Change is NOT a project

We are 15 days into the new year - and I think it's becoming painfully clear to all of us that uncertainty and disruption is here to stay.

In the past thirty years, I have seen, lived through, and studied a wide variety of disruptions around the world.

Just as with COVID-19, every time a crisis started to descend upon the globe, it unleashed a wide variety of questions. They ranged from the purely practical, such as “How do we cut costs?”; to the more managerial, such as “How do I coach my team through paralysis?”; all the way to the existential “What does it all mean for the way we live, work, and interact in the future?”

But as time goes on in every crisis, one question seems to take over most business meetings, conversations, and articles.

“How do we make it until this is over?” starts an executive meeting. “How do we survive until things stabilize?” echoes a chat room for small business owners. “How do we start getting back to normal?” reiterates a business news article.


Hidden in these statements is a particular assumption: Surviving disruption is to be seen as a project - an isolated one-time event, with a clear beginning and an expected end.

All we need to do to survive this crisis is to treat it like any other project, and we’ll cross the finish line soon.

Right?

Well, I have some bad (and good) news here. 


Change is not a project. 

But it does not have to be painful, disruptive, or unexpected. 

So, to help you (and the world) with this question, I've recently written an article for the European Financial Review, which was selected as an Editor's Choice.

Change is not a project. In today's volatile and uncertain world, change can only be managed successfully as a process, a system, a way of life.

I can't wait to hear your feedback.


P.S. Have you had a chance to join our Facebook Live session on Tuesday? We covered:

• How do we move from idea to action - and finally take that first step?
• How do you know you are making the right choice, the right step - and deal with the fear of implementing untried changes?
• How do you get buy-in from top management so that reinvention is fully supported?

Sounds interesting? You can still catch a replay here>>>

————

Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva helps companies such as Coca-Cola, Kohler, and IBM turn change and disruption into an opportunity.

Want to join our amazing reinvention community? Grab this FREE 85-page preview of my new book and you are in: https://www.learn2reinvent.com/handbook

And don't forget to join our community on Facebook. See you there!