Making it happen

Change is rarely a straightforward linear exercise. It usually involves experimentation, failure and a willingness see failure as an opportunity for learning and development. It requires consistency of purpose combined with a willingness to rethink the vision and objectives set out at the start of the journey. The more you try to change an organisation, the more you learn about it. Your understanding of the nature and extent of the change required will deepen as the journey progresses.

Above all, it means making change happen with people, not to people. They have the knowledge, experience and potential for engagement that can make change happen and make it stick.

Go for it!

  • Do the board and senior team understand that change will involve asking difficult questions and challenging established practices? Do you really have their support?
  • Have you involved all the relevant stakeholders from the beginning? Does everyone understand how they will contribute to the journey?
  • Have you anticipated the potential sources of resistance? What is the best way of dealing with it?
  • What are the mechanisms for two-way communication throughout the change? How will you evaluate progress? How will stakeholders be involved in shared learning and adjustments to change processes and goals during the journey?
  • How will you know whether you have succeeded? And how will you celebrate success?
  • How will change be embedded and sustained?

Onwards

We hope you’ve enjoyed our Short Guide to Workplace Innovation and will find it useful on your own change journeys. There is so much to gain in terms of improved business performance and better ways of working!

We can’t offer you a foolproof recipe for transforming your company because it just doesn’t work like that. You have to be prepared to listen, to involve, to experiment, to take risks and to learn.

It also takes discipline to maintain the momentum on top of a busy schedule. But it’s surprising how far you can go once you engage the trust and enthusiasm of people throughout the organisation.

Even though we can’t offer you a blueprint, our final suggestion here is to make full use of the films, case studies, articles and tools that will be included in this Lab during the course of the programme, as well as all the other opportunities offered by Fresh Thinking Labs.
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