How To Know When You’ve Reached The Tipping Point For Change
At the beginning of almost every transformation, you have to push for change. You have to find early adopters, convince skeptical leaders and persuade teams to try something new. This can make you feel like the transformation is struggling, but it is actually how most change begins. I think about organizational transformation as a flywheel: […]
Not Everyone Who Resists Change Is Against It
I know leaders that have an instant negative reaction to people who question their ideas, particularly when it comes to change and transformation. However, the people who actively question change are not always the biggest problem. It’s the opponents quietly resisting that can be a bigger challenge. When leaders experience resistance to change, they are […]
Innovators Need Ambassadors More Than They Think
A few years ago, I was working with a large manufacturer of consumer goods. It was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have had working on an innovation project. There was far less organizational resistance, and the innovation teams seemed to always get the resources and time they asked for. Upon reflection, I realised […]
21 Lessons From 10 Years of Helping Companies Innovate and Transform
The skills that help you create a breakthrough idea, can be the same skills that stop other people from adopting it. Creating a new idea requires you to challenge your colleagues. Getting that same idea adopted requires you to work with your colleagues. Innovators need ambassadors more than they think. Someone eventually has to make […]
AI Makes Strategy Creation Cheaper. Buy-In Becomes More Valuable.
I was struck by a recent article by Robert Armstrong in the Financial Times asking a provocative question: Who needs consultants in the age of AI? Armstrong’s argument was simple. Artificial intelligence is becoming remarkably good at some of the work consultants have traditionally charged a premium for (e.g. analysing industries, synthesising information and identifying […]
A Community For Mavericks, Pioneers, Catalysts, Disruptors, Trailblazers And Innovators
As you may have noticed, I have now moved my newsletter to Substack. When I wrote Pirates In The Navy, I was thinking about my own experiences working as an innovator inside large companies. When I started doing the work, I was convinced that all you needed were the right tools and methods. The evidence […]
How To Know If Your Transformation Has Momentum
Organizational transformation is difficult work. Beyond leadership mandates, planning and roadmaps are human beings who are still needed to implement the changes. Sometimes this requires them to make lasting changes to their own behaviour and ways of working. This is why getting stakeholder buy-in matters. During a transformation, you know you have buy-in when people […]
Adoption Is Not the Same as Buy-In
When an organization introduces a new system, process or way of working, leaders typically measure adoption by looking at behaviour. They track how many people have logged into the system, completed the training, attended the workshop or followed the new process. These measures are useful because change cannot succeed unless people participate in it. But […]
The Compliance Trap
Last year, I worked with a company that wanted to accelerate the adoption of an internal AI tool. To make sure people used it, leadership introduced a simple rule; every employee had to ask three or four questions through the AI tool each month. Compliance with this rule was linked to bonus calculations. From a […]
Why You Should Ignore Your Detractors
One of the most common mistakes leaders make at the beginning of a change initiative is spending time trying to convince detractors. They assume that if they can win over their loudest critics, the transformation will progress more smoothly. In reality, the scarcest resource at the start of a transformation is not budget or time. […]