“When you are finished changing, you are finished”– Benjamin Franklin
It is a new year and individuals, team, and organisations are lining up, and in some cases have kickstarted, initiatives that they have surfaced to support them in meeting their objectives and getting them to where they want to be, come year end and in the long term.
This is probably particularly pertinent for us in this part of the world because the choice of initiatives and the success of these initiatives will play a large part in determining if as individuals, and organizations we are going to survive and thrive this year considering the level of uncertainty and volatility that surround us.
Change is (always) coming
A large amount of change, at a rapid pace and increasing complexity is coming at the Nigerian business environment. Changes to the tax policies, increase in telecommunication costs, continued insecurity, currency fluctuations, increase in cost of talent, geopolitical movements driven by the Trump presidency and rising nationalism, and disruptive technologies are just are a few of the changes that will impact us.
Individuals and organisations are going to have to implement changes, quickly and smartly, in response to these changes. These changes could be cost cutting, upskilling, job switches, relocation or launching a new business or income stream for individuals and families. And strategy pivots, restructuring, agile, lean, and/or culture change for businesses and government. The key is ensuring that these initiatives succeed.
Change is (always) coming
A large amount of change, at a rapid pace and increasing complexity is coming at the Nigerian business environment. Changes to the tax policies, increase in telecommunication costs, continued insecurity, currency fluctuations, increase in cost of talent, geopolitical movements driven by the Trump presidency and rising nationalism, and disruptive technologies are just are a few of the changes that will impact us.
Individuals and organisations are going to have to implement changes, quickly and smartly, in response to these changes. These changes could be cost cutting, upskilling, job switches, relocation or launching a new business or income stream for individuals and families. And strategy pivots, restructuring, agile, lean, and/or culture change for businesses and government. The key is ensuring that these initiatives succeed.
What to do to survive and thrive?
Whether you are pursuing a new strategy, going to market with a new product/service, engaging in a corporate restructuring or cost cutting, implementing a digital transformation, embarking on a culture change or performance improvement initiative, pursuing a merger or acquisition, I would encourage you to improve the odds of success by building a foundation of change capabilities across your organization.
Because the only way to ensure that you can swiftly and successfully deliver on these initiatives is by developing a critical mass of change leaders within your organization, beyond executive management; that can with urgency develop a vision powerful enough to enlist an army of volunteers, outside the usual suspects; remove the obstacles that are sure to appear; deliver quick wins that accelerate the progress of the initiative; and ensure that the change delivered by the initiative is sustained beyond the formal close of the initiative.
Why is building your change capability important?
Whether you are pursuing a new strategy, going to market with a new product/service, engaging in a corporate restructuring or cost cutting, implementing a digital transformation, embarking on a culture change or performance improvement initiative, pursuing a merger or acquisition, I would encourage you to improve the odds of success by building a foundation of change capabilities across your organization.
Because the only way to ensure that you can swiftly and successfully deliver on these initiatives is by developing a critical mass of change leaders within your organization, beyond executive management; that can with urgency develop a vision powerful enough to enlist an army of volunteers, outside the usual suspects; remove the obstacles that are sure to appear; deliver quick wins that accelerate the progress of the initiative; and ensure that the change delivered by the initiative is sustained beyond the formal close of the initiative.
I will be sharing insights on the emerging science of change and the tactics and approaches that have grown from this emerging science that can help anyone increase the success rate of any of the broad category of change efforts mentioned above.