Level Up Your Change

ChefConf 2013

Rob Cummings@opsrob

About Nordstrom

Why Change is Hard

How to Change

Two Examples

About

We strive to provide our customers with the best possible service—and

committed to improving it every day.

242 stores in 31 statesNordstrom.comNordstrom fsb

HauteLook.com

65,000 Employees1,000+ in Technology

Change is hard.

Your organization:

Is big, established, and always wins.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12426416@N00/1228875390/

Accountable for repeatable and

predictable performance

Optimized for ongoing

operations

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26782864@N00/3296379139/

1965http://www.flickr.com/photos/braintoad/2504094983/

1966

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monojussi/7598292754/

1968http://www.flickr.com/photos/55593929@N00/575999466/

1974

http://stwot.motortrend.com/files/2012/11/1974-Ford-Mustang-2-front-three-quarters.jpg

“Innovation may very well signify the future, but the performance engine is

the proven foundation, and if it crumbles, there is no future.”

– pg 13, “The Other Side of Innovation”

Instead of thinking of your performance engine as this:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/12426416@N00/1228875390/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fallentomato/3827134627/

A way to do this:

Dedicated Team

Performance Engine

Dedicated Team

The Brent Effect

Be Transparent

http://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/3349428961

The experiment works. Now what?

Back into Performance Engine

Performance Engine

Dedicated Team

Grow the dedicated team

Performance EngineDedicated Team(becomes the

Performance Engine)

Two examples:

Infrastructure Engineering

Continuous Delivery Experiment

Embrace your organization.Introduce something awesome.

Embrace your organization.Introduce something awesome.

Thanks from Nordstrom Infrastructure EngineeringJon DeCamp @jondecamp - Doug Ireton @dougireton -

Kevin Moser @moserke - Rob Cummings @opsrob