How Microsoft is making the

culture change to Lean

Cindy Alvarez
@cindyalvarez
How do you change a culture of 8,000
people across the world?
https://thenounproject.com/kozin
https://thenounproject.com/mordariu
NO:
Top-down mandate
Organic bottom-up adoption
Consistent roll-out to everyone
Flip the switch
TRY:
Set cultural expectations
Experiment
Offer different paths
Embrace skepticism
Highlight best practices
Practitioner evangelists
QUESTIONS:
Is your budget tiny, big, or non-existent?
Do you have top-down executive support?
Are you under a deadline?
How skeptical are people?
What types of expertise do people trust?
What we’ve tried
Pros and cons
Investment required

https://thenounproject.com/crumen
If you want to be a gardener, start by
keeping a potted plant alive.

https://thenounproject.com/deepika8
MVP: We sent a team through an external
startup accelerator program

https://thenounproject.com/Bloom
Plant a few seeds early so you can
watch how they grow.

https://thenounproject.com/yummin
MVP iteration: We shortened the training and
brought it in-house

https://thenounproject.com/zidney0
Endorsing cultural change from top-
down is necessary (but not sufficient)

https://thenounproject.com/korawan_
Endorsing cultural change: Workshops for all
of senior leadership, attendance expected

https://thenounproject.com/grega.cresn
Propagate faster growth through
cuttings.

https://thenounproject.com/suji.rs1
Coaching: Teams embedded with internal
customer development ‘experts’

https://thenounproject.com/jmkeuni
Every plant has different ideal growing
conditions.

https://thenounproject.com/julia.kita
Customize: Meet small teams where they are
today

https://thenounproject.com/lerem
After some progress, there’s
still an uphill battle.

Now what?

https://thenounproject.com/lerem
Foster community: Peer mentoring to share
best practices

https://thenounproject.com/lerem
Share the love: Newsletter to praise the
people who are learning and taking risks

https://thenounproject.com/wkwan
Try a ninja: Bring in an expert with minimal
constraints

https://thenounproject.com/lerem
What will happen next? We
don’t know.

We are learning to embrace

uncertainty.

Let’s learn from each other…

cindy@cindyalvarez.com
@cindyalvarez
https://thenounproject.com/Ryaaa
MVP: We sent a team through an external
startup accelerator program

‘Air cover’ from judgment Major time commitment

Permission to break from ‘normal’ ‘Not invented here’
behaviors Best for net-new projects
Created evangelists Not scalable
Minimal upfront
administration/planning
Aha! epiphanies
MVP iteration: We shortened the training and
brought it in-house

Less time commitment Still best for net-new projects

Adapted for our reality Less ‘air cover’ for learning
Taught by internal employees = new behaviors
more credibility More philosophy than practice
Easier to bring to other locations Required dedicated
employees
Endorsing cultural change: Workshops for all
of senior leadership, attendance expected

If the EVP cares about this, you One-time only

should too
More philosophy than practice
Allows leaders to express Generalized by necessity
skepticism openly
Taught by internal employee =
more credibility
Coaching: Teams embedded with internal
customer development ‘experts’

Hands-on practice Substantial time commitment

Learning from peers Requires prep work
Aha! Epiphanies Scheduling is tricky
Customized experience Not scalable
Customize: Meet small teams where they are
today

Customized experience Requires a trainer with improv

skills
Freedom to be skeptical
High empowerment ROI for low Not scalable
time commitment Pull, not push