How to transform organizations from their strengths
The article is by Iciar Sanz Pereda, founder of Madavi and published in Equipos & Talento.
As Tom Goodwin, vice-president of strategy in Havas, said “Uber is the largest taxi company in the world and it does not own any vehicles. Facebook is the most popular media owner in the world and does not create its subject matter. Alibaba is the most valued wholesaler and has no inventory. And Airbnb is the largest provider of accommodation in the world and has no real estate properties. Something is happening”.
Our environment is changing very rapidly and it is driven principally by exponential technologies and globalization which makes that what up until now worked in companies no longer makes sense or is efficient.
The rules of the game are different now. What is happening has a name: disruption. One of the challenges that companies face today is that they have to continue to be competitive in an increasingly disruptive context. In Madavi we say that we are not in an era of change but in a change of ERA.
How do you transform an organization so as to overcome successfully these challenges?
Change is not easy. Any process of transformation needs to leave behind old habits and learn something new. As a matter of fact, 70% of the population shows resistance to change, according to what Peter Drucker published in his day.
However, in many cases the transformation is not an option, but rather a necessity if you want to succeed in having more agile organizations which are more adaptable to the changing environment.
Changing from your strengths
The good news is that YES you can, and that in the majority of occasions the key to doing so is to be found in the very heart of the companies, in its people and in what they do well; in their strengths.
Companies will grow and develop more quickly as long as that analyze what they do have and what they do want instead of investigating their problems
Another key aspect for success is to involve the whole organization in the change, to make them participate.
“Change the way we change” in 6 steps
- To gather in the same place and at the same time all the people necessary to achieve success because that way simultaneity arises.
- Discover through Appreciative Inquiry the best of what is: the strengths of the people and the system. Because from success one learns a lot. And both ambition and abundance will surface.
- Imagine what we could achieve if we used all of our potential to reach our objectives so that an attractive image of the future is formed.
- Design the areas of opportunity, which drive us towards the image of the future. That is the way that the dream is materialized.
- Specify the commitments, the decisions and the action plans, in such a way that “movement” is produced.
- Produce Collective Action towards aspirations which are always greater and more demanding than objectives.
This process generates a lot of commitment which permits things to happen, for the change to take place.
If we put the emphasis on detecting problems, those will grow, multiply and solidify. It is the paradigm of deficit and scarcity, which is what we do not want. However, when we study the best moments, these will multiply and flourish.
Business + culture are key in the process
Perhaps the most relevant point in a process of change of this type is the transformation of the culture and business of the organizations in a simultaneous fashion.
It is fundamental. How are you going to change a culture, if the business is not supporting it? Or how are you going to help a business to reach where it wants to go if there is not a culture shared by all which is strengthening and aligning it?
Appreciative Inquiry does not focus on changing people, although this is a collateral effect which is very visible, but rather on discovering collaboratively what makes an organization more effective from an economic, human and social point of view.
With these guidelines the strength of the Company to change and transform successfully is guaranteed.
