September 20178 IN MY VIEWInnovation and Change, the challenge of getting it to stickInnovators, change agents and managers are challenged daily with bringing change to environments. We must do this in order to create sustainability within our respective organisations. Whether we are improving process efficiencies, introducing new technology to draw a competitive advantage or increase market share, it is important to remember our competitors won't stand still and neither should we. Change interrupts equilibrium. Change is constant; however resistance to change is also constant. Within organisations, this tension will always exist. The challenge is to find a way to navigate through resistance to a successful outcome for the organisation and its staff. In this article, I will focus on an organisation's greatest asset ­ its people and the strategies I have used in order to drive transition and change. The first step towards successful change is establishing a strong understanding of the culture and environment within your organisation. Your organisation may thrive on innovation hence lowering change resistance, or your organisation might be more traditional increasing the challenge. I will concentrate on the latter; however I have used the approach described below with equal success on the former.Real change makes us all feel uneasy as it creates uncertainty. Within our roles, we develop micro processes to interact with the macro processes that our work feeds in to. We take comfort in discharging our duties well, contributing to our companies overall success. Change directly challenges this equilibrium, introduces process uncertainty and in the days following implementation, errors are likely until such time that equilibrium is reset.Proposed change and its impact must be viewed from many angles. The primary point of view is driven by your organisation's overall strategies and goals. However, we must also take into consideration the impact on our staff's current process. In order to ensure that change `sticks' and we move to and stay on the proposed operating processes, we will be required to assist with re-establishing the new equilibrium. Put yourself in their shoes. The easiest person to bring change to is you. When change is required, internally, we automatically assess our preferences BY ROSS FORGIONE, CIO, JOHNSON WINTER & SLATTERYRoss Forgione
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