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Change Management
In today's
world characterized by rapid unpredictable change
and volatility, the sustainable ability to change is
much more important than the ability to create
change in the first place. The ability to change can
be achieved by building an adaptive organization
and synergizing
systemically such
corporate capabilities as
strategy innovation,
volatility leadership, and enterprise-wide business
process management.
Evolutionary change, that involves setting
direction, allocating responsibilities, and
establishing reasonable timelines for achieving
objectives, is relatively painless. However, it is
rarely fast enough or comprehensive enough to move
ahead of the curve in an evolving world where stakes
are high, and the response time is short. When faced
with market-driven urgency, abrupt and sometimes
disruptive change may be required to keep the
company competitive. In situations when timing is
critical to success, and companies must get more
efficient and productive rapidly, revolutionary
change is demanded. When choosing between
evolutionary change and revolutionary action, a
leader must pursue a balanced and pragmatic
approach. Swinging too far to revolutionary extreme
may create "an organizational culture that is so
impatient, and so focused on change, that it fails
to give new initiatives and new personnel time to
take root, stabilize, and grow. What's more, it
creates a high-tension environment that intimidates
rather than nurtures people, leaving them with
little or no emotional investment in the company.“
(Mark Stevens)
Deal with
change in a proactive manner. Success in business
doesn't come from feeling comfortable. In today's
technology-driven world, business life cycles have
accelerated exponentially. The challenge is to keep
a step ahead of changing market conditions, new
technologies and human resources issues. "The wisdom
may lie in changing the institution while it is
still winning – reinvigorating a business, in fact,
while it's making more money than anyone ever
dreamed it could make." (Jack Welch)
Yes,
change is good and necessary. But continuity
deserves champions too. Be faithful to core shared
values and corporate culture.
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