Business & Change: Unique or One?

“Do you have a minute?” A question I often hear from clients and colleagues when they are in the middle of implementing a business solution and have hit that point when the project feels like it’s dragging its feet, the team is hesitating or confused, the business is sensing risk, or clarity is needed. The question is often followed by “I think we need to bring in change management now”.

After a good discussion we arrive at what can be done at this stage, but it is also recognized that change is something that starts when someone says, “what if ….” The moment we even begin thinking of something new, inherently change begins.

Businesses that understand that change begins the moment we ask a question, and continue to explore questions about what might be, especially in the early vision stage – the companies that don’t get too far over their skis before bringing a variety of stakeholders in to explore the story lines – those are the companies most likely to sustain the change they desire to see.

In business there is risk of thinking change will ‘just happen’. If we explain it well enough, provide ‘the why’, people will understand and support it. If we build it, they will come. But change has many interconnected parts. There are the business, people, and process layers and change, well changes, over the arc of any event. What is experienced as change at the beginning will be different than the change experienced at the end.

When I have seen change managed well it has simply been part of the conversation from beginning to end. It wasn’t a phase unto itself, it wasn’t a separate function, but rather holistically recognized from the beginning and part of every conversation throughout the process.  All stakeholders were invited to hear the concept and ask the business, people, process questions. Stakeholder involvement could then be determined collectively, but mostly by them, as to when and how they should be involved. But a representative from each area always participated in each stage-end review to ensure a consistent, holistic oversight to the project.

Change truly is the only constant and we conduct better business when we incorporate it into ever conversation we have.