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.
After years of research on organizational transformation by McKinsey, the results from their Global Survey in 2015 indicated that few executives say their companies’ transformations succeed.
In that survey, just 26 % of respondents said the transformations they’re most familiar with have been very or completely successful at both improving performance and equipping the organization to sustain improvements over time. (Meaning that 74% have not been successful.)
In their 2012 survey, 20% of executives said the same.
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.”
In part 1 of this exclusive video series with Jonathan Krogdahl, in partnership with Sevenstep, looking at how organisations can anticipate change and deliver on it ahead of the curve.
Jonathan continues to look at legal requirements, like IR35, and the changes that they can cause organisations can take, focusing on how this affects HR as a function. Jonathan delves into the obsession with making talent acquisition strategic, emphasising the importance of understanding the basics first.
Sevenstep
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.
Last week I asked I shared:
"Change is natural and in nature all living entities change or transform naturally without resisting or questioning. Life happens, and what happens is something called change. Some changes are the result of biology and the passage of time, within the natural cycle or order of things. Nature can change all by herself without the hand of man. If change is a natural event why is change so difficult for humans?"