Change Management Lessons from Nature

Principles of Change Management
CHANGE MANAGEMENT LESSONS FROM NATURE

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There are number of issues impacting an organization such as the business climate in their region, the
opportunities they foresee, and the challenges on the horizon. The issues are unique and reflects the
specific environment of the organization.
However, the most common and leading challenge is the
challenge of change management Change

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Senior leaders and CEOs of companies, regardless of
the position they occupy on the business success
map, recognize that to compete today the only
constant is, ironically,
Times are changing…
CHANGE IS INEVITABLE IN BUSINESS
change

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All change-related endeavors requires agility,
swift reactions, and the ability to
outmaneuver competition
Change Management for Business Transformation
CHANGE
AGILE
REACTIVE
COMPETITIVE

Of course, it's one thing to recognize the importance of mastering change to
effectively compete, and another thing entirely to effectively manage a strategic
transformation within the organization
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Change Management for Business Transformation

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Challenges of Change Management
great difficulty in seeing the change through
While most organizations are quite adept at
identifying change opportunities and launching
new programs, 60% or higher experience
10%
15%
20%
35%
40%
60%
25%
35%
45%
30%
25%
20%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Change

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Challenges of Change Management
The reasons for the failure of change management initiatives are many and varied:
and many others…
a resistant workforce ill-defined planslack of communication

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• We can look to the nature for inspiration
on Change Management
• With some modification, the principles followed
by migratory birds can be applied to organizations
wishing to pursue a change initiative
Change Management
Lessons from Nature

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• Migrating birds such as Arctic Tern, many reaching thirty years of age, are famous for epic migrations from
their Arctic breeding grounds to the Antarctic and back again each year, a journey of over 44,000 miles
• During their lifetime, an average Arctic Tern will fly approximately 1.5 million miles – the equivalent of three
round trips to the moon.
Arctic
breeding
grounds
Antarctica
Change Management Lessons from Nature

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The birds' annual migration, both sophisticated and
patterned, indicates:
• premeditation
• admirable willfulness, and an
• astonishing ability to delay gratification and
immediate rewards
Driven by an instinctive sense of larger purpose, it
overrules any desire to eat or rest.
Change Management
Lessons from Nature

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Change Management
Lessons from Nature
This characteristic of focusing on a larger
purpose is also identified by Biologist Hugh
Dingle in his study of animal migrations

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Each element of migration can be
applied in a change scenario of a
business
Change Management Lessons from Nature
Let us now look at the five principles of change management

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Leaders recognize their own migration will be a 'prolonged' one
Change does not occur overnight but must be nurtured day-in
and day-out as new habits slowly replace fixed routines that
caused the organization to become stuck in some way
MIGRATIONS ARE PROLONGED
MOVEMENTS THAT CARRY
ANIMALS OUTSIDE FAMILIAR
HABITATS
1

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When faced with a sudden challenge, it's tempting to pull
the easiest lever and change course to placate influential
objectors of the change or make things more palatable for
change-weary employees
But these movements are distractions from the goal and
ultimately demonstrate that senior leadership is not
committed to real change, which relies upon a steadfast
commitment to the chosen path
MIGRATIONS TEND TO BE
LINEAR; NOT ZIGZAGGY
2

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Companies can prepare for their change program by
carefully considering the full spectrum of likely challenges
and opportunities that may arise during the initiative and
supplying responses to these and other conceivable
queries from their staffs
MIGRATIONS INVOLVE
SPECIAL BEHAVIORS OF
PREPARATION AND ARRIVAL
3

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• "Why are we launching the program now? "
• "How will this benefit our employees/customers, etc.? "
• "What do we expect from our employees as part of this change? “
• "What tools will we provide along the way to make the journey easier
for employees? “
Before embarking on a change, you must consider these vital questions:
MIGRATIONS INVOLVE
SPECIAL BEHAVIORS OF
PREPARATION AND ARRIVAL
3

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MIGRATIONS DEMAND
SPECIAL ALLOCATIONS OF
ENERGY
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Sir Graham Day, former CEO of British Shipbuilders,
British Aerospace, and Cadbury Schweppes
recognized this demand when he noted:
"One of the first things that hits you about turning around a company is
the sheer energy it takes. In the beginning, all the energy is yours. It
feels as if you're dragging the entire organization along, just trying to
create some movement, some momentum."

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Leaders must be cognizant of this reality before launching a
change program, and realistically assess their, and their
team's, ability to expend the requisite energy needed to begin
the initial surges of a change
MIGRATIONS DEMAND
SPECIAL ALLOCATIONS OF
ENERGY
4

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Creating a guiding rationale for the change (answering the all-
important question "Why are we doing this?") at the outset of
the program and communicating it relentlessly is one way
leadership teams can protect themselves from the dizzying
array of potential distractions they'll face when attempting to
move the needle on a substantial change program
MIGRATING ANIMALS MAINTAIN
FERVID ATTENTIVENESS TO THE
GREATER MISSION, WHICH KEEPS
THEM UNDISTRACTED BY
CHALLENGES THAT WOULD TURN
OTHER ANIMALS ASIDE
5

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PRINCIPLE
Change is
prolonged and but
must be nurtured
day-in and day-out
as new habits
slowly replace fixed
routines
PRINCIPLE
Change tends to be
linear not zigzag;
requiring a
steadfast
commitment to the
chosen path
PRINCIPLE
Change involves
companies
preparing for likely
challenges and
opportunities
PRINCIPLE PRINCIPLE
Create a guiding
rationale for the
change and
communicate it
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RECAP To read the blog post on the principles of
change management, click here
Change demands
special allocations
of energy,
especially from the
leadership
2 3 4 5

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Learn more about the
software solutions that
can help and support
in your change journey
To know more, Click here
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Change Management Lessons from Nature

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