I spent time with a senior manager of a large corporation working on both strategy and negotiation strategy for the acquisition of a new client/customer. During this time, he commented on my exclusive use of an iPad to record notes and other information from all meetings.
He mentioned he was trying to move from paper to digital with an iPad and was not having much success. He asked if I had any tips or suggestions for making the transition.
I said, “Yes, I have one suggestion, stop using paper and only bring your iPad to meetings.”
For true change to happen, regardless of what you are trying to change, you need to invest 100% in the new, and be willing to give up the old. This does not happen overnight, and it is not expected you quit ‘cold turkey’ on the old. The key point is ‘invest in the new’ AND ‘be WILLING to give up the old’.
Without this state of mind, many people end up in the middle, trying to use both the new and the old. This increases frustration and level of work, along with decreasing productivity and positive outcomes.
People in the middle are the most vocal and most detrimental to the success of your change program. This is due in part to their increased workload; they are doing everything twice. If left unchecked, over time, they will bring down the entire program.
If expectations are not clearly defined, and management is not deeply committed to Sales/Commercial/Procurement/ Operational Excellence, they will allow the ‘people in the middle’ to derail the program. When this occurs, you will see management launch new programs like; CE 2.0, CE Reboot, CE Refresh, etc.
The goal of change programs should not include, reboots or refreshes, it should only be, ‘It’s just what we do’
Business Crayons can help develop, implement, and monitor your enablement and excellence programs, eliminating the need for future investment in refreshes or reboots. More importantly, we can help you facilitate change and better outcomes for your organization.