Buy-In
Innovation
Experimentation
Corporate change is becoming more necessary as firms cope with change of all types. Technological change as a driver of globalization is almost inescapable, regardless of a company’s desire or readiness for it. Change, though, is demanding and unpredictable because it forces a firm to forego best practices or organizational routines and adopt new ones.
Strategy Surgery recently interviewed Dr. Robert Learney, of Digicatapult in London, about their experience with motivating and handling change in other firms.
Based on interviews with Dr. Learney and others, Strategy Surgery has outlined several organizational preconditions for change or transformation.
- C-Suite Buy-In
The C-Suite is the mantle of a firm or corporation. Without its complete, even if gradual, approval of changes, initiatives or merely suggestions for change would falter. Thus, early conversations with the C-Suite are crucial for initiating change and furnishing a blueprint for corporate strategy. Early and ongoing engagement of the C-Suite initiates it into the likely return-on-investment on the initiative or program in question and facilitates deeper conversations about implementation.
“In general, the recognition of problems happens below the C-Suite, usually, in the operational areas of the business, where people are fed up with their day-to-day and they realize there are frictions in the way business is conducted.,” Dr. Learney opined.
If the C-Suite does not recognize the need for change, employees’ needs or desires likely would not reach them, making awareness of a business challenge or problem very unlikely in the 1st place. C-Suite engagement is indispensable, not simply a necessity.
- Innovation
A culture of innovation is indispensable to corporate growth and transformation: The opposite would be inertia. An innovative culture reflects on a firm by promoting an environment of constantly seeking new ways of delivering value, minimizing expenses, and / or maximizing revenue. In this framework, innovation is a medium to long-term goal, not a spontaneous decision, and is cumulative. Netflix exemplifies this with the online content library and financing its own shows. It has an entrenched culture of innovation. Corporations need to cultivate this organizational capability of absorption.
- Experimentation
Related to the above point is a culture of experimentation and trial-and-error. A company needs to implement any change gradually and determine milestones for it—rather than in one big step or leap. Uber is a company that combines both innovation and experimentation. It regularly updates its marketing and delivery partnerships, with its partnership with Capital One and launching its alcohol delivery being the latest as of December 2022. Its early and successful marketing efforts, such as Uber Eats, paved the way for its continuing marketing partnerships. This enshrines the importance of a corporate pattern of experimentation. Companies need to have a track record of successful implementation, which begins in successful implementation.
“Doing the right proof of concept and then beyond the proof of concept to proof of value, meaning operationalizing the proof of concept in a small way, and running that to ensure it would generate and save for you is the real convincer of the C-Suite,” Dr. Learney said.
