"Today
our institutions are up against new challenges: a rapidly accelerating pace of
change, hyper-competition, the commoditization of knowledge, and
ever-escalating demands for social accountability," says Gary Hamel,
author of What
Matters Now: How to Win in a World of Relentless Change, Ferocious Competition,
and Unstoppable Innovation (2012). However, our institutions aren't
wired for change. Instead they're wired to be disciplined and efficient, something
that comes from "routinizing the non-routine." Adapting to change
means organizations must give up outdated routines and "future-proof"
themselves for change.
How do you
future-proof your organization? According to Hamel:
1. Anticipate change by resisting the
tendency to avoid or ignore disconcerting developments; paying attention to new
technologies, unconventional competitors, and unserved customers; and act out how
changes will affect you.
2. Solicit options from employees,
vendors, and customers and learn how to experiment cheaply by using
storyboards, simulations, role-playing scenarios, and cheap product or service
mock-ups (i.e., rapid prototyping).
3. Become flexible by subdividing
large, complex organizational units into smaller differentiated ones; allowing
people proposing new products and services to compete for resources with those
invested in established ones; and multiply the funding sources for developing
new products and services.
4. Avoid (a) investments that preclude
future mid-course corrections, (b) inflexible product designs and service
models; and (c) investing too much in one product or market.
5. Program your organizational DNA for
resilience by challenging your employees to come up with new ideas, studying
how other entities change and adapt, and using the web to foster collaboration.
Here are more of Hamel's ideas:
