How Does One Navigate Change?

1 Organizations Grow and Change Only When People Grow and ChangeEvery company struggles with change and new ways to grow Many specialists help them on the way forward which often result in three very necessary steps which are a Strategy b Mergers ampampAcquisitions and c Reorganization While essential these three things are just plansMichael Tyson said quotEveryone has a plan till they get punched in the facequotBoards and leadership of firms come quickly to the realization that everything is easy until people get in the way Telling people that change is good threatening them with job loss if they do not change or creating communication materials and slogans to goad them into a cultlike devotion to the new leader or the way forward rarely works in the short run and will likely fail after the threat of flagellation fades Because if there is nothing in it for them people will outwit outwait outpretend and outmaneuver quotmanagementquot Until then they will fill the time genuflecting and bowing and going through the monitored motions of attending the right meetings muttering the motivational mantras and stating the slogans requiredThe three questions talent want to know in addition to what the strategy is the acquisition plan and the reorganization plan are Why are the recommended changes good for their personal growth What are the monetary or other incentives to change When and where will training be provided to help them learn the new skills needed2 The Duality of Change Embrace Technology and Upgrade TalentThese are the two key drivers and both are required at the same timeFantastic silicon tech with mediocre carbon human talent or vice versa are unlikely to succeed Talented people in a good culture with enabling technology are what create happy customers innovation differentiation revenue growth and profitsEmbrace tech by recognizing your company is a tech company Today every company is a tech company If a decade ago one had invested in Domino39s Apple Facebook or Google one would have got a better return on investment with Domino39sYes Domino39s makes pizza and delivers it to a person39s home but they leveraged technology to reimagine and then transform every single aspect of their business from how customers could order the pizza monitor its journey decide where to receive it at the football field as you tailgated and how it was delivered to them drone anyoneThey reimagined stores understood how delivery services could become parasites eating into their margin while trying to control customer relationships Domino39s controls every aspect of the customer relationship and deliverySmart companies and leaders recognize the critical nature of technology and realize an understanding of its potential should be throbbing in the beating blood of every key employee Technology implementation may be led by the CTO and CIO but understanding of its impact and a vision about how to leverage it must reside in every leader and should be central to every aspect of product service and experience designUpgrade talent Technology smarts and modern technology are necessary but not sufficient to succeed If one reads Will and Ariel Durantamp8217s quotThe Lessons of Historyquot it becomes clear that every advance in technology places a premium on superior talent Basically technology is like a lever It allows talent leverage and scale It is never technology or talent It is technology and talent Great people with great tools will winToday we are living in a truly transformed terrain for talent One where every aspect of what talent wants from companies and their bosses the nature of work and much more are being twisted into new shapesLeaders everywhere recognize we are at a unique moment in time due to the combined impact of three big shifts a Importance of Diversity Equality and Inclusion b Role of ESG Purpose and Values in a company culture and c the unbundled workplace and new life mindsets postCOVIDIn many cases the better answers to managing change incorporate the concept of and rather than only These juxtapositions include not just talent and technology but ensuring diversity of faces and diversity of voices understanding the young but recognizing that most countries are aging and older people control the wealth and that we will work in many places and not just in the office To learn more about juxtapositions and other dualities to incorporate as you manage change look hereThis is the ideal time for leaders to truly rethink their talent strategy company culture and training plans to attract and upgrade people3 Recruit Train for and Promote People with the Six Cs to Thrive in a Connected WorldThe big C of change can only happen when teams and talent sculpt hone and grow the Six Cs Three of these have to do with the individual Cognition Creativity Curiosity and three with how we connect with each other and the world outside our minds Collaborate Communicate ConvinceCognition is learning to think and keeping your mental operating system constantly upgraded This requires deliberate practice and sustained work Improved cognition is achievableCreativity is connecting dots in new ways looking beyond the obvious This skill will be key as AI powered computers data crunch and corelate faster than we ever will To be human is to be creative We need to learn and feed this inside usCuriosity is being alive to possibilities questioning the status quo and asking quotWhat ifquot Today the key competitor or opportunity in any category comes from outside it Curiosity may have killed the cat but the lack of curiosity killed the careers of many peopleBut being cognitively gifted creative and curious will not be enough since we are living in a connected world where ecosystems teams and linkages are how ideas are born value is created and longterm careers are forged For these we need to hone and build and train for three other skillsCollaborate Collaboration is key to work in a world where APIs Application Protocol Interfaces are not just about handshakes between softwarehardware but between individuals with different skills teams in different countries partners suppliers and much moreCommunicate Learn to write Learn to speak Learn to present It may be so old school but watch the people who succeed and they are good at communication And all of these can be taught and learnedConvince Every one of us is a salesperson regardless of what we believe our title is This is true even if we do not sell anything at work We must convince colleagues of our points of view We must convince our partners to join us on our life journey Learn to convince and learn to sellCure Inner Dinosaur DiseaseChange sucks It exposes us to vulnerability and loss of control of clout of turf and of face It demeans the very currency of expertise seniority networks and image we spend decades building How dare some pompous young pup some fresh idea some innovative technology some fearless startup or a bossy consumer challenge usWe let our inner dinosaur roar and roam unleashed against these threatening changes to our ecosystem by indulging in a twostep shuffleFirst we justify our refusal to change via the Deflection DanceBlame our myopic bosses who are approaching retirement or the organization that has too much money riding on the status quoAttribute inaction to the profit pressures and business realities we carry on our shouldersSuggest the client or customer gave only lip service to change readinessRebuke the employees They are not trained or motivated for this stuffExhume specimens from the whenthingswentwrong Remember whenWait for others to find the landminesThe second step is Change Botox little injections of temporary surface embellishments to distract from real change These are the common manifestationsAnnounce the retention of a consulting firm which over the next X months will benchmark and develop a plan of actionLaunch a vision or change 202X task force to quotget out in frontquot of changeHire a talent agency next generation modern marketing firm or niche agency then issue a press releaseRelaunch a quiet unsupported brand or initiative with a small budget dedicated to a new way so there is something to point toHere are the five weapons to slay our inner dinosaursOwn change If you change others will follow If they do not change your partners or your options outsourcing or by committeeEmpower the iconoclasts There are many talented revolutionaries within your corporate environment but they are often dismissed as quottoo juniorquot to add value Seek out your best thinkers at any level or age Listen to them give them a platform and the support they need to achieve their goals Encourage them to attack your ideas and your companyCross the line We all cower within selfdrawn boundaries Too often we selfedit ourselves fearful of crossing a line Or we wait for permission Let ethics guide you and start changing things Now You will be surprised to find that people will not stop you but most likely will follow youLeverage organizational inertia It is possible to get quotThe Companyquot to do what we want if we simply start doing it If getting approval requires lots of forms presentations and justification it means your organization may suffer from so much inertia it might not actually know how to say quotnoquot This is a real opportunity for the daringAct to change or change your act You might be a highly talented individual cowering within some imagined or real constraint If your company is repressing you and you are good risktaking can only beget one of two outcomes You will succeed or you will be asked to leave If you are asked to leave and you are good many companies will be ready to hire you or you could go into business for yourself But staying put and becoming some bureaucratic czar will eventually lead to you resenting yourself and reducing your market valueYes change sucks But irrelevance is even worseHere are links to posts on change Each is a sixminute read covering an area touched on above in greater detailGrowth and Change are about PeopleTwo to Transform Embrace Tech Upgrade TalentSlaying our Inner DinosaurThis is Your Industry and Your Future You Can Decide Where it Will Go from HereThe Year of Immunity ImplicationsJuxtapositionsClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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How Does One Navigate Change?

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Rishad Tobaccowala

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