Navigating Change

Recently I've had a great example play out in my own life.

A few months back I wrote about how I approached a problem with my car and the decision we made to resolve it. Well things have changed and a long with a decision to do without a second family car (one of the original options), so have a few other things!

I'm not going to go into all the details, but suffice to say that there are many reasons why we've chosen this course and as a result many areas that have been affected... mostly for the good in the short time since the change.

Opportunity knocks when there's change afoot
I know this seems obvious, but for most people the response to change is to go on the defensive. I read this quote the other day, "The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." - Socrates. I like this, a lot. The interesting thing about opportunity, is that it's neither inherently positive or negative. Opportunity can result in positive and negative outcomes, sometimes both, sometimes neither and sometimes more change. It all depends on what you do with it.

I have had the opportunity to interact with people and be exposed to situations and experiences that I would otherwise not have chosen. Just because I would not have chosen them before doesn't make them negative at all, but highlights the limited exposure I've had to certain places and contexts. My experience has been positive in this instance, as well as eliciting some personal introspection and a desire to be more aware of my relative privilege and the influence I can bring.

Digital Transformation in Business
In the context of business and work, significant change seems to come about more regularly than before and often more regularly than we've grown comfortable with in our personal lives. Business strategy used to be built, set in place and tweaked over decades and many of the great companies of the past haven't deviated much from their original reason for coming into existence.

Today, through many factors like the pace of technology evolution and the move to more digitally enabled operations and channels, businesses are faced with having to make major adjustments to strategy in 18 to 24 month cycles just to remain relevant and even shorter time frames to capture first mover or competitive advantage. Not to mention the "Pop-Up" phenomenon which can see businesses spun up, operate for anywhere from days to months and then close down. Ultimately, this really just results in more opportunity for those prepared for it than ever before.

The Personal Journey
So how do we position ourselves to take advantage of these opportunities, turning them into positive outcomes? As individuals, it mostly boils down to two things: Attitude and Willingness, both of which are for the most part within our own control.

1. Attitude - being able to disconnect somewhat from the situation itself, acknowledging the reality of what is and isn't within your own personal control, being prepared to work with what isn't and maximise on what is. Allows us to see through the disruption of change and uncover the opportunities.
2. Willingness - is an interesting one as it requires other elements to be in place to some degree or other (specific areas I would like to cover):
• Security - it is much easier to willingly throw yourself into something new when there is an overarching confidence and sense of security across the different aspects of your life. The support of a spouse or friends and family, financial stability, emotional and physical well-being... to give a few examples.
• Self Awareness and Belief - clearly understanding your own personal goals and ambitions, as well as the capabilities you do or don't have that are required to achieve these goals and ambitions. Then having sufficient confidence and belief that you can do it.

We have access to many options when trying to grow personally and we all leverage these at different times and to differing extents throughout our lives. Some of us are more proactive than others and engage in formal programs or with coaches or mentors to develop. In short, it's a journey and we typically can't get there on our own.

The Business Journey

Is this really much different? Apart from the obvious fact that, a business is very seldom a single individual therefore making this all a little more complex in practice, the principles are very much the same.

1. Attitude - Leadership across all levels that favours sustainable business and cohesion, that will be able to reach consensus on what needs to be done and then build "Buy-in" through putting aside personal agendas and opinion to deliver a unified strategy back to the business.
2. Willingness:
• Security - being able to change direction or augment requires "buy-in" across an organisation. "Buy-in" is achieved when the strategy communicated is clear, well articulated and aligned to the core business values and when it is delivered from a leadership team that is trusted, holds a strong track record and carries the support of the shareholders or business owners.
• Self Awareness and Belief - acknowledging that organisational change is disrupting and requires clear distinction between the new and business as usual, recognising that the skills, resources and structure required to get it right may not be available immediately or at all internally. Creating an environment and atmosphere that encourages employees to contribute positively and facilitates growth opportunities will build momentum and belief in the strategy as well as the ability of the organisation to succeed.

There is an ever growing ecosystem of companies and consultancies offering services and expertise to assist organisations build strategies and transition into these new business models. The maturity of the organisations' leadership will determine whether or not they choose to engage with outside assistance and to what extent this support is leveraged. At the very least, the objective lenses through which an external party can approach these challenges are important to consider.

I am currently travelling both of these journeys and trying my utmost to participate in and navigate them effectively. It's always easier to talk about these things than having to walk them out, but it is made easier with the support of those around you and the input of trusted advisers.