by josef.stuefer
6 Drivers of Change:
[Via HarvardBusiness.org]
There were discussions at the ‘Innovation:Change Happens’ panel during the the Newspaper Association of America and American Society of News Editors Capital Conference 2008. Several elements were were found to be common in the change experience:
• The need for a crisis or some kind of “burning platform” to motivate transformational change
• A clear vision and strategy … that allows room for iteration
• A recognition that transformation is a multi-year journey
• A need to put the customer or consumer in the center of the transformation equation
• The critical importance of demonstrating to skeptics that different actions can lead to different results
• The need to over-communicate to employees, customers, stakeholders, and shareholders
While the first three have been mentioned in many programs involving change, the last three are particularly important for any project utilizing Web 2.0 technologies.
The end user needs to be front and center. They are the ones generating the content and effecting change.
Skeptics need to be approached. In fact, many times they can be the best allies. Their skepticism often comes from a healthy sense of reality, since in many cases, talk of change accomplishes little. But, demonstrating what can be done, and how they can have a direct hand in that change, often converts them.
Things usually do not change simply because they should. It has to be sold. People have to be told many times just what is going on and why. Moving change from Early Adopters to the bulk of the organization is what over-communication accomplishes.