High-Speed Change Management

Dear Change Community,     (for German press * )

in the sense of the title, here are the three basic principles to speed up your change work. Speed makes the difference between change that brings nothing but cost and frustration, and the change that really moves an organization forward, maybe even makes it unbeatable.

1. use the ultimate driver of change, insight. I like to call it the change engine. It consists of three steps – setting goals, gaining targeted insights (AHA insights) and transforming them into opportunities (action). Goal + AHA + Chance = Change. Then all you have to do is ask yourself who you need for the organizational objective and implement the engine with the teams, individuals and cross-team structures. This brings the maximum possible speed.
2. insights are gained through questions and feedback (and good listening). Look for someone who asks good questions and gives as objective feedback as possible. Find out beforehand what exactly you wanted to achieve and in what time horizon, because without goal no goal-oriented knowledge.
3. Separate the change work into delegable part (consulting) and non-delegable part (coaching). Create a good collaboration between external and internal coaching and involve your internal coaches. Then, if possible, work on the WHAT and the HOW, on the business results and the way of cooperation, in parallel. The first manifests itself in missing results, the latter in undesired results. Those who manage to keep an eye on both will move forward as quickly as possible with the change. Otherwise, one always thwarts the other.

That’s it, Yours Thomas Schulte