From time to time, on account of market or other global business requirements and in order to achieve internal production and financial efficiencies, businesses implement strategic large-scale change initiatives for growth and sustainability. I had the privilege of consulting for a large multi-national company who was undergoing such a change. The company, in a couple…
In our current turbulent business environment, organisations worldwide are finding it necessary to adapt to ever-changing financial circumstances, revisit product offerings for more nuanced customer needs and strive for innovation and creative solutions to stay ahead of the game. The quest for sustainable growth requires the adoption of new technologies, process re-engineering, restructuring, culture change…
“The fundamental response to change is not logical, but emotional” (Tom DeMarco) The current world socio-political and economic contexts are dismal, to say the least – financial analysts and the World Bank continue to predict slow growth, volatile markets, and the possibility of a longer or deeper recession than was first suggested. Governments are attempting…
In previous and perhaps more stable eras, transformation in business was not that important, or seemingly so. The name of the game was securing a strong market position and retaining it. As John P Kotter notes in “The Heart of Change”, this philosophy underpinning business security was “build a big moat around a castle, keep…
“Move out of your comfort zone. You only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new” (Brian Tracey) In an accelerating, disrupted and challenged world, change visions are becoming more stretched of necessity. More and more executives, in their ongoing quest to become industry leaders or having a…
While most of us are quite pleased that 2020 is finally over – it was a rough year – and all of us are looking forward to the promise of new opportunities in 2021, we need to view this fresh year with both a degree of circumspection, as well as a heart filled with hope….
2020 has been a year like no other – some are even saying: “It’s the end of the world as we know it”. People have endured hardships everywhere. The COVID-19 pandemic has been pervasive with virtually no-one left untouched. Lives and livelihoods have been lost. Economies are under huge strain. The prospects for any quick…
Steve Goodier, Methodist minister and author of “One Minute Can Change a Life” (and a number of other books), tells the story of one of the greatest of USA story-tellers, Abraham Lincoln, related by the president during the American Civil War. A delegation of well-meaning patriots tried to impress upon the president the gravity of…
For effective organisational change initiatives to be realised within a company, the success of the intended intervention requires a select group of people representative of all levels in the company who model the expected new behaviours, advocate the change benefits and campaign others to get on board. Changing behaviours and relinquishing old habits for new…
Organisational change and growth is seldom produced by a once-off event – employees need time to acclimatise to new expectations and to digest new learning. Behaviour change requires a strategy of ongoing modelling of “the new way we do things around here” and consistent reflection on “why” we have embarked on this journey. In other…
There may be great excitement for most people when moving to a new place of residence – usually an upgrade on what one had previously – but this excitement is typically counter-balanced by the arduous task of packing and unpacking, sorting and throwing out and coping with a messy environment. Of particular irritation is the…
One of the major challenges in change initiatives, whether small or large in impact, is to deal with resistance amongst managers and employees. Even though resistance to change is a natural human phenomenon, resistance typically hinders progress and subsequently alignment to the new direction – it therefore needs to be addressed. One of the ways…
