Three Steps to Activating Change
Your business didn’t change because of the pandemic. Your business, and everyone else’s, has been changing since the minute you opened up shop and every minute before that. It’s easy to be lulled into the idea that the changes being made are temporary solutions to bridge us back to the way things used to be. Not a chance.
Change is the only constant. If you can take agency over your situation, you can be the force pushing everyone else in your industry to change. Now is the time to become that force, take on your biggest challenges and fundamentally disrupt the way your industry does business. Easier said than done.
Fortunately, there are three simple, but not easy, actions you can take to get started. Here are three principles that Off Square One believes are fundamental to activating change.
An accurate description of the problem is 90% of the solution.
There is no one better at driving to the heart of an issue than kids. We’ve all played the “why game” with our kids, nieces, nephews, grandkids, etc.
“You have to go to school today.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s good for you.”
“Why?”
“So you can get smarter.”
“Why?”
…and on and on and on.
When you’re creating the next big initiative for your company, it is vital that you get to the root problem right away. By asking why bicycles need pedals, balance bikes completely changed how young kids in the U.S. learn to ride bikes. You should be asking the same, status quo breaking questions of your team. Once you’ve asked your team “why” more than your average third grader, the next big challenge arises.
Seek to understand before being understood.
Now that you’ve found your core issue, the trouble becomes solving it. Before you wade into uncharted waters and build a plan to transform your business, you need a crew on board that believes in where you’re going.
HBR highlights the value of being ruthlessly selective of who is on your team and embracing the hire slow, fire fast mentality. This will build you a team of high performers who have ideas that need to be heard. As a leader, it’s your job to let these ideas run wild and not stifle new, innovative ideas. We all have the urge to jump in when we hear something that doesn’t exactly line up with our way of thinking. Resisting this urge encourages your team to give their opinions without fear of being shot down and allows the best ideas to surfaces.
This simple, but not easy, tactic will build a team full of evangelists for your new initiative. A necessity in maneuvering the choppy waters of change.
You can’t read the label from inside the jar.
In his book, Organizing Genius, Warren Bennis says every great group is an island – but an island with a bridge to the mainland. The best groups (the Manhattan Project, Apple building the Mac, Skunk Works, etc.) work on industry changing problems in isolation and know when to tap resources from the outside world to take their product to the next level.
Once you’ve identified the root cause and built a solution with your team, you need to get out of the building to get feedback on your plan. Industry experts, trusted partners and external consultants are vital in helping you identify and plug the holes in your plan. You have to be candid and give an unfiltered view of your plan.
Why is this important?
What’s the desired outcome?
What scares you the most about this?
This candor will guarantee you receive the most impactful feedback before getting to work.
Enacting change is difficult and it’s easy to feel like you’re drowning in the sea of tasks associated with solving your biggest problems. If you are gearing up for a major change or a new initiative and are not sure where to start, let’s talk in a free 30-minute session where we can understand your needs and help put you on course for success.
