Disruption, Anyone?

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Google is getting into the gaming business. According to the Wall Street Journal, they’re launching with a cloud-based service, hardware component and separate controller. Google is set to disrupt another industry.

There are plenty of disrupters out there. Some are behemoths like Google or Amazon. Others seemingly rise from nowhere. And, no matter what our industry, disruption is a very real possibility. We can’t run from it. We can’t hide from it. We need to be ready for it.

How can you get ready? Or even better, how could you become the disrupter?

Keep in touch with new technology. It can be overwhelming because it changes so rapidly. That’s the exact reason we need to stay in touch with it. Join a tech-focused professional group. Check out tech blogs. Pay attention to the everchanging buzz words – AI, autonomous vehicles, blockchain – and then find out what they mean. And ask, ‘how could this impact the work we do and the value we provide to clients?’

Look outside your industry. Clients invariably ask me ‘what are other company’s like ours doing?’ It’s not a question of what other company’s like yours are doing, it’s what are other companies unlike yours doing? I don’t know the gaming industry but it’s quite possible gaming companies didn’t look at Google as a company ‘like ours.’ Have your team look outside, too.

Listen, really listen, to your customers. Don’t just ask how you can do what you do better or how to improve your product. Ask them what their problems are. Find out what they want to solve. It quite possibly will have nothing to do with what you are currently providing. The question is then, do we have an opportunity here? Your team is probably positioned even better than you are to ask these questions and see the opportunities. Make the asking part of their job.

Build space to experiment. With different perspectives added to your thinking, there should come new ideas. Give space and resources to experiment. Try out ideas on a small scale. Learn from the failures and build on the successes.

Disruption, almost by definition, is something you’re not prepared for. It can be a disaster for companies and individual careers alike… so you have to get prepared. So, before Google, the start-up around the corner or across the globe turns you and your company upside down, invest time and resources making yourself as disruption-proof as possible.

When is Loyalty a Disadvantage for Change Leaders?

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When is Loyalty a Disadvantage for Change Leaders? 
by Edith Onderick-Harvey & James Harvey 

 

When it’s the wrong type of loyalty.

We’ve talked in the past about the importance of building trust in leading change efforts.  Change creates discomfort and disruption to the way people do things and how they interact with others – sometimes in profound ways.  In short, it puts a strain on relationships, and therefore, on loyalty. And what does a leader under pressure to manage a significant change often do, almost reflexively?  They try to leverage the loyalty of others.

There’s good news and bad news in this.   Here’s the good news.  The right kind of loyalty provides a solid foundation for the trust and leadership people are looking for from others during challenging situations.  It makes it easier for a leader to convey the value of the change and enlist others in making it happen.

The bad news?  It’s all too easy to misunderstand the nature of loyalty or to disregard the consequences of “fake loyalty.”  You risk building a house of cards that falls apart under the high stakes and duress that change often brings.

You want to build the kind of solid relationships that allow you and your management team to build long-term change agility into your organization’s DNA.  You want to avoid:

  • Blind loyalty.  This is based on the premise that an idea or argument is right simply because it comes from someone who is in a position of leadership or iinfluence. But great ideas come from robust conversation and differing perspectives.  Blind loyalty doesn’t question. And blind loyalists simply execute the plan.  Don’t count on them to take a lot of initiative to uncover or find solutions to problems that inevitably pop up.
  • Forced loyalty. If someone is demanding loyalty, it is given out of compliance and fear. Forced loyalty may look like engagement to an outsider but it’s not. Underneath the surface is resentment and anxiety.
  • Favor-seeking loyalty. This individual laughs at even your worst jokes and is often way too eager to support your ideas – even the ones you’re not too sure of yourself.  It isn’t about the team or the larger vision. It’s about being rewarded for being a favorite. This type of loyalty is toxic to the team. People recognize what’s happening.  It often creates distrust, jealousy and behaviors that undermine rather than elevate.
  • Conflict-avoidant loyalty. Some people go along to get along.  They always do what’s asked (i.e., they’re loyal) because even modest amounts of conflict make them very uncomfortable.
Loyalty naturally feels good.  Even “fake loyalty” does.  And in the short run, it can have its uses.  But in the long run, it erodes the very relationships you need in order to thrive in a changing environment.   At the very least you can end up surrounded by “yes men.”  There’s an old business adage: if two people always agree, one of you is unnecessary.

When you are a leader implementing change, ask yourself: how do I create buy-in and enhance loyalty? Have you and the organization helped people move through the change curve or have you tried to go from awareness to commitment in one giant step?  We work with leaders every day to create loyalty and move people through the change curve. Read about one of our client’s results.