Harnessing the behaviour of people to deliver optimum results is a most potent force that is present in only the most successful organisations.

Organisations are like the Rubik Cube; multi-dimensional and complex. And if you make a change in one part you can be sure that there will be a corresponding change somewhere else.

Many organisations recognise the power of culture as a key driver to success and many embark upon programmes that are designed to change their culture when they recognise things in their business that they don’t particularly like.

Our insight is that it is important to remember that ‘Culture’ is an outcome; the product of the values, beliefs and behaviours held by the organisation and its individual people. It’s a product of processes and systems and how things get done. It’s affected by what’s said and also what’s not said. It’s not a ‘thing’ in itself.

A. Inaccurate, incomplete or overly simplistic organisational analysis can cause a change initiative to be less than successful.

When this happens:-

• The benefits of change are not realised while costs are incurred
• The change leaders lose credibility in the eyes of the organisation
• Change cynicism and resilience increase in the workforce, reducing its ability to positively embrace change in the future

For these reasons it is vital that change programmes are set up to MAXIMISE success. Most are not; the challenge is over-simplified and the fact is 80% of all change programmes FAIL!

B. We are perfectly formed to deliver the results we currently get

C. Behaviour is reflective; for the organisation to display different behaviour, the leadership must display consistently different behaviour

D. Unless everyone’s perception is the same there will be neither be a recognition nor a willingness to change

Our Zoomers have been engaged in a number of change programmes and understand how success can be achieved. We’ve seen transformational change in many organisations we’ve worked with and the competitive advantage that has brought those organisations is immense.

Whilst we might refer to the ‘culture of an organisation’ we should remember that organisations are just a whole bunch of individual people so cultural change very much starts with the individual. So consider our very line from the film animation ‘Finding Nemo’ – “I am a shark, not a mindless eating machine; if I am to change this image, I must first change myself.”