Business transformation can be disruptively beautiful. It usually leaves a path of destruction on it's way to creating a better organization. The challenge is that it inflicts significant change on people. Are there ways to better prepare for it? Yes. We'll examine 3 things you can do to prepare for disruptive change in your business.

1. H U R R I C A N E C H A N G E
DISRUPTIVELY BEAUTIFUL
B Y : M A T T M . H A W K I N S
3 things you can do to prepare for disruptive change in your business

2. Get ready.
It's destructively stunning.

3. Change brings evolution.
And evolution brings change.

4. It’s scary as hell.
Leaving a path of destruction.

5. Leaders fear it’s
disruption.
People admonish it for ruining
tradition.

6. Can it be good? Yes.
But you need to prepare for it.

7. I sit on the patio of my hotel room in Waikiki. I often have a great view
of the most beautiful beach in the world. This day, however, that beach
was barely recognizable. Bummer!
Tuesday, August 25, 2015

8. I sit on the patio of my hotel room in Waikiki. I often have a great view
of the most beautiful beach in the world. This day, however, that beach
was barely recognizable. Bummer!
Hurricane Kilo is dumping sheets of rain on the islands and has been
doing so for days. It’s causing more than poor visibility and flooding –
it’s disrupting people, businesses, and communities.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015

9. I sit on the patio of my hotel room in Waikiki. I often have a great view
of the most beautiful beach in the world. This day, however, that beach
was barely recognizable. Bummer!
Hurricane Kilo is dumping sheets of rain on the islands and has been
doing so for days. It’s causing more than poor visibility and flooding –
it’s disrupting people, businesses, and communities.
I can’t help but think of the parallels that this has to the many business
transformations that are inflicting catastrophic (and unforeseen) change
on the business world today. Is there a way to be prepared for this
hurricane of change? How can we make it less destructive? Or can you
only hope to live through it?
Tuesday, August 25, 2015

10. Let’s explore 3 methods
that will help you prepare for
change in your business.

11. Make people the root
1

12. Billions of dollars every year is invested to make
organizational transformations.These transformations can
be driven by the market place or internal initiatives.
Make people the root
1

13. The problem is that much of the time, energy and money
goes into new technology, infrastructure, and processes.
According to a 2012 McKinsey report, 70% of all business
transformation initiatives fail.
Make people the root
1

14. There are a host of reasons why, and they all point to a
single root cause – PEOPLE didn’t support or adopt (and
thus didn’t activate) the change.
Make people the root
1

15. I hope this isn’t news to you: people are the centerpiece of
your change initiative.And making people the root takes
more than simply saying they are the priority – it means
acting in such a way that structures your design and delivery
around them.
Make people the root
1

16. Make people the root
1
What can we do
to make them the root?

17. Make people the root
1
Include People in the
Impact Analysis
Take the time to understand
what the change truly means
for your people, are they ready
to deal with it, and what is the
plan for making the change.
Group interviews and focus
groups work best – you’ll
uncover more than you think!

18. Make people the root
1
Include People in the
Impact Analysis
Take the time to understand
what the change truly means
for your people, are they ready
to deal with it, and what is the
plan for making the change.
Group interviews and focus
groups work best – you’ll
uncover more than you think!
Discover What Inspires
If you don’t already know,
then build a strong
understanding of what moves
your people to act. This will
inform you on how well the
change will “fit” with your
people. Individual surveys are
a good way to capture this.

19. Make people the root
1
Include People in the
Impact Analysis
Take the time to understand
what the change truly means
for your people, are they ready
to deal with it, and what is the
plan for making the change.
Group interviews and focus
groups work best – you’ll
uncover more than you think!
Discover What Inspires
If you don’t already know,
then build a strong
understanding of what moves
your people to act. This will
inform you on how well the
change will “fit” with your
people. Individual surveys are
a good way to capture this.
Act with Transparency
People respond well to other
people that are genuine and
real. Being upfront with the
true why and the purpose to
the change will establish trust
and understanding, even if it’s
not what they want to hear.

20. Shift thinking and behavior
2

21. Leading an organization through change means positively
influencing the thinking and behaviors of your people,
helping them create new and positive habits. Individuals
must rewire their brains to perform in accordance with the
new models, capabilities, and structure.
Shift thinking and behavior
2

22. Utilizing the methods of Behavior Architecture will allow
you to shed light on how to remove the barriers to positive
behavior change, and ultimately make it easier to improve
performance.
Shift thinking and behavior
2

23. This is where neuroscience and business intersect – very
cool and powerful stuff!
Shift thinking and behavior
2

24. Shift thinking and behavior
2
Map changes to behaviors
Connect the transformation
paradigm shifts (that is your
change objectives) to the
thinking and behavior that is
required for your people to
operate in the new model.
This tells you what new habits
need to be in place.

25. Shift thinking and behavior
2
Map changes to behaviors
Connect the transformation
paradigm shifts (that is your
change objectives) to the
thinking and behavior that is
required for your people to
operate in the new model.
This tells you what new habits
need to be in place.
Assess Planned Behavior
Using a Behavior Control
Survey, identify the gaps that
exist for your people to make
the shift. By understanding
what drives intentions, you
can better predict occurrences
and influence actions.
Ultimately, this will make it
easier to improve thinking
and actions.

26. Shift thinking and behavior
2
Map changes to behaviors
Connect the transformation
paradigm shifts (that is your
change objectives) to the
thinking and behavior that is
required for your people to
operate in the new model.
This tells you what new habits
need to be in place.
Assess Planned Behavior
Using a Behavior Control
Survey, identify the gaps that
exist for your people to make
the shift. By understanding
what drives intentions, you
can better predict occurrences
and influence actions.
Ultimately, this will make it
easier to improve thinking
and actions.
Take action
Use the results from your
Behavior Control Survey to
build and execute the
methods and models that
compel your people to make
change stick. Examples
include 1:1 coaching,
GroupThink workshops,
motion stories, and other
creative techniques.

27. Build a fire of inspiration
3

28. We lose 67% of what we learn within a day.At months end,
we’ve lost almost 80%.
Build a fire of inspiration
3

29. How much impact does this have in business? Hermann
Ebbinghaus’ suggests lack of retention nets to billions of
dollars in losses every year across all industries – lost sales
and productivity being the most significant.
Build a fire of inspiration
3

30. Research also shows that messages told as stories that are
visually appealing and fun increases recall by 4 times.This
making it easier for people to change.
Build a fire of inspiration
3

31. Using visually appealing and fun communications we build
a fire of inspiration, enabling the technique called
frequencing, which is how the human brain establishes
habits.
Build a fire of inspiration
3

32. Build a fire of inspiration
3
Create the Story of
Change
Build the compelling story of
why change is needed and
what it means (the purpose)
for the greater good of people
and the organization.This
helps people feel engaged in
the change process and they
can work collectively towards a
common objective.

33. Build a fire of inspiration
3
Create the Story of
Change
Build the compelling story of
why change is needed and
what it means (the purpose)
for the greater good of people
and the organization.This
helps people feel engaged in
the change process and they
can work collectively towards a
common objective.
Use Art
Constantly (and persistently)
reinforce key messages and
concepts with images,
drawings, motion stories,
videos, etc.This will help
people make connections and
visualize the positive habits
needed for the transformation
to succeed.

34. I hope this helps you
better prepare for the disruptively
beautiful Hurricane Change.

35. Please share
your comments.
matt@exploreambient.comexploreambient.com Comment on this post

36. A little about me:
I wake up each morning inspired by life's opportunity.And
opportunity is the very thing that has shaped my personality and
career. For me, I am living a passion rather than working a job. I get to
bring my thinking and ideas to clients every day, so that they can grow
their people, business, and community with purpose.
For over 14 years management consulting has allowed me to work
with some of the most recognizable companies in the world – Coca
Cola, Home Depot,AT&T, SunTrust, Blue Cross / Blue Shield, McKesson
just to name a few. I walked away with something valuable at each
stop, and was able to deliver something great in return. I consider
myself a purpose-driven business strategist with a passion for getting
shit done. It took a lifetime of experiences to master business
analysis, process improvement, change delivery, project leadership
and strategy design. I now think holistically and systemically. Most
importantly, I know how to make connections with people, the most
important element to any business.And at the end of the day, my
family, friends, and colleagues have enabled me to have these
opportunities.
My personal goal is simple: bring purpose and passion to the world.

37. CONSULTING ON PURPOSE
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integrate and articulate purpose into their strategic initiatives.
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