Finding and Driving Change

A business is a social organization created to achieve specific goals and those goals are what drives the organizational structure.  With that being said there are patterns of activities/actions which help drive efficiencies in those activities; the problem is people new to the organization have a to take the time to  discover the patterns and they also prevent people from creating new ideas/innovations. 

So in the era of finding and driving change, what is a person to do who is in charge of finding and driving innovation?  

You start with finding the current patterns ingrained into the organization as to where ideas start and how they flow from approval to execution. This will guide you to find the current sources of ideas and innovation in the organization.  I also propose you start with the following steps:

• Look for the patterns of where ideas originate in the company, business units and teams.
• Evaluate the influence the leaders in those areas might have, both formal and informal.
• Identify how & where those ideas are introduced in the approval process.
• Determine how & where you can attach yourself in the approval process. This has the benefit of earlier awareness and the ability to impact or influence direction and leverage IT’s capabilities.

These steps will get you to the current source of ideas, but this is primarily a short-term and  “reactive” approach to change. To start driving change/ideas/innovations, you begin by sharing your approaches/perspectives/outlooks with the current change-agents and together start with the following steps:

• Explain your goals are “better outcomes and agility” for the business and the focus is on outcomes.
• Begin a campaign aimed at the CxOs, stating the innovation focus is on achieving business goals, and how your enhanced connectivity is creating an impact.
• Ask for an active role in strategic planning. The styles of leadership/ownership at each organization differ, so each situation will require a different approach and pace to define the role.

The first 4 steps yield results quickly, the next 3 steps are long-term commitments. If done correctly, you’ll be able to dramatically change the perception and actual value of the ideas/innovations/change and move yourself to a more valuable role in your current and next job.