Fear can sometimes paralyse progress and stop a business or individual from moving forward. The key is to move from fear to action and positively reframe a challenge as an opportunity.
Fear can be described as a ‘castle surrounded by hungry wolves’. Inside the business (castle) life is good, but outside feels scary (wolves) so nothing happens. Instead of hiding from or fighting the ‘wolves’, provide them with direction and purpose (feed them). Fear can then be replaced by opportunity and action.
Businesses today face a multitude of challenges. Reframing those challenges will help overcome them and provide an opportunity for growth and success. For example, ChatGPT is the latest ‘wolf’ for many organisations. Some business leaders are ‘frozen’ by panic and that could have a devastating impact. ChatGPT needs to be reframed, so that the business opportunities and potential it presents are highlighted and can be explored.
A Board can help a business to identify their ‘wolves’, challenge engrained perspectives, and convert today’s issues into opportunities for progress. It can help a company become ‘fit for their future’.
Storytelling, when used effectively and wisely, can lead to increased business success by removing ambiguity and building a shared understanding of the same, consistent ‘picture’. This creates ‘buy in’.
Whether it is a business vision, strategy, objectives or transformation journey, changing the story and narrative can make an organisation’s future tangible. These tactics can move the conversation and mindset so it becomes real to both employees and customers.
Most people embrace, and are energised by, stories if they are clear and compelling. Yet, often a business will try to make data the ‘hero.’ Data should be the support and not the lead message. When storytelling is combined with data that will support and reinforce the message. It becomes a powerful tool for leaders. Consider how your leaders can reinforce the organisation’s story to everyone across the business. By getting your people fully aligned, it will remove any disconnect.
Instead of looking too far into the future, it is essential to focus on achievable steps. Look too far out and people struggle to ‘see it’, and disengage and are likely to dismiss it.
Boards and Executive Teams grapple with balancing immediate concerns and the need for long-term transformation. To be prepared for the future, you have to understand it, make it plausible and accessible to all.
Navigating the dual imperative for short-term risks and long-term transformation is a complex balancing act. If businesses do not get that right, they will continually be playing catch up. The long-term needs to become “the urgent” to be taken seriously and for businesses to get ahead. The purpose must be relevant and resonate with all.
Many organisations, and people pay lip-service to change. It is talked about, gets lots of noise and the concept of change is embraced, but it is often not followed through by hard decisions and tangible actions.
The concept and theory of change is inspiring and even exciting. The challenge is to move from words and intent to action. Find little projects to get started and invest in them. Experimentation often leads to new, unexpected opportunities which can then grow. Accessible steps forward that individuals across a business can embrace are easier than big leaps into the unknown. By focusing on the ‘WHAT IF..’ for their industry and the consumer, businesses can push the debate and be prepared for the future.
Whether external (at a global, regional or local level), inside a business, and sometimes through a combination of both - a lack of balance can provide an opportunity to take a ‘system’ to a higher or different level.
When there is stability or equilibrium, there is rarely the impetus or appetite to change things. In contrast, when there is a state of dis-equilibrium in a complex system there is opportunity as the need for it becomes evident.
The macro dynamics can be political, economic, societal or environmental. In this respect, we are at an inflection point now, both internationally and in New Zealand. Many of these factors are coming together to create a ‘perfect storm’. There will be businesses that grab the opportunity this brings, while others will either be locked by it or even go backwards. It is a case of embracing change and utilising it to re-evaluate your business purpose and goals.
Within this operating dynamic, it is important to understand where you sit as a NED and your role in the organisation. Sometimes it can be a case of changing your remit and focus. Boards and Senior Executives need to consider:
What is your organisation's narrative today?
What does it need to be to survive and be resilient?
How much time and money are you investing in the future?
How central are you to your company’s reinvention?
By making these questions explicit, leaders can zero in on their biggest possibilities and vulnerabilities.
We are living through a fundamental transformation in the way we work (why?, what?,
how?, when?, where?) as well as its role in our lives.
Automation is replacing human tasks, changing the skills and capabilities that organisations will need and look for in their people. This is not a time to sit back and wait for events to unfold.
There is an opportunity to lead with purpose and help businesses play a pivotal role. To act as a catalyst of innovation and a ‘community of solvers’ that plays for the long haul. Act now and build a clear narrative.
Although the future is exciting and provides new, untapped opportunities for industries and organisations, it is tough to take the bold step into the unknown where there is no clear path. Embracing change and acting on it is an essential for any business today. Many leading business writers around the globe have termed change as an imperative now and not negotiable - ‘the new normal’. The mindset and attitude of business leaders and boards will play a key role in getting a business aligned, committed and making change happen.