“That’s what I do. It’s what I love to do. It’s what I do best.”
My wife looked at me, happy that I had started my Thursday morning on such a positive note.
She’s used to my exuberance and confirmed my self-assessment: “I make complex things simple that helps others get clear and take smart action.” (By the way, there’s plenty I’m awful at…anyone who’s driven with me can attest to my having zero sense of direction).
Back to making complex things simple.
Common theories on organization-wide change say it’ll take months, if not years to implement. There are strategies, processes, systems, structures, culture and a much longer list of what needs attention if you’re serious about change. That’s true…and not true.
Change happens as fast as you believe it can.
I believe it can happen instantaneously, in real time. Every day is chock full of opportunities for people in organizations to work in new ways. The trick is to see — and then act — on them. Here’s an example:
I’m working with a new client. We have an update call this afternoon. His business has several organization-wide projects underway at the same time. Senior leaders are stressed by heavy workloads. Meetings regularly run over. Work processes aren’t documented. There’s no common way to manage projects and every one seems to be a top priority.
It’s a tall task to bring about the changes needed in this organization. But it’s a small, doable, “make a difference” task to improve the update call we have this afternoon. I’ve developed a straightforward template to guide our conversation. It’ll help keep us on track, make sure we cover the most important issues, and we’ll have a document we can use ourselves and share with others immediately after the call.
It’s a simple way to make sense of a lot of complexity. We’ll test this update form with the Senior Team during tomorrow’s staff meeting and improve it as we go. In the meantime, chalk one up for immediate change and a better way of doing business.