When an Evolution Is Not Enough

In an article titled Evolution and Revolution by Elisée Reclus, the author explains the word Evolution is “synonymous with gradual and continuous development” while Revolution “implies changes more or less sudden in their action, and entailing some sort of catastrophe.”  I bring this up because, while I was at Fusion 13, I participated in a conversation that I thought was going to be about the evolution of the IT Service Management industry.  I was mistaken.  It was the beginning of a Service Management Revolution.

While at the conference, I joined a small gathering where several service management industry leaders met to begin discussing ways to make IT Service Management better.  Not only did I get to meet many exceptional individuals, I also learned what these luminaries were setting out to do.  They were not striving to achieve an evolution but a revolution.  Throughout the rest of the conference I discussed ideas with several of the ‘Revolutionaries,’ such as Deborah Anthony, Charles Araujo, Roy Atkinson, Patrick Bolger, Chris Dancy, Matt Hooper, Mark Smalley, and Paul Wilkinson among many others.

On the last day of the conference, and the last session before the closing keynote, a gathering of about two dozen industry experts lined the front of the room, and several others were among the audience.  And they declared the Revolution.  They began with a call to action and the announcement of the formation of a Congress to represent the ideals they were presenting.  (Please note, the purpose of a Congress is to represent the beliefs and desires of those they are representing.  I point this out, as they did, because of the potential some may have a different view of Congress based on what, some might argue, has been happening with the current US Congress lately.)

The ‘Revolutionaries’ were clear that it was not their intent to tell us how this should go.  In fact, just the opposite.  They were eager and interested in soliciting as many opinions as possible.  They convinced me they truly want to make the service management industry better for all: practitioners, consultants, vendors, leaders, executives, educators, and, of course, customers.

Because the goals may seem radical to some, it makes sense to call this a revolution, not an evolution.  Per one ‘Revolutionary’ I spoke with, the goal is not to make small changes to make things a little better.  The idea is to blow up what is mostly done today and to do it better.

The ‘Revolutionaries’ offered the following Core Values:

While there is clearly value to the items on the right, and we need to establish a certain amount of those, their purpose is to achieve the items on the left, which are valued far more.

As a consultant who makes a living helping companies establish best practices, I was concerned about this, at first.  In the end, I see the ‘Revolution’ helping me, and others, make companies better.  I signed the declaration.  I wonder, when Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington decided we needed the American Revolution to make our country better, if they felt the same trepidation combined with elation that I have felt since becoming a part of this ‘Revolution’.

If you are a service management professional and would like more information, you can find it here.  You can become involved, too.  The more people that get involved, the better the outcome will be.  Harry Truman once said, “It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.”  I believe that the results of this ‘Revolution’ can be amazing and I, for one, will be happy to play my part in it.