OBM: A View from the Field
by Leslie Wilk Braksick, Ph.D., Cofounder and Chairman, CLG, Inc. www.clg.com

The world of work has never before needed Behavior Analysis more than it needs it now.

Regardless of what seat in the company you occupy, the challenges are very real and very deep. Issues of—

• globalization (including managing employees remotely, partnering well across time zones–languages–cultures–work processes, working for someone you rarely see or talk with voice-to-voice)
• top-line and bottom-line growth expectations—simultaneously (increasing revenue/sales, while also improving profitability and lowering costs)
• integrating mergers and forming new cultures—overnight
• implementing changes in supplier/customer expectations
• executing new strategies that require things to be done differently—overnight

—all of these require shifts in behavior, and in the contingencies that operate around behavior.

There is not a company out there who is not negatively affected by the price of oil at an unprecedented high. Fixed expenses of suppliers and manufacturers to transport their goods, manufacture their products, heat their facilities have risen dramatically. For many, this is occurring at a time when they cannot increase prices on the other end to offset these higher operating costs. If they do nothing differently, they stand to lose margin, which is not an option. Therefore, it is business-critical for suppliers and manufacturers to figure out how to cut (other) costs, improve productivity, and/or change the way they work to improve performance and help offset some of the negative effects of their increased costs.

AND, the challenges don’t end there. Add to these external marketplace challenges the many internal issues—such as the bulging numbers of leaders and managers who will retire in the next 3 to 5 years (a huge knowledge drain that is occurring in most major companies today). This will forever change the culture of these organizations. Those leaders are not going to be replaced by leaders whose loyalty exceeds their own personal desires, which aptly describes the retiring 55+ and 60-somethings.

Rather, the workforce of the future, comprising 20-, 30-, and 40-somethings, includes folks who are motivated by different contingencies than their predecessors. They largely view work as a transactional partnership, and are seeking flexibility and performance-reward contract agreements that their forefathers never dared to imagine, let alone ask for. There is a reciprocity expectation by employees toward their employers—and an expectation for involvement/input into decisions, work assignments, and how work gets done. Researchers are predicting that employees of the future will work for no fewer than seven companies in their careers.

SO why aren’t the phones of all OBM-trained Behavior Analysts ringing off the hook?

After all, we see so clearly through the scenarios above. Lots of old behaviors need to change. Lots of new ones are needed. Changing contingencies. Conflicting consequence systems. We see it, understand it, and can help address it. So why aren’t they calling us?

The answer is quite simple, actually. I don’t think they know we exist. And I am not sure that our behaviors sufficiently prompt their calling.

If we really wanted them to call us . . . WE would probably change our behaviors. We would use different antecedents with them—so we speak in language that is meaningful to them, without compromising the integrity of the science. We would focus on understanding the behaviors inside companies that need to be changed—and use stories and examples around those behaviors—that would illustrate in words they understand, how the science could help them.

If we really wanted to do this well—we would require business 101 courses for our graduate students who want futures in the OBM field—so they would understand clearly how to read a Profit and Loss Statement; what increasing shareholder value means and how it is calculated; and so they would understand clearly the economics of business. We would help our graduates acquire new terminology, new skills, and fluency in the application of the science of human behavior to the world of business—and see things through the eyes of our clients. We would require them to demonstrate fluency around how to talk about behavior analysis with lay people (vs. peers with similar or more advanced behavioral training).

We would collaborate with urgency—across consulting firms and academic environments. We would recognize and respect the value that each brings—and work hard to learn from one another—and advance our work, respectively, based on those.

I think we would do a lot of things differently—beginning with turning the science on ourselves. Perhaps we would begin measuring the most basic impact of OBM by discerning who knows that the field even exists? Or maybe we would jump to measuring how broadly the concepts and principles were being applied in organizational settings. We might even begin tracking how many companies had adopted/embraced behavior-based solutions to their biggest challenges. If we want new results (e.g., more companies reaching out to us for help), I think we need to apply the ABCs to our own behaviors—and be ready to make some changes.

The best role model for how to do this well rests with the Behavioral Safety practitioners.

The Behavioral Safety practitioners decided to change their behaviors—and their language—and the antecedents and consequences for their client’s behaviors. They did so years ago—and it has really paid off. The Behavioral Safety field has its own name, nomenclature, and is recognized by most companies as core to ensuring they achieve/maintain safe operating environments within their companies. When you say “behavioral safety” in most large companies, they know what you are talking about. And they know there are several places they can go to get this expertise.

The Behavioral Safety practitioners changed the language they used without compromising the science. They simplified the models. They packaged things in a way that made them easy to understand, easy to purchase, easy to apply, and easy to measure impact. They developed supporting communications tools. They made measurement easier—but did not compromise the importance of data. They looked at their approach through the lenses of the folks whose behavior they were trying to target—and were willing to shift the antecedents and consequences to ensure these behaviors tied to improving safety performance, and happened with greater frequency and reliability. It worked, and it worked well.

We owe a large debt of thanks to Scott Geller, Tom Krause, Terry McSween, and others for pioneering behavioral interventions in corporate America to impact safety behaviors. They have paved the way for us all. BUT that’s just the tip of the iceberg. What about the areas beyond safety that companies so desperately need our help with?

We must learn from our own Behavioral Safety predecessors and ask ourselves what new behaviors we must exhibit to engage more folks in using our behavioral tools to change the way the world of work, works.

Aubrey Daniels has been doing this for decades, with his firm’s courses and programs in Performance Management. Aubrey was a pioneer in his day for taking the science out to the corporate world through his books and courses—and went as far as publishing Performance Management Magazine, which profiled the successes and case examples of their clients.

Paul Brown is another role model for us to learn from. Paul developed a behavioral leadership course called “Coaching for Team Effectiveness (CFTE)” and taught the ABCs to many through corporate managerial education programs. His CFTE course was wrapped around the popular movie “Hoosiers” and did a wonderful job teaching the core principles of OBM in a fun and engaging format.

CLG is another organization of Behavior Analysts and business people trained in behavior analysis who are spending their days and nights in the world’s largest companies—helping leaders at all levels tackle their biggest strategic challenges using behavioral solutions. CLG is helping companies integrate organizations post-merger, develop leadership capability, and improve speed-to-market and bottom-line performance.

At CLG, we have had to adjust how we speak—and what we call our work. We have had to find ways to teach what we do—using words and examples that make sense to our clients/prospects. We’ve had to simplify our models—and behavioralize things such as “communications,” “change management,” and “gaining buy-in” from our clients. We’ve had to start where the clients are—not where our methodology would like to have them start. And while our approaches have not always been embraced by the core behavioral community, we are clearly making headway in the corporate world with employees who believe they have learned and are successfully applying the science of human behavior to how they lead and manage—and to how they help their companies perform better.

And CLG is not alone. Many of our clients—including Chevron, CIGNA, Bechtel, and others—have taken our work with them and extended it on their own—not compromising the science at all. Companies such as Liberty Mutual and Pfizer have trained Behavior Analysts on staff because they are using behavioral methods to affect their bottom-line performance. And of course, other individual behavioral consultants are out there, doing very good work.

Each of us, with any track record of success in applying OBM in corporate settings, would say that we have had to adjust many aspects of what we learned in graduate school—to start where our clients are—and to help them achieve success on their terms.

AND . . . It’s working. The really exciting news is, IT IS WORKING!

In 1993, when CLG was founded, we had six employees and were working in three major companies. Today we have 140 consultants and have touched over 70 companies during our 13 years in business. And we are barely making a dent in the potential need. All of us who exist today, combined, are not enough to have the impact we want and the impact the world needs.

The business world needs our collective help. We can make a difference. I would go so far as to say we have an ethical obligation to disseminate a science we know works—and can help companies perform better. We must be willing to communicate differently with the business world, and not withhold from them a science that we know can positively impact their results and their work environments.

But, we must be willing to first apply the science to ourselves. We must ask, “Are we doing everything in our power to learn from one another and help connect client’s needs with our tools and methodologies? How can we change our language, our understanding of the client’s challenges, and ultimately, how can we change the breadth and depth of our impact in the business world?”

We will know we’re there when we overcome perceived competition among ourselves and demonstrate respect for one another’s role in advancing the science and field—collaborating actively and freely—across consulting firms and academic environments. If we are successful, no one firm or academic program will dominate the field. It will look more like the medical field—or like the Quality/Six Sigma landscape—where there are many suppliers of education programs and consulting solutions that bring the science of human behavior to the mainstream.

At my address at ABA, 2006, I will share with you some examples of how CLG is applying behavior analysis in business today—and you will hear, in the voice of several of our clients, how they have come to rely on behavioral tools and techniques as their “secret weapons for business success.”

It is my hope that it will get you considering . . . how we can change our words, our actions, our behaviors, our collaboration with and respect for one another’s work . . . and how each of us can help maximize the impact OBM can have in the world of business today. They need us all—and they need us now.

About the Author

Leslie Wilk Braksick, Ph.D. is the Cofounder and Chairman of CLG, a global behavioral consulting firm of more than 140 consultants who work in large corporate settings to help improve business performance, culture, and leadership effectiveness. Dr. Braksick received her Master’s Degree in Industrial Psychology (1987) and her Doctorate in Applied Behavior Analysis (1990) from Western Michigan University.

She is the author of Unlock Behavior, Unleash Profits (2000, McGraw Hill), which spent six months on the CEO bestseller list. Her articles have appeared in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, Investor’s Business Daily, CIO Magazine, Pittsburgh Business Times, The Conference Board publications, and other Human Resource publications. She is also published in the Handbook of Organizational Performance, Behavior Analysis and Management, Johnson, Mawhinney, and Redmon (2001, Haworth)

Leslie Braksick can be reached at lbraksick@clg.com