According to IBM’s Global CEO Study 2006, competitive pressures and global market forces are driving 65% of the world’s top executives to plan radical changes at their companies over the next two years.

Looking over the results of this survey, it becomes very clear that CEOs today are looking at new kinds of innovation to drive substantial organizational change. It’s not just product innovation anymore. Now it’s about innovation in a business model, an operational process, or a management behavior. In making this point, one CEO commented that “The business model we choose will determine the success or failure of our strategy,” while another stated that “Products and services can be copied, the business model will be the differentiator.”

Fear is definitely a factor in the impetus for change. In fact, 61% of CEOs admit they fear that their competitors will make changes in their own business models that ultimately reshape the landscape of their respective industries. So CEOs want their companies to be ready to adapt rapidly – or, better still, be the company leading the industry transformation.

CEOs today want innovative ideas not only from employees but from customers, and trading partners. This is in direct contrast to past corporate philosophy, where innovation was considered too critical and proprietary to involve outsiders. In fact, the study highlights the link between external collaboration and financial performance. Top performing organizations used external sources 30% more than under-performers. On this kind of collaboration, one CEO stated that, “We need third parties as benchmarks and sparring partners. This also helps our staff broaden their views.” While another simply stated, “If you think you have all of the answers internally, you are wrong.”

While a large portion of CEOs recognize that big changes are on the horizon, a significant portion indicated some trepidation about their company’s ability to execute the necessary changes. As they contemplate this radical change, only 20% of CEOs say they’ve been highly successful in such endeavors in the past.

So what does all this mean to you? Well, for starters – here are the corporate messages you’ll hearing for the next couple of years.

WANT TO INCREASE YOUR VALUE TO THE ORGANIZATION?
Become a top-knotch collaborator.
Benchmark everywhere.
Constantly reinvent your job.
Nurture innovation in your team or work group.
Become a champion of change.
Do all that - and the future is yours!


Carol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D., speaks on collaboration, leadership, and change to association, government, and business audiences around the world. She can be reached by phone: 510-526-1727, email: CGoman@CKG.com, or through her website: http://www.CKG.com.

Several years ago, the American Management Association (AMA) conducted a survey with 6,000 participants across the United States. The survey asked only two questions: 1) Do you get enough recognition at work? 2) Would you do a better job if you got more recognition?

The response was overwhelming: 97% of the respondents said “no” they didn’t get enough recognition at work, and 98% replied “yes” they would do a better job if they received more recognition.

To the AMA, this pointed out inadequate management practices. Obviously, not enough managers were doing a good enough job at recognizing and rewarding the people who report to them.

But I looked that the results in another way: It seemed that most of us were waiting – without much success – for someone else to acknowledge our efforts. Only then would we do a “better job.” Talk about relinquishing control!

On the other hand, some individuals (especially those who thrive on change) refuse to give anyone else control over their performance. The “change-adept” don’t wait for their employers to empower them; they go right out and empower themselves.

After I presented a program for Bell Canada in Toronto, an audience member raised her hand to comment: “I’m new to the company, but there is one change that I wish we’d make. I think we need a mentor program in this organization. To be paired with an experienced manager – to have someone to ‘show us the ropes’ – that would really shorten the time it takes new people to fit in.” From the stage, I asked (in all my consultant’s wisdom): “Well, why don’t you find your own mentor?” This woman was way ahead of me. “Oh, I already did that,” she replied. “I just think it would be a great program for all new employees.”

Of course, different people react very differently to change. Many get frustrated and pressured -- and they burn out. Others seem to thrive on chaos. It is no mere accident, no random selection by fate, as to whom will adapt optimally. While their co-workers are overwhelmed by the negative aspects of change, the change-adept take control and capitalize on opportunities they encounter daily.

Change is the most pervasive influence within today’s workplace. Profound changes are shaking up our lives and the way we do business. And the pace of change will continue to accelerate -- driven by sharp economic swings, increasing competitive pressures, new technologies, government regulations, sociocultural shifts, further globalization of the marketplace, and the continued reshaping of organizations worldwide.

Dealing successfully with a changing reality means facing some hard truths: Today you work for yourself. Your only family is your real family – not the company. No big organization is going to take care of your future. This means that the responsibility for your success and happiness is in your own hands. You alone are in charge of clarifying your values, defining success, designing a career path, building motivation and developing a winning strategy for anticipating and capitalizing on the future.

For many of us, realizing that we are totally in control of our lives is traumatic. Gloria Steinem has said, “People waste more time waiting for someone to take charge of their lives than they do in any other pursuit.”

I call this phenomenon the Oz Factor – the belief that someone wiser and more powerful than ourselves (the wizard) will provide us with solutions to our problems. Just as it was for Dorothy and her friends, it is time for all of us to look within and to realize that we can rely on our own hearts and minds and courage.