A recent PwC survey of 4,700 CEOs found 45% are worried that their businesses won’t be viable in a decade without reinvention. This is just the most recent proof point that change is no longer optional — it’s imperative.
But understanding the need for change and making change happen are two completely separate things. Why is change so hard? Part of the reason that up to 70% of corporate change efforts fail lies in the fundamental makeup of our brain and in our energy. The human brain seeks certainty and likes the status quo. It is wired to code change like an error. Organizational change efforts are up against more than 100,000 years of evolution telling us to resist change.
No vision, goal, or future state can be achieved until the energy surrounding it is greater than the status quo. The good news is there are ways to prepare for change to get teams energized and invested in the success of the effort, so they focus on the gain, not the pain.
The 7 forces of transformation
The key is in a holistic approach to change that considers the involvement and fulfillment of all stakeholders to ensure change efforts succeed and will stick. It focuses on three main energies associated with change — mind, emotion, and action — and seven forces essential to successful outcomes.
Mind energy fuels imagination and is created by taking time to visualize, imagine, and daydream. The first two forces of transformation are powered by mind energy and they’re what starts the effort out strong.
1. Power equals willpower and leverage to achieve results; and
2. Governance equals norms and rules that guide change.
Emotional energy fuels passion and commitment. It motivates and influences us and drives excitement, anticipation, and desire. The next two forces of transformation are rooted in emotional energy and this is where fulfillment is fostered among those involved in the transformation.
3. Camaraderie equals mutual trust, and commitment helps teams overcome obstacles; and
4. Joy equals belief that you’re making a difference. Doing good feels good and creates fun.
Finally, action energy fuels persistence. It’s where the culmination of mind and emotional energies build enough to propel action. The last three forces of transformation are driven by action energy and help align the goals and strategies of the undertaking.
5. Intelligent action equals think for results;
6. Technique equals skillful action that works for the long haul; and
7. Flow equals harmony and momentum. People engaged in an activity are more likely to keep doing it.
Knowing how to engineer the right energy is like a secret code that can propel any idea into reality.
MJ Reiners is president of Summerland Education LLC and is the best-selling author of Engineering an Epiphany: Master Business Evolution Using the 7 Forces.
