CHANGE MANAGEMENT: DRIVING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AND GROWTH

Change management speakers love to give virtual presentations and key note speeches filled with flowery prose and catchy stories about why it’s important to keep up with changes in life and business. But the truth is, it’s far simpler to do so than even they might suspect. As we found while researching a number of recent books (e.g. FAST >> FORWARD and Make Change Work for You), you don’t need to be a change management speaker or digital transformation expert to successfully adapt to unforeseen circumstances or shifts in the marketplace. It turns out that mostly you just need to change your perspective – and the way you choose to approach any given scenario.

Topic: What Does it Really Mean to Think Outside the Box?

Scenario: Contrary to popular belief, innovation is just a matter of perspective, all about the lens through which you view challenges, and founded more frequently in simple changes that can make a bit impact, not huge game-changing ideas. Everyone also has the power to exercise it.

Insight: As change management speakers would do well to note, simple shifts in presentation, packaging, or how you choose to repurpose or reutilize existing capabilities and resources (or promote them to new audiences or adjacent markets) can help you score huge wins in business without having to reinvent the wheel. Likewise, it’s important to give your people the ability to speak up, take action, and test new ideas frequently, learning from them and improving their strategies as more information is gained at every turn. That means having to be deliberate about putting programs and platforms (e.g. entrepreneurship contests, open innovation portals, etc.) in place that can help you accelerate and scale these efforts. Likewise, it also means having to teach people to “think differently” – if you’re thinking right, there are no boxes in place to begin with.

Topic: Driving Organizational Change: Mastering the Art of Change Management

Scenario: Change management doesn’t have to be as difficult, costly, or time-consuming as you might suspect when you embrace a few simple principles, and champion a love for constant learning and growth from the highest executive levels on down. Likewise, making it work (as change management speakers frequently note) is all about teaching staff to be more proactive, and think like leaders at every turn, even if they’re not typically designated as leaders by their job title.

Insight: Businesses successfully adapt to ongoing change by learning to be more flexible, agile, and adaptable, and putting the capabilities, resources, and programs in place that they need to stay well-attuned to the marketplace and shifting customer habits, and quickly adjust their approach in turn. To be successful at change management, organizations also have to effect a culture shift as well, and trust and empower their workforce more, while also creating opportunities for them to take safe, cost-productive, and effective risks that grow their learning and capabilities.