The 9 elements of change power

How well we can identify, manage and adapt to the changing world around us will determine our success. Helping our clients and business associates do the same can increase our value exponentially as we strive to be a source of business intelligence and guidance for our clients and prospects.

A recent article in Harvard Business Review, How Good Is Your Company At Change, identifies the Nine Elements of Change Power. These nine traits and abilities help companies excel at change. The key is to identify your strengths and weaknesses in these categories and, as business consultants, help our clients do the same. Our capacity for change leads to greater success, less stress and frustration and adaptability to the market that will help us to continue to be leaders:

We always suggest that authentic and meaningful change starts with clearly and explicitly identifying where you are. You can't move forward unless you know where you're starting. This could make a great sales meeting, team meeting, etc. Have your team members grade your company on each of the nine elements — grading them from 1 to 10 with 10 being the best. The cumulative scores will not only give you a baseline for how effectively your company deals with change, but it can also provide a blueprint for areas of improvement. For example, anything less than a score of 45 would mean that there is a lot of work to be done. A score of 90 would be near perfect (and we hope that you work at an organization that can score that high).

The Harvard research revealed that companies that score in the top half grow revenue up to three times faster than companies in the same industry who rank at the bottom. In addition, companies that rank higher on these traits tend to have leaders and cultures that rate significantly higher in the eyes of their employees than those in the bottom quartile, and they have employees who feel more inspired and engaged.

What kind of company are you? Asking these questions will make an engaging meeting and a more promising future. Do you think any of your clients might benefit from you sharing this information and helping them identify how much change power they have? That's being a source of business intelligence and a resource.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on Twitter and LinkedIn.