Change agents: They never really retire
As the various academic committees get into full action mode for 2012-13, there’s a presence we’re missing, but his impact remains intact and ongoing. Harvey Shrednick recently retired from his second career as a faculty member in the department of information systems. Shrednick worked for three Fortune 500 companies for over 33 years before joining W. P. Carey in 1995. The timing was right for a change agent, and Harvey was just that. In a recent visit to Shrednick’s mountain home, Michael Goul discovered that change agents like Harvey Shrednick never fully retire.
By Michael Goul, chairman, Department of Information Systems
As our various academic committees get into full action mode for 2012-13, there’s a presence we’re missing, but his impact remains intact and ongoing. I’m referring to Harvey Shrednick, who recently retired from his second career as a faculty member in the Department of Information Systems. Harvey worked for three Fortune 500 companies for over 33 years before joining us in 1995. He had just retired from Corning Incorporated after 10 years as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Prior to that, he worked in leadership positions at Nabisco Brands and the Clairol Division of Bristol-Myers Company. He also served as President of the Society for Information Management, the premier international organization for IT executives.
Upon leaving the business world, Harvey sought a position leading to a new kind of work, and our Information Systems programs were in need of redesign to better address the career needs of aspiring IS undergraduate, MBA and Master of Science in Information Management students. The timing was right for bringing a change agent onboard at ASU.
D. Stevenson blogged some time ago that there are the book definitions for a change agent (“someone who alters human capability or organizational systems to achieve a higher degree of output or self actualization”) — and then, he wrote, there are explanations for how it feels to be a change agent. Stevenson was writing in reference to what IT professionals feel when they leverage technology to change organizations. He comments that an IT change agent lives in the future - not the present, is fueled by passion and inspires passion, is self-motivated and understands people. The book definition of change agent describes Harvey and the sustaining change he brought about in our IS Department — but I wondered what it felt like to be in his shoes. Was Stevenson right about how change agents feel?
I recently visited Harvey and Sandy at their beautiful summer home in a cool, mountain area covered with Arizona pine trees — complete with a view to die for. I tried to ask him some of his feelings as he worked towards the changes he steered us into. (I know, this sounds just like how an academic researcher would approach it.)
I wanted to learn how Harvey felt when he emphatically told us we had to seek out the right mix of industry partners and wholly engage a professional Executive Advisory Board in all facets of evaluating our programs, to ensure that our research doesn’t get too impractical and out of touch. And that we needed to meet with these executives at least a couple of times per year.
When Harvey didn’t think we did enough in project management for our undergraduate students, he just started up an elective course and began to bring in major movers and shakers from Phoenix metro area businesses to give students the real scoop. Enrollments quickly exploded.
He taught a dual MBA/MSIM class in emerging technologies and brought in, for example, a speaker from Google after taught a case on Google — just so students could learn about what really happened after the written case had been published.
I followed my research instincts to extract pseudo-protocol data for my change agent analysis during that visit with Harvey. But my whole approach just flat out didn't work.
Harvey kept repeating to me that we need to immediately go to work this fall on getting our Master of Science in Information Management alumni — who are out there in the Phoenix metro-area in large numbers now -- back into our classes to speak to current students about what it is all really about as you move up the ladder: how their educational preparation shaped them, what they were taught that helped them — and what didn’t.
In the midst of our discussion — even as Harvey made sure I understood this most recent directive — I did learn that he was recently elected president of the homeowners association in his summer home community as well as a director of the master association board serving his primary home in Phoenix.
So, here’s the conclusion to my change agent research project, albeit with a sample size of one subject and a failed methodology:
Change agents don’t retire. To our benefit, they keep on doing what they do, they make sure you get what they are telling you before you can get away, and they are adept at always finding new projects to scope, shape and perfect. They probably won’t tell you how they feel because they won’t take the time — after all, they are busy working to change the world around them for the better.
Thanks for everything, Harvey — and enjoy your retirement, change agent style!
As our various academic committees get into full action mode for 2012-13, there’s a presence we’re missing, but his impact remains intact and ongoing. I’m referring to Harvey Shrednick, who recently retired from his second career as a faculty member in the Department of Information Systems. Harvey worked for three Fortune 500 companies for over 33 years before joining us in 1995. He had just retired from Corning Incorporated after 10 years as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Prior to that, he worked in leadership positions at Nabisco Brands and the Clairol Division of Bristol-Myers Company. He also served as President of the Society for Information Management, the premier international organization for IT executives.
Upon leaving the business world, Harvey sought a position leading to a new kind of work, and our Information Systems programs were in need of redesign to better address the career needs of aspiring IS undergraduate, MBA and Master of Science in Information Management students. The timing was right for bringing a change agent onboard at ASU.
D. Stevenson blogged some time ago that there are the book definitions for a change agent (“someone who alters human capability or organizational systems to achieve a higher degree of output or self actualization”) — and then, he wrote, there are explanations for how it feels to be a change agent. Stevenson was writing in reference to what IT professionals feel when they leverage technology to change organizations. He comments that an IT change agent lives in the future - not the present, is fueled by passion and inspires passion, is self-motivated and understands people. The book definition of change agent describes Harvey and the sustaining change he brought about in our IS Department — but I wondered what it felt like to be in his shoes. Was Stevenson right about how change agents feel?
I recently visited Harvey and Sandy at their beautiful summer home in a cool, mountain area covered with Arizona pine trees — complete with a view to die for. I tried to ask him some of his feelings as he worked towards the changes he steered us into. (I know, this sounds just like how an academic researcher would approach it.)
I wanted to learn how Harvey felt when he emphatically told us we had to seek out the right mix of industry partners and wholly engage a professional Executive Advisory Board in all facets of evaluating our programs, to ensure that our research doesn’t get too impractical and out of touch. And that we needed to meet with these executives at least a couple of times per year.
When Harvey didn’t think we did enough in project management for our undergraduate students, he just started up an elective course and began to bring in major movers and shakers from Phoenix metro area businesses to give students the real scoop. Enrollments quickly exploded.
He taught a dual MBA/MSIM class in emerging technologies and brought in, for example, a speaker from Google after taught a case on Google — just so students could learn about what really happened after the written case had been published.
I followed my research instincts to extract pseudo-protocol data for my change agent analysis during that visit with Harvey. But my whole approach just flat out didn't work.
Harvey kept repeating to me that we need to immediately go to work this fall on getting our Master of Science in Information Management alumni — who are out there in the Phoenix metro-area in large numbers now -- back into our classes to speak to current students about what it is all really about as you move up the ladder: how their educational preparation shaped them, what they were taught that helped them — and what didn’t.
In the midst of our discussion — even as Harvey made sure I understood this most recent directive — I did learn that he was recently elected president of the homeowners association in his summer home community as well as a director of the master association board serving his primary home in Phoenix.
So, here’s the conclusion to my change agent research project, albeit with a sample size of one subject and a failed methodology:
Change agents don’t retire. To our benefit, they keep on doing what they do, they make sure you get what they are telling you before you can get away, and they are adept at always finding new projects to scope, shape and perfect. They probably won’t tell you how they feel because they won’t take the time — after all, they are busy working to change the world around them for the better.
Thanks for everything, Harvey — and enjoy your retirement, change agent style!
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