How do we get there? There can be much to consider under each key step in a sustainability transformation roadmap but we will keep to a high-level overview for this blog and more detail can be explored in future blogs on each step. The typical roadmap towards becoming a sustainable organisation can be seen below:
In my four years as a company co-founder and Managing Director, experience has taught me and my team that there is often a variance between the level of change an organization is looking to deploy and that which its culture and infrastructure is capable of supporting. One expression consistently resonates in our ongoing quest for continuous improvement; maturity assessment.
Take note! 2020 is becoming known as the ‘super year’ for sustainability commitment and action. Not only is 2020 the ten-year mark for reaching the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 but we are seeing more and more that current commitments aren’t changing our course towards a global climate emergency. Recent reports from the World Meteorological Organisation and the UN Environment Programme are fairly blunt. The summary of findings are startling as countries collectively failed to stop growth in global greenhouse gas emissions, meaning that deeper and faster cuts are
Failure to understand the people side of change is akin to failing to learn to break when learning to drive. Sure, you'll probably get to where you intended to go, but you'll be battered, bruised and have a trail of angry people behind you.
All of us, at some point, have experienced a poorly delivered change. Either a technical change or an organisational change, either as the culprit or the victim.
As soon as I arrived at the conference venue, I was welcomed by a lady in charge of VIP and speakers. She seemed happy to see me & asked me enthusiastically if I knew in which seminar room my talk would take place. “Yes. Seminar room 3 & it is tomorrow” I said. “Great! I am now taking you to the VIP/Speakers lounge so that you can eat or drink something,” she added. One part of me longed for breakfast in the lounge. The other half of mine responded: “Thank you. Actually I would like to directly go to the keynote area to listen to the keynote talk.”
At a party the other night, I got an earful about how much everyone hates Agile. They violently hate it. They quit their jobs because of it. Get me another glass of wine, this party just got real.
It was one of those defining moments that occasionally punctuate our working lives. The realisation that what had been previously taken as an article of faith was, in fact, the cause of the problem. As this inconvenient truth dawned on the faces of the assembled transformation leaders, there was a perceptible shift of energy. Feelings of release, as well as fear pervaded the hotel conference room in which we were gathered.
We conducted a Q&A interview with Jess Tayel, Global Business and Digital Transformation Coach and Mentor, about business transformation, where it should sit within an organisation and the importance of value-add business transformation to an organisation. If you missed Part 1 and Part 2 you can view it here.
Business transformation is a challenging endeavour, we all know that. If it isn’t, then you’re probably not transforming. Engaging people early on and setting expectations is really important, as I once said out of a bit of desperation, ‘the transformation fairy isn’t going to just turn up and magic this all into place you know’
I recently recorded a podcast about all things Business Transformation. We talked about the difference between Agile and Waterfall, Scrum and Prince 2, Leadership and Management. It was a whistle-stop tour of my thoughts and reflections on change and transformation. One of the central concepts I offered was that Digital Transformation is first and foremost about people, not just technology.