Change is hard, but anyone can find the key to success, and this starts with understanding:
Why the majority is always wrong…don’t be a lemming.
March 2024, I did a survey on LinkedIn to understand the key success factors to implement change and drastically grow a company. It was the same question as I raised earlier that year among many Fortune 500 corporates during one of my keynotes at the Innovation Roundtable hosted by Henkel, Düsseldorf Germany.
As the number 1 key success factor, Culture and Team typically accounted for 72% to 82%. The Strategy and Business model were the runner-up key success factors with a combined 13% to 20%, followed by having a thorough Business Process with 5% to 8%. Astonishingly, having a supportive Technology Stack (with smart, AI-based tools) was ranked at the bottom close to 0%.
Interestingly, during that time, our team at Mitsubishi Chemical Goup, developed proven AI-use cases for the commercial department, productline and R&D, which could not have been developed without the right technology stack. Selecting the right tools was crucial for our success. Furthermore, the input for the strategy could not have been generated without the right technology stack. The majority was wrong, but what happened here?
There tends to be resistance to work differently, to work with new tools, since it challenges the status quo. It seems to threaten our daily routines.
I would like to share this anecdote, a scene from the movie Amélie (2001, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet), to illustrate how impactful distortions on the daily routine can be.
It is 1997 and we are in Paris in the famous arrondissement Montmartre. Amélie works as a waitress in Café des 2 Moulins. To combat her loneliness as an adult, she performs good but secret deeds for the people in her life. Her love for food helps to win over new friends, especially in the case of the mentally challenged Lucien. Working for the greengrocer, Lucien treats every fruit and vegetable like a precious treasure that should be handled with respect and gentleness. Amélie, who herself appreciates small pleasures, such as plunging her hand deep into a sack of grain, understands his childlike need to take delight in everyday life. Unfortunately, the boss of Lucien, M. Collignon is a bully that does not leave any moment unused to make Lucien ridiculous in front of customers.
Having witnessed this too often, Amélie decides to take action. She manages to get the key of Mr. Collignon’s apartment. Her delicate, yet successful revenge begins. She replaces the light bubbles with dimmed bubbles, she replaces his slippers with a smaller size, she shortcuts his reading lamp and when Mr. Collignon is losing his mind and wants to call his mother with speed dial, she replaced the number with a psychiatric institution. Mr. Collignon has a mental breakdown. Small changes in our daily routine can have huge effects on people. Where does this effect come from? Why tend people to resist change?
Our reptilian brain, composed of the ganglia and brainstem, governs our primitive drives and habits. This part of the brain mostly operates on autopilot. So, we scarcely have to think about everyday activities. It conveniently saves time and energy.
However, our Stone Age ancestors lived in harsh environments and one misstep could mean disaster. The hunter-gatherers had just enough food and shelter to survive. Any kind of change was risky.
Change is risky when you are comfortable with the status quo. Your routines are getting crushed, which can be an earth-shattering experience.
In theory, we realize that we should adapt to a changing environment and take the advantage or grasp the opportunity of new ways of working, but it is so damn difficult. Our brains feel threatened, and our fight or flight instinct, deeply rooted in the brain’s amygdala, is in high gear.
Change is interpreted as a threat (by a part of the brain called amygdala) and releases hormones for fear, fight or flight. Your body is protecting you from change, even if it comes with tons of benefits.
When advocating and implementing Change (C), it is not sufficient to show the benefits to overcome Resistance (R), it needs to come with 3 additional steps:
In the 1960, David Gleicher created a formula, that was further refined by Kathleen Dannemiller:
C = D x V x F > R
What if your technology stack or toolbox feels like you are talking to a colleague or have a personal assistant. What if this new way of working feels very natural and it feels like it doesn’t threaten your daily routines? The new way of working might be less time consuming, less frustrating, more effective and can be done with few simple concrete steps?
Besides taking the right steps to overcome resistance, it is important to work with people and colleagues that are willing to lead such transition and that are comfortable with challenging the status quo.
Why you need to hire aliens
Transitions are not easy and need people with the right mindset, the so-called early adopters that are willing drive change in an organization. This is the reason why you need to hire aliens.
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