Change

1. Rapid change is the new normal, requiring adaptive organizations

The clock is ticking. The gap between what is needed and what most organizations are capable of continues to widen.

Accelerating change. The pace and complexity of change in the world are accelerating, driven by technological advancements and global integration. This trend has been ongoing for decades and is likely to continue, creating both threats and opportunities for organizations.

Adaptability is crucial. To thrive in this environment, organizations must become more adaptive, agile, and responsive to change. Traditional approaches to management and strategy are often too slow and inflexible to keep up with the rapidly shifting landscape.

Continuous transformation. Rather than viewing change as episodic or cyclical, organizations need to embrace continuous transformation as the new normal. This requires developing capabilities and cultures that can quickly sense and respond to changes in the external environment.

2. Human nature and modern organizations struggle with accelerating change

Neither human nature, nor the most common form of the modern organization, are designed to handle anything close to this degree of change.

Hardwired for stability. Human beings are naturally wired with a "Survive" system that focuses on threats and stability. This can make it challenging to embrace change and uncertainty, often leading to resistance or anxiety in the face of transformation.

Organizational barriers. Modern organizations, designed primarily for efficiency and reliability, often have structures and processes that inhibit rapid change and innovation. These include:

• Hierarchical decision-making
• Rigid planning processes
• Siloed departments
• Risk-averse cultures

Overcoming limitations. To succeed in a fast-changing world, organizations must find ways to work with, rather than against, human nature and overcome the limitations of traditional organizational structures.

3. Effective change activates both Survive and Thrive channels

The solution here is not to turn overactivated Survive into underactivated Survive, to go "from Survive to Thrive." Even very sophisticated people fall into this trap both while trying to make their enterprises prosper and while attempting to drive broad-scale social change. What's needed is a healthy and appropriate activation of both Survive and Thrive.

Balancing Survive and Thrive. Successful change initiatives recognize the importance of both the Survive (threat-focused) and Thrive (opportunity-focused) channels in human nature. Rather than trying to eliminate Survive responses, effective leaders learn to modulate them while activating Thrive.

Activating Thrive. To engage the Thrive channel:

• Focus on opportunities and positive outcomes
• Encourage creativity and innovation
• Celebrate progress and small wins
• Foster a sense of purpose and meaning

Managing Survive. To prevent overactivation of the Survive channel:

• Provide clear, transparent communication
• Address legitimate concerns and fears
• Create psychological safety
• Minimize unnecessary stress and uncertainty

4. Leadership from many, not just the top, drives successful change

The solution, as shown in the stories in this book, is for many, many more people, regardless of where they sit in an organization or community, to step up and lead.

Distributed leadership. Successful change in complex, fast-moving environments requires leadership at all levels of the organization, not just from top executives. This distributed leadership model allows for faster decision-making, greater innovation, and more effective implementation of change initiatives.

Empowering employees. Organizations need to create environments that encourage and support leadership behaviors from employees at all levels. This includes:

• Providing autonomy and decision-making authority
• Recognizing and rewarding initiative
• Developing leadership skills throughout the organization
• Creating opportunities for cross-functional collaboration

Cultural shift. Embracing distributed leadership often requires a significant cultural shift, moving away from traditional top-down management styles towards more collaborative, empowering approaches.

5. Strategy execution demands broad engagement, not just elite planning

Too often, strategic planning is framed as a burning platform, which reinforces and overactivates Survive. Hence the importance of pulling back and looking at bigger and longer-term opportunities.

Beyond top-down planning. Traditional strategic planning, driven by a small group of executives, is often too slow and disconnected from the realities of rapidly changing markets. Effective strategy execution requires broad engagement throughout the organization.

Engaging the many. Successful strategy implementation involves:

• Communicating a compelling vision of opportunity
• Involving diverse perspectives in strategy development
• Empowering employees to take action on strategic initiatives
• Creating feedback loops to adapt strategies quickly

Balancing analysis and action. While data and analysis remain important, successful strategies in fast-changing environments require a balance of rigorous planning and rapid experimentation and learning.

6. Digital transformation requires people-centric, not just tech-centric, approaches

Digital transformations tend to create more data. For the most part today, this increase in information and data is seen as an asset, and not as both an asset and a problem.

Beyond technology. Successful digital transformations go beyond implementing new technologies. They require fundamental changes in how people work, collaborate, and make decisions.

Human-centered design. Effective digital initiatives focus on:

• Understanding user needs and pain points
• Redesigning processes to leverage technology
• Developing digital skills and capabilities across the organization
• Creating a culture of continuous learning and adaptation

Data overload risks. While increased data can provide valuable insights, it can also lead to information overload and decision paralysis. Organizations must develop strategies to:

• Filter and prioritize relevant information
• Develop data literacy skills
• Use data to inform, not replace, human judgment

7. Restructuring must balance efficiency with innovation and growth

In general, the traditional approach was designed for a slower-moving and less complex world in which change happened less often, business cycles were longer, and innovation was less important.

Beyond cost-cutting. Traditional restructuring approaches often focus primarily on cost reduction and short-term efficiency gains. In rapidly changing environments, this can undermine an organization's ability to innovate and grow.

Balancing priorities. Effective restructuring in today's context requires:

• Maintaining core capabilities while increasing flexibility
• Investing in areas of future growth and innovation
• Engaging employees in the redesign process
• Communicating a compelling vision for the future

Speed and adaptability. Restructuring efforts should aim to create more agile, responsive organizational structures that can quickly adapt to changing market conditions.

8. Cultural change is a long-term process of new actions and mindsets

Because of all the looping, momentum building, and steps in the process, the sustained cultural change described above really does require time.

Gradual transformation. Cultural change is not a quick fix but a long-term process that unfolds over years. It involves shifting deeply ingrained beliefs, behaviors, and ways of working.

Action-driven change. Cultural transformation is driven by:

• New actions and behaviors aligned with desired culture
• Visible results and wins from these new behaviors
• Recognition and celebration of progress
• Reinforcement through systems, processes, and leadership

Patience and persistence. Leaders must maintain focus and commitment to cultural change over extended periods, recognizing that progress may be incremental and setbacks are common.

9. M&A success hinges on cultural integration and leadership from all levels

Research shows the solution is to recognize the potential cultural integration problem before the deal is signed. Add that factor into any risk analysis—which means you might back out of some projects.

Beyond financial synergies. Successful M&A requires careful attention to cultural integration, not just financial and operational considerations. Cultural misalignment is a leading cause of M&A failure.

Early integration planning. Cultural integration should begin:

• During due diligence, assessing cultural fit
• Immediately post-deal, with a clear integration strategy
• With engagement of employees at all levels

Distributed leadership. Effective M&A integration involves:

• Empowering employees from both organizations to lead integration efforts
• Creating opportunities for cross-company collaboration
• Developing a shared vision and set of values

10. Agile methodologies need dual systems balancing stability and flexibility

A dual system in the culture yields an organization that allows both Survive and Thrive to do what they were designed to do without overheating or going to sleep—all of which helps create an enterprise that is sustainably reliable, efficient, fast, and agile.

Beyond software development. Agile principles can be applied broadly across organizations, not just in IT or software development. However, simply implementing Agile practices is not enough to create true organizational agility.

Dual operating system. Successful organizations develop a dual system that balances:

• Hierarchical structures for stability and efficiency
• Network structures for flexibility and innovation

Cultural embedding. To be effective, Agile principles and the dual operating system must become embedded in the organization's culture, shaping how work is done at all levels.

11. Social initiatives benefit from corporate change principles

There is another, even broader, consequence to more rapid and complex change. In addition to the need for almost all organizations to adapt, adjust, accelerate, and get ahead of the curve, we collectively face perils and have wonderful possibilities that transcend what any single enterprise can handle.

Shared challenges. Large-scale social initiatives face many of the same challenges as corporate change efforts, including resistance to change, complex stakeholder landscapes, and the need for broad engagement.

Applying change principles. Social initiatives can benefit from corporate change strategies such as:

• Developing a compelling vision of opportunity
• Engaging diverse stakeholders in planning and implementation
• Creating and celebrating early wins
• Building momentum through distributed leadership

Scale and complexity. While social initiatives often involve greater scale and complexity than corporate changes, the fundamental principles of effective change remain applicable.

Last updated: February 26, 2025