Will you be ahead of the curve?

In this blog, Astrid Davies explores how successful change management can keep your organisation ahead of the curve.

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At the forefront of or leading in something, such as a developing

situation, field of study or business, social development, etc.

This is how the Free Dictionary’s online idioms reference defines keeping “ahead of the curve”.

Let’s examine what that means. There’s certainly a lot of inherent change in that definition, where you would be “at the forefront”, in a “developing situation”. That sounds unpredictable, evolving and perhaps unclear … so it sounds like the kind of change we deal with every day here at The Change Maker Group.

And in change, there is a lot of potential distractions, which dissipate energy. To keep at the forefront in anything, you will need to be pretty single-minded. The late Stephen R Covey said,

“the main thing, is to keep The Main Thing, the main thing”.

Simple to say, very, very difficult to do. In the next normal, life will be more complex than ever, and this “developing situation” will offer up a host of challenges and possibilities. In the post-pandemic world, there will be a lot of curves out there.

There will be so many changes looming; some of them will be your choice; some of them will offer you no choice at all. How will you prioritise your resources, to make the best advances you can?

So, to revert to Covey: what IS your “main thing”, which has kept you successful, perhaps even ahead of the pre-Covid curve? What is your organisation’s Unique Selling Point, or singular advantage? Is what worked pre-Covid still going to work in this next normal?

And how has the pandemic affected the resources at your disposal? Has the pandemic hit your income streams? Do you have as many people in your organisation? Have new people become available to do different things?

Once you know what your “Main Thing” is, and whether it still is your main thing, you have a clear direction. And that in itself will keep you ahead of most of your competitors, while they work out where their organisation now sits in this new world. However, the key is to have not only a plan of what you will do, but how.

That is where the management of change really comes into play. You will know your resources, so will be able to define what you can and cannot do, moving forward. That will help you plan on how you keep your “Main Thing” front and centre for your organisation.

And that is where managing your change, through your people, is going to really put you ahead of the curve. Empowering your teams, equipping them with knowledge and the freedom to take decisions that really matter, trusting your people to do the right thing well are all things that will build you a strong modern workforce. Resilient, engaged and committed to your “Main Thing”, your people will feel they have a real stake in your whole organisation’s success, as you pull together yet again.

However, this time, you will not be pulling together in adversity, you will be looking towards new opportunities. Change will be offering you those opportunities. You could establish your organisation at the very forefront in your sector. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

It does not, however, sound easy. So, if you could use some expert professional advice on using your “Main Thing” to get you to the forefront and keep you there, The Change Maker Group can help with that. We can offer you a range of executive services, from 1:1 coaching, to organisation-wide change leadership programmes. We offer expertise from all the major industrial sectors. Best of all, it costs nothing to have a chat to discuss your ideas and start making them real.

So please book an appointment with one of our Change Makers, and let’s make a start on your path to “ahead of the curve”, wherever that leads.