Schlagwort-Archive: Change

From nothing simply nothing comes

Common sense tells us that anything adapts to what already is there. Spheres, not cubes, come out of a sphere. In closed systems, it is unlikely that something new will emerge on its own. Except: energy is added from outside. The same is the case in human communities – working groups, departments, and firms. If something has to be changed, it needs a push to get momentum. From nothing simply nothing comes.

The following aspects outline some stimuli that the leaders can give in terms of energy supply.

  • Adaptability
    The persistence in the existing of individual people needs a framework that provides the necessary space for the new. In an appropriate atmosphere that gives employees the chance to make things flexibly on their own, to cooperate across borders and to apply new ideas without any effort changes happen. The customer’s needs are adequately addressed that way. If then the willingness to try new things is encouraged by stress-free, fault-tolerant attitudes and openness, collaborative learning takes place. Thus, all are able to adapt.
  • Participation
    Once you understand that the group creates many more opportunities than individual geniuses, you have to take care to put the team in the position to make decisions at the point of action. This requires that the relevant information is available and that, at the same time, all know that they can and are allowed to contribute positively as well as to plan jointly. This puts the team at the center – with all its objectives, distributed balance of power and group processes. The development of appropriate skills is crucial for the employees, as well as for the leaders, who must give up part of their ego. The contributions through participation of all members cumulate to a larger sum than the sum of individual results.
  • Consistency
    The interaction of many interests leads naturally to a wide range of solutions, which even contradict each other in the worst case. For this reason, conditions have to be created that reduce the divergence of the parties to a healthy degree. The well-known fish that stinks from the head has an important exemplary function. Above all, the desired manners have to be put on paper. This applies to the culture with its convictions, values ​​and the collaboration styles, as well as for the established ways of making decisions and agreeing. To ensure that the described behavior is also put into practice, the executives have the responsibility to take ownership of their expectations and to continuously act accordingly. In addition, they affect personally the employees by consistently expressing the common perspective and by coordinating the involved people accordingly. The consistency of statements, behavior and decisions prevent resistance.
  • Mission
    Eventually the clarification of the mission is the formal element in order to be able to cross the door to the new. The formulated snapshot of the future that describes the targeted final stations, shows the raison d’être of the company. Everyone will then develop its idea of the way to the destination. In the interest of joint collaboration, concrete milestones define reference points, which will again and again realign the forces to the common goal. The more the vision, the mission and the strategy are sharpened for the target group, the clearer they lead the employees. The formulated and accessible mission reduces the interpretation space to a minimum.

Bottom line: Even if the world seems to alter on one way or the other, change that is to be done more quickly or more fundamentally, needs efforts in advance. All those affected people must be able and be permitted to adapt themselves. Platforms for participation have to be created. All aspects of the business must be harmonized in a way that uncertainties concerning the right approach are avoided. And above all, a clear direction must be given. However, this has changed nothing yet. But without these aspects changes are almost impossible. Responsible for creating these basic conditions, which are an effort in advance, is the leadership team. Thereafter the actual change follows. From nothing simply nothing comes.

Transition is the overlay of all modifications

Heraclitus already recognized that everything is changing incessantly – everything flows. Thus you cannot step twice into the same river. That is valid today. The microphone and the phonograph were put together lately in the 19th Century. At the end of the development of many enhancements stood the tape recorder with an integrated microphone that allowed the recording of many parallel channels. A large change came with the analog digital converter. It made it possible to store sounds digitally. A fundamental transformation was created by the miniaturization of the components. Nowadays microphones are available with integrated recording devices. Transition is in the end the overlay of all enhancements, changes and transformations.

The various degrees of changes can be represented by overlaying waves. The frequencies may vary thereby. Others appear out of nowhere, as for example the World Wide Web. At the end it is impossible to predict future circumstances due to the complexity of the overlays. On closer look you find the following differences.

  • Enhancement
    The rework of an existing part makes the greater good better. For this purpose the component is not replaced, but simply refined through post-processing, adjustment or the strengthening of its components. If you use for example more effective oil, the machine runs smoother. As long as nothing changes in the basic build and/or the interferences are very small, it is called enhancement. We learned from Japan the word Kaizen for the enhancements in small steps, the western CIP. A large quantity of these small adjustments results on a long-term basis in changes.
  • Change
    If you replace individual parts with new ones, we speak of change. In this case a component is completely replaced by inserting a revised, reshaped or completely reconceived component. A good example is the invention of the transistor that replaces the error-prone tubes in radios. The larger good is improved, but remains in its essential structure. If all components are replaced over time with new ones, you get in the mid-term an imperceptible transformation.
  • Transformation
    When a fundamental conversion of a complex system takes place, it changes all parameters – parts, components, bearing elements and above all the handling, the purpose and the impact. Good examples are the Kondratjev waves, which show the cyclic developments of the economy based on new technology. The structure changes so drastically that the future users have to be prepared, introduced and trained for the radical change. Usually in the beginning the understanding for the meaningfulness, the necessity and the usages is missing. Transformations have an extensive influence on the transition.
  • Transition
    Out of all enhancements, changes and transformations arise the transition. In the course of time new ideas are put one on the other and lead at some point to a paradigm shift. These are very large changes, which take a long time. Eventually a very large area is affected. The digitization is such a change. It results from the interaction of the information technology and the communication infrastructure, the Internet.

More or less rethinking is required from the involved people depending on the degree of the change. The enhancement and change, which refer to clear structures and mechanical systems, are often overseen. They are hidden in internal technical matters and even unnoticeable, or just a little, in the operation.

The transformation and the change go beyond. They change many aspects at the same time and require a reorientation of the users, which leads naturally to resistances. At first the involved people have to become acquainted to the new. Then introductions are necessary, which convey the appropriate usage. When all is said and done such innovations need also new regulations, which ensure the safe application.

Bottom line: Changes happens in different degrees. The transition results eventually from the overlay of the different modifications. The stronger the modification, the more you have to strive for the understanding of the users with the help of change management.