Simply put, I understand Transformational change to be a change in the nature of an individual, organisation or social system, conscious or otherwise, which occurs in response to a change in it's environment.
There is perhaps a subtle, yet significant, change of emphasis here, when considered from the perspective of a business strategist; the inference being that a business is changed by it's environment, rather than changing in order that it may re-shape it. "Nothing new there", I hear you say and indeed there is not, the issue however is that in all but a few cases, the company transformations that have occurred, as a result of changes in both market and socio-economic conditions, over the last decade have, in the main, been viewed as negative by large corporations. Paradoxically, these are the very companies with the resources to invest in strategic planning functions and whom have prided themselves on attracting the cream of the MBA crop.
So what may have gone wrong? My contention is that the Western, male competitive ethos of goal orientation lies at the root of the problem. As males, we still have a tendency to view the working of business from a mechanistic perspective. We believe that if we can work out how the machine is put together, we can then determine which levers need to be pulled and in which order to make it work. Once we know how it works, we can then compete with our rivals to be the fastest, most aggressive driver of our business to ensure we get there, where ever we think there is, first.
The problems with this mentality are endless, the issue of destination has to be a major cause for concern, if things are changing so much and so quickly, within a typical 12 month corporate planning cycle what chance do you have? If indeed we don't live in a clockwork world, which I strongly contend we don't, what value does all the measuring, incentivising and levering activity have? I am not arguing against strategic planning, or planning of any sort for that matter, it is just the nature and purpose of it that I hope to encourage you to reconsider. More fundamental to that however, is the need to reconsider how organisations can be better prepared to respond to changing and changes in environmental circumstances.
Successful transformational change is less involved in making a fundamental change happen, than it is in developing an ability to change.
Martin Lyle
Senior Project Manager, UK |  |
