ORGANIZATIONAL AGILITY AND ADAPTABILITY
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THE BENEFITS OF ADAPTABLE ORGANIZATIONS
Across industries and geographies, the most successful organizations exhibit cultural traits that distinguish them from their less profitable competitors. When pervasive across levels and functions, these characteristics position the organization to adapt swiftly to respond to customer needs, meet the demands of shifting markets and new competition, and commodify innovation to set the course for enduring success.
What Makes an Organization Adaptable?
These cultures are aware of dynamics inside and outside of their organization, with management that cares deeply about customers, stockholders, and employees. They see change as a constant, and they strongly value people and processes that can create useful change (e.g. leadership up and down the management hierarchy). Leadership pays close attention to all of their constituencies – especially their customers – and they initiate change when needed to serve their legitimate interests... even if that entails taking some risks.
Rigid Cultures | Adaptable Cultures |
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Kotter's research on the role that agility and change capability play in business success shows a direct correlation between adaptable organizations and financial and strategic achievement. Companies that prioritize the development of employees' change capabilities see a measurable return on that investment both in employee behavior and in the bottom line.
Our research shows that adaptable organizations outperform those who are not adaptable by an average of 5x.
OUR FOUNDATION
The Science of Change
THERE'S A SCIENCE TO CHANGE
Dr. John Kotter set out in 1972 to answer the question: What makes transformational change efforts succeed or fail? Over the decades, he studied hundreds of organizations. His empirical research revealed eight common elements that are universally present across all successful transformations. The Kotter 8-Step Process for Leading Change was born, followed by Kotter to continue the research and translate it to impact.
Much has changed in the last four decades – both in the research and in the world. With the level of complexity and uncertainty continuing to increase, change today is more continuous than episodic. In Kotter’s most recent book, the authors describe an emerging Science of Change based on the latest research in brain science, organizational design, behavioral science, and business transformations. This Science of Change informs the most successful approaches, rooted in a deeper understanding of:
- 1.Human nature and our response to threats and opportunities
- 2.The impact of the traditional organization form and design
- 3.Effective strategies, principles, and tactics to lead complex change
Today’s world is more complex and more volatile than ever, and the speed of change is continuing to accelerate in hard-to-predict ways. The most recent research from neuroscience – overlaid with Kotter’s expertise in leading change – underscores the importance of deeply understanding how human hardwiring impacts individuals’ and organizations’ response to change.
While human beings are resistant to many types of change, we are also – by nature – curious and open to other types of change. Our resistance or acceptance of change is deeply rooted in our brain-body hardwiring and is reflected in a two-channel system.
Survive Channel
The Survive Channel is activated by perceived threats in our environment, and is typically accompanied by feelings of fear, anxiety, and stress. These threats trigger our sympathetic nervous system (SNS) – releasing chemicals that cause our focus to narrow, with all attention directed at eliminating the threat (fight or flight). When working well, we solve problems quickly. However, when Survive is overheated, it results in prolonged stress and a “freeze” response, leading to burnout or an inability to act.
Thrive Channel
The Thrive Channel is activated by perceived opportunities, and is typically accompanied by excitement, passion, and joy. These opportunities trigger our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) – releasing chemicals that allow our minds to broaden and prompt creativity, innovation, and collaboration. The energy associated with Thrive, combined with the generation of results that show progress towards the opportunity, is much more sustainable over time.
Networks + Hierarchies
The powerful combination of the science of change and the art of implementation creates and sustains a network – the heart of any successful transformation, and the centerpiece of our work. At Kotter, we define a network as a collection of passionate leaders who come together from all across your community to be inspired by a big opportunity for change. They are the nucleus of a powerful movement that crosses silos to generate impact and establish new ways of working.
In Accelerate!, Dr. Kotter explains how traditional organizational hierarchies evolved to meet the daily demands of running an enterprise. For most companies, the hierarchy is the singular operating system at the heart of the firm. But, the reality is, this system simply is not built for an environment where change has become the norm. Dr. Kotter advocates a new system – a second, more agile, network-like structure that operates in concert with the hierarchy to create what he calls a "dual operating system" – one that allows companies to capitalize on rapid-fire strategic challenges and still make their numbers.
At Kotter, we know change isn’t led by a small project team. Based on our 8 Change Accelerators and 4 Change Principles, we guide leaders to create the optimal environment that encourages the organization as a whole to act. This action fuels both immediate results and a sense of urgency that accelerate the strategic objectives.
It’s not just about implementing a process; it’s about unleashing the power of people in pursuit of true transformation.
The 8 Accelerators are a series of organic, ongoing and overlapping elements that create networks of engaged people who are urgent and energized around the same opportunity.
The 4 Change Principles are essential to assess change readiness, strength and maturity of change capabilities across individuals and organizations, and a guide for decision-making and prioritization.
OUR APPROACH
Change that's Sustainable + Scalable
ADAPTABLE ORGANIZATIONS DON'T DEVELOP BY CHANCE
The power of building change capability and delivering results
The secret to building a truly adaptable, change-capable organization that can stay ahead of threats and take advantage of opportunities is to be able to do two things well: deliver results today and build the capability to change tomorrow. Organizations that thrive through change have the unique ability to excel at both of these.
Delivering results today not only satisfies market and shareholder expectations. It also creates the proof points of progress needed to build momentum for change. It validates the direction of the organization, instills belief in what is possible, and challenges assumptions around what the business can accomplish when conditions, mindsets, and behaviors begin to shift.
An intentional model for change
Organizations that lead and sustain the impacts of successful change efforts do so through the intentional approach to developing their people's capabilities. At a high level, this approach follows a simple and scalable model, each with target outcomes that are unique to the current landscape and interventions that are repeatable in order to build the organization's long-term capacity to lead change.
MEASURING ADAPTABILITY
Assessing Change Readiness + Agility
KOTTER CULTURE CHANGE INDEX
Kotter pioneered the science of change. We've learned that you can't unlock the art of change – the "how" to do it – unless you understand where you're starting from. Part of the science is measuring where you're beginning: your foundation, your baseline. Doing so enables you to take action and proceed on your change journey holding a map and guided by data. When you know where you're starting from and where you'd like to go, you can track your progress in a far more material way than through anecdotes and instincts.
There is no one-size-fits-all culture formula universal to all organizations – and it's a good thing that's true. It's important that every organization has its own nuances and personality, and many assessments and diagnostics fail to account for your context and uniqueness. There is, however, one common, consistent trait that exists among all organizational cultures that thrive: adaptability.
If you suspect that you don't have an adaptable culture, what do you have? What is your starting point and where are you aiming to go? Fortunately, adaptable cultures can be measured and tracked over time. There is a mechanism to establish your baseline and see your progress along the transformation journey. Using Kotter's Culture Change Index (KCCI) you can make something as amorphous and unmeasurable as culture measurable.
Learn how organizations can leverage the KCCI to accelerate transformation here
WHAT MAKES US PROUD
Our Clients | Stories of Change
TRANSFORMATION POWERED BY KOTTER
Organizations tend to over-index on the technical and structural activities related to any transformation, often ignoring or drastically underestimating the impact of the human side, particularly in situations where there is a web of complex stakeholders.
Kotter takes an intentionally people-centered approach to change to realize the full ROI on M&A deals, restructuring strategies, and integrated growth plans.
Winning the Race from Behind
Overcoming Setbacks to Outpace the Competition
Shifts in customer behaviors and increased competition left one-time market leader NetApp at risk of being taken over. With Kotter's help, field operations tackled the challenge and outperformed all expectations. Click here to learn how they did it.
Achieved. $14B growth in market capitalization
Challenging Growth Possibilities
Achieving Breakout Performance
HMS called Kotter to help them accelerate their stagnated growth strategy. Click here to learn about their journey with Kotter, and click here to read specifically about how they utilized Kotter to accelerate an acquisition integration.
Achieved. Stock price gain of 350%
Fierce Rivals to Power Team
Top Competitors Merge to Become the Market Leader
The CEO of newly merged Penguin Random House challenged Kotter to help make the integration the "quietest merger in history." Bucking expectations, the newly integrated teams achieved record results within months. Click here to read more.
Achieved. Increased presence on best-seller list by 30%
One Mission, One Team
Getting to Market First while Becoming a Best Place to Work
Partnering with Kotter, Astellas learned the value of innovative thinking, new ways of working, and "leaving titles at the door" to overcome market headwinds by rallying the entire organization to accelerate two product launches. Learn about it here.
Achieved. Revenue gain of $100M per month
