Treasure 117 – Change

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Why and where do so many changes fail? Do we really want to get people on board? Does walking help with change? The year 2020 will be a year full of changes – for me personally, for the company where I work full-time and also for whole industries. So it was time to dedicate a treasure to this topic.

Nugget #1 – Why and where so many changes fail?

A few years ago I had the pleasure to attend a lecture evening by Dr. Dieter Lederer on the topic of change (thanks at this point to my loyal readers Achim and Hans-Martin for organizing and sponsoring). His remarks on the topic of change made a lasting impression on me and since then I regularly follow the contributions of the top expert on the topic of change.

I especially remember the graphic with the four quadrants. The y-axis stands for rational agreement, the x-axis for emotional agreement. In most companies, change is justified on purely objective grounds. So it’s no wonder that change only succeeds through discipline. But for real energy, emotional agreement is needed. Unfortunately, many companies believe that emotions have no place in the workplace. But companies consist of people. People are not machines. Even if some management tools, processes and structures give the impression that they are.

How does the change rocket get thrust? Tiny Habits is the recommendation of Dieter Lederer. Small steps are easier to take, require less discipline and the first signs of success appear more quickly. When I announced treasure chest 117 on Instagram, Catharina Stamm wrote to me “66 days until something becomes routine”.

Where can I try the Tiny Habits now? There is a big transformation project going on in my company at the moment. It’s also about corporate and innovation culture. That would be the perfect opportunity. Which Tiny Habits come to your mind on the subject of corporate and innovation culture? (7 min, text, German)

Change-Burnout: Why and why so many changes fail

Nugget #2 – Do we really want to bring people on board?

Surely I have also “brought someone on board” and used management-speak as in Joachim Schlossers article. Now I am sensitized that language forms reality and will hopefully be more attentive in the future. I also had another thought that I would like to share with you.

We always talk about one boat. It’s supposed to buy everyone in and go into the same direction. But do we know if the boat will take us to the right place? Many change projects are complex. Planning is elaborate, contingencies are anticipated and a lot of time and money is invested in coordination rounds. Nevertheless, it is impossible to predict whether the desired target state will be achieved. Why not start with a smaller boat, in which only the volunteers get on board? Maybe it is worth sending several boats in different directions? Then you don’t have to pick up people, but everyone can get on wherever they feel like it.
(12 min, text, German)

Collect, take away, bring on board – management talk dissected

Nugget #3 – Does walking help with change?

Johanna Brühl has just overcome a personal crisis. During this crisis the Lippstadt promenade was created, a walk with 13 stations and impulses. I picked out three stations and spontaneously thought about them:

  • Identifying the level of the crisis
    When the water is up to your neck, that’s bad. But why not use several handbreadths of water under the keel to let one or the other boat go off in the direction of change?
  • Learning from nature
    You will probably spontaneously think of things like the lotus blossom effect or Velcro as examples where we can learn from nature. We also find a good example of cooperation in the forest. I described this some time ago in the article What if there was no competition.
  • Courage does good – new learning
    What do you want to learn? Do you want to learn to be more productive? Then lernOS might be something for you, which I introduced in Treasure 96. Or should it be technical skills? For that you don’t need to enroll in a course of study anymore. In 6 theses about the next economy I have collected some ways in thesis 5. For example, I gave myself an introduction to the Revision Control System git via MOOC.

By the way, while writing these lines I got the desire to do a walk in the park myself. The Bamberg region is currently driving the transformation of the automotive industry. The RITA initiative was founded for this purpose. There are also many beautiful places in Bamberg that invite you to reflect and linger. Would you like to take a walk together? Then contact me right away.

(3 min, text, German) or (5 min, video, German)

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