Managing Organizational Change in Kazakhstan: In the rush to implement organizational changes, companies often don’t take the time to prepare their employees for change – and pay dearly.

In 2005 I had one of the most profound career experiences of my life. I was facilitating a Organizational Effectiveness project for a major California company in their Kazakhstan operation, and was holding a meeting on my second day on the job (on a side note, it was 120 degrees outside, and on its way getting hotter). In the conference room were about 20 or so employees of the company, from Europe, Russia, China, Kazakhstan, and the US. There were also about 5 interpreters in the room to ensure everyone understood what was being said and to make themselves understood. Not only was I like a “deer in the headlights’ from being across the globe literally in another world, but it was daunting to consider how I was going to ensure that all of these diverse individuals were aligned and in support of the goals of the project. Well, I could not believe what unfolded.