How Change Has … Changed

I wrote about change previously, but as we enter this new year, I am hearing more and more stories from businesses and leaders about how change feels different these days. That is because it is different. I can recall the days in business when in a certain quarter of the year we would map out our strategic plans for change that would occur the next year. In Q2 we would identify what we wanted to change. In Q3 we would pressure test and align the impacts and run the scenarios. In Q4 all numbers were entered into the systems to perform the final approval before being entered into next year’s budget. Sequential. Logical. Timed. Anticipated.

In today’s world there is the perpetual motion of the Change Rubik’s Cube, where the interdependencies are complex, the risks hidden, the confidence for success is low, the business triggers are ever-changing and the whole process of change feels like nailing Jello to the wall.

I hear from leaders that they don’t know how to navigate this new world, that they don’t know how to stay focused, or what to say to their teams. My response is that they probably do know, but it can be a matter of reframing the situation, rethinking how we sequence priorities, relying on what has worked in the past with an eye on continuous evolution to be successful in the future. Much like working a Rubik’s Cube.

Leaders and organizations have been through change before, just not at the pace of today’s world. I encourage them to think through the times when they have planned and navigated change well. What was going on that made it successful? What conditions were in place? What skills were used, etc. Then we look at the future, what are the range of scenarios they are having to navigate now or be prepare for? What are the components of each of those situations? Are the components similar, but the pace has changed, or are the situations new and untested? Can we reconfigure skill sets or do we need new ones? How can all of this happen to keep up with the pace of change?

It tends to end up being a bit of both, and through a structured engagement I help them identify what they need to be successful for who they are in the marketplace and where they want to go. It is possible. It simply takes some redesigning of what was to enable them to see what can be.