organization:

10. Is big, established, and always wins.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12426416@N00/1228875390/

12. Accountable for
repeatable and
predictable
performance
Optimized for
ongoing
operations
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26782864@N00/3296379139/

13. 1965
http://www.flickr.com/photos/braintoad/2504094983/

14. 1966
http://www.flickr.com/photos/monojussi/7598292754/

15. 1968
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55593929@N00/575999466/

16. 1974
http://stwot.motortrend.com/files/2012/11/1974-Ford-Mustang-2-front-three-quarters.jpg

17. “Innovation may very well signify the
future, but the performance engine is
the proven foundation, and if it
crumbles, there is no future.”
– pg 13, “The Other Side of Innovation”

18. Instead of thinking of your performance engine as this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/12426416@N00/1228875390/

19. http://www.flickr.com/photos/fallentomato/3827134627/

20. A way to do this:

21. Dedicated Team
Performance Engine
Dedicated Team

22. The Brent Effect

23. Be Transparent
http://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/3349428961

24. The experiment works. Now what?

25. Back into Performance Engine
Performance Engine
Dedicated Team

26. Grow the dedicated team
Performance Engine
Dedicated Team
(becomes the
Performance Engine)

27. Two examples:

28. Infrastructure Engineering

29. Continuous Delivery Experiment

30. Embrace your organization.
Introduce something awesome.

31. Embrace your organization.
Introduce something awesome.
Thanks from Nordstrom Infrastructure Engineering
Jon DeCamp @jondecamp - Doug Ireton @dougireton -
Kevin Moser @moserke - Rob Cummings @opsrob