What if we change the way we change?
We don’t know about you, but at Madavi we’ve been getting the feeling lately that everyone has an opinion on how companies should transform themselves to survive in this crazy BANI world. BANI? Yes, of course, yet another acronym to describe today’s world: Brittle, Anxious, Non-linear and Incomprehensible.
In other words, an environment where everything can fall apart at any moment, which has us on edge, doesn’t follow any clear logic and, frankly, nobody understands it at all.
People have spent years talking about VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) and now that we have all half-grasped it, along comes BANI to confuse us again. So here we are, receiving tons of advice, methodologies and magic formulas to transform ourselves, but you know what? It looks like all this isn’t working.
Yes, that’s it. Many methodologies stand out in PowerPoints, they sound totally motivating as presentations, but when it comes to applying them, oh dear! They have no effect. It’s like trying to teach your cat to speak French: try whatever you like, a cat is still a cat. Companies are the same: people don’t change, corporate culture remains where it was, and business results don’t improve. So what’s going on?
Why don’t these magic formulas work?
First, let’s be clear: Transformation is not something that can be imposed with a predefined recipe. The reality is that each company is an entire world, with its own people, its own culture and its own challenges. So formulas don’t work.
Second, it’s impossible to transform anything without people, lots of people!
Third, much of this “transformation” remains on the surface. Big announcements are made, consultants are hired, offices are redesigned, but at the end of the day, if the people who make up the company are not committed or don’t understand the reason for the change and make it their own, it all comes to nothing.
Fourth, and perhaps most importantly, most of these methodologies seek to delve into what has been done wrong, into the errors, so as not to repeat them. And this is where the important part comes in: What if we change the paradigm? What if we focus on what has been done well so we can do it more often and with many people?
We need to change the way we change. Yes, it sounds strange, but think about it for a moment.
We need to foster a culture in which change is part of our daily lives and is in each person’s DNA and not an imposition from above. And even one where people enjoy their work! This is what we offer you at Madavi: Changing the way we change, appreciating the best of what there is: capabilities, connections, resources and possibilities. Everything that we DO have and that gives us success.
At Madavi The YES company we have been doing this for many years, with excellent results, in companies such as Eroski, redeia, Massimo Dutti, Fnac, TROPS, Welleda, Danone… SEE OUR CLIENTS.
“Change the way we change”, the methodology of Madavi The YES company
Madavi’s methodology is “Change the way we change”, and basically, it consists of transforming a company in 3 steps:
- First step, (Takeoff): This is about all working to align our strengths with our aspirations (what we want for our future, that of the team and that of the organization), to create collective action. It begins with the pioneers, a group that represents the entire system to be transformed.
- Second (Impetus): Mobilize everyone in the same direction, to multiply the energy of change and get everyone involved in it. Movement is what generates movement.
- Thirdly, (DNA): This phase is mostly carried out on a day-to-day basis, in smaller groups, over short periods of time and in self-managed spaces. Acting on what is repeated, so that the change will be irreversible and self-propelled.
As a result, what is achieved is a more energizing change; easy, quick and simultaneous. And the transformation comes to stay.
If you want to know more, contact us, HERE.
One last note: Change must be human. Yes, HUMAN. It is not just about new processes and technologies, but about understanding that it is people who make change possible. Let’s just consider for a moment, in a distribution/retail business, the importance of the people who are in direct contact with the customer, and how we can improve the results in terms of sales and/or customer satisfaction if we work with them, learning from the best experiences of each salesperson, for example. This is essential. And it isn’t achieved with a seminar, but rather, with an appreciative culture.
You can see some genuine quantified results in the clients area of our website, in the EROSKI case, for example.
In short, the BANI world is not going to wait until we are ready. It is a tsunami that sweeps away everything in its path. So if we want to not just survive, but thrive, we need to stop looking for shortcuts and start working on the essentials: delve more deeply into the strengths that we and our people DO have. So, fewer PowerPoints and more collective action. Let’s change the way we change!
