Have you ever had the experience of pouring your heart into a project, using all your best ideas and resources as a leader, only to find that the project fails?
CEO Lee Murphy was on the cusp of a project that was, to borrow language from the political arena, “too big to fail.” He was about to shift his company’s entire business model. Succeeding would mean helping the company reach a sustainable, growth-oriented track. Failure could mean a dramatic, negative change in his company’s fortunes.
Find out how Murphy successfully shifted his company’s business model in this TED Talk-style video.
Research shows that 70 percent of change initiatives fail. Scholars like Bruce Avolio suggest this is because the organization was not ready for change and was not aligned around the direction of the change.
How can you get your organization ready for successful change?
- Make sure your organization is clear about the company’s values and strategic direction.
- Upgrade your own change management literacy with this reading list.
- Identify participatory processes for making decisions about what changes to pursue, and how to implement them. Our Center often recommends Appreciative Inquiry, which you can read about in our overview, What is AI?.