Disruption is constant for all of us. Without any certainty when the storms will end, we need to rapidly transform at the same time.
If you feel pressure to transform now and get future-fit, you are not alone.
Over 75% of leaders expect to implement 5 major changes to get fit for the future in the next year — from repositioning in the market to new competition, industry consolidation and major reforms.
What that means is today, organisations can’t afford to be slow. They must always be ready to take rapid action - and become more like fighter aircraft, not troop carriers. You want a plane that’s fighting fit for the future but at the same time can take rapid action to out-manoeuvre the weather and get you out of trouble in the next storm.
Should I wait out the storm or start now?
So what if a new crisis is looming? Do you wait until the storm has passed?
Or can you actually tackle a fundamental transformation of your organisation right now, while still dealing with the crisis? Can you rebuild a fighter aircraft as you fly?
I think you know the answer.
The bad news is that if you wait until the storms pass, you will be left behind. Worse, it’s impossible to just stop and rebuild your whole organisation with a multi-year program like you did in the past.
So you do need to START NOW. But what are the practical steps we can all take?
Start NOW with the FIREUP RAPID ACTION PLAN
Ultimately, tackling both a crisis and transformation at the same time is easier than you would expect - and we’ve got many successful case studies to prove it. If you think about it, at all times - whether it’s crisis or transformation - it’s crucial that you put your people in the centre.
You need to know your leaders are ready to champion any changes and how to empower your people for rapid action. If you are clear on who to have on board, you can take more rapid action.
So here’s our 3-step FIRE UP RAPID ACTION PLAN with practical TOOLS and RESOURCES to get you started.
STEP 1: CHECK if your leaders are ready to champion change. Your leaders are like the ignition system for your engine. If they are not working in synchromesh, then the gears start to grind.
STEP 2: LEARN how to empower your people for rapid action and scale up change. Your people are the fuel to power up your engine. The challenge is HOW to put people at the centre, empowering them in the right way so they accelerate shifts in capability and culture and your engine responds more rapidly.
STEP 3: MAP your stakeholders. You need to know who you need close in a crisis AND who to take on your transformation journey. To rev up your engine you want to get moving quickly, in small steps. This means you need to know who to engage, when to engage them and the right way to get buy-in and ownership. It’s your partners, your customers and others in the community. Ideally, if you engage up to 80% of them, you’ll keep it all connected for collective action and get your first results within 90 days.
Rapid action in the airline industry. You would think being one of the most heavily regulated industries meant it would have been slower to respond. Yet, less than a month into the COVID crisis, Qantas made a deal with Woolworths to redeploy many of its staff in supermarkets. Now, it’s one of the best-positioned airlines in the world as it is scaling back up again (even if there’s been a bit of turbulence!).
Take a moment to reflect. By the time you have read this, there will be another storm looming on the horizon. In every crisis there is opportunity. So, are you embracing the opportunities right in front of you?
If you’d like to talk it through, get in touch with us today.