How to Lead (Constructively) Amidst Change
“Don’t get hung up on your views of how things “should” be because you will miss out on learning how they really are” - Ray Dalio, Principles
Companies, like people, have blind spots when it comes to change. Kodak invented the digital camera, but shelved the technology because it threatened to cannibalize their core product. By the time they recognized a digital revolution was underway, it was too late. The company’s market cap sank from over $30B during its heyday in the 90’s down to $100M today.
According to an article by Stanford Graduate School of Business Professor Bill Barnett, business leaders can navigate change and avoid their own “Kodak Moments” by developing a defined strategy that is informed by logic. His piece summarizes 3 major theories that managers can use as a lens through which to understand how changes might impact their organizations and manage changes and can mean the difference between soaring high with power or bailing out as a failure.
Discontinuous Innovation Theory - Understanding how new technology can affect the capabilities that give your organization a strategic and competitive advantage.
Structural Inertia Theory - Acknowledging the complexity and intricacy of your organization to understand the disorder and misalignments that a new strategy will trigger – if even temporarily.
Disruption Theory - Recognizing potential threats that, while small at first, can grow into something strategically significant.
