Session 4

Session 4 was one very interesting session. This is because I learnt about totally new way of looking at change. Basically, the two themes that we covered in this session were- Drivers of World Change and Change Management and Change Leadership.

The session began with a video about- Who moved my cheese? The video was about the book by Spenser Johnson, which was also adopted as a movie. The book is about change in our lives and how one should deal with the changes, i.e. adopt them. The cheese is a metaphor for and our ‘wants’. The story seems like an interesting read and I really hope to read it soon.

Then the drivers of change were looked at. Drivers of change are the underlying factors due to which change occurs. These may include but are not limited to factors such as environment, culture, completion, technological innovations and globalisation. A very interesting point mentioned by Prof was the role of Cold war as a driver of change in our world. Due to tension and strong rivalry and competition the developments in space missions accelerated and the dream of man on the moon was made possible. If there had not been Cold war, there is a likelihood that mission to moon may have occurred much later. Also, the role of globalisation was realised. For instance, in the past the distribution of power and wealth was such that the Western nations would lead the East. However, with technological innovations and globalisation, East also acquires power. The booming economies of Asian tigers well exemplify this point.  

Some key concepts learnt in the first half of this session were differences between evolutionary and revolutionary change. Revolutionary change, aka ‘disruptive’ change makes the previous paradigms seem useless and unviable. Doug Berger defines disruptive change as an ‘irreversible change in your expected future’.  However, the evolutionary change involves incremental changes. It involves improvising and overcoming the limitations of existent technology. Unlike this revolutionary change involves taking quantum leaps. So should one be evolutionary or revolutionary?

My personal opinion on this question would be revolutionary. While it is important for us to overcome short term challenges of present technology and bring evolutionary change. Revolutionary change is essential because it opens doors to new opportunities and perspectives. Also, it will direct our future and the way we do things.

The need to embrace change was also highlighted by Jame’s presentation on pollution and global climate change. An interesting aspect which was covered in discussion was the need of sustainability and steps that government of third world countries may take to achieve it. The challenges that such governments may face to prioritise conservation of natural resources was also briefly discussed. In short how economic factors may shape change was explored.

The second half of the session introduced two new concepts- change management and change leadership. A leader is a visionary who creates the conceptual framework and manager organises and make sure the task is done and keeps the vision on-going. A business can become a market maker only by investing in future innovations and not just by solving present day problems. This brings me to the two main concepts mentioned above. Change management refers to a set of basic tools or structures intended to keep any change effort under control. The goal is often to minimize the distractions and impacts of the change. Most companies work on change management. However, there is an increasing need of change leadership. Change leadership refers to the driving forces, visions and processes that fuel large-scale transformation. It concerns look into the future and recognising potential solutions to upcoming issues and problems. For further information you may look at this article by Forbes on difference between change management and change leadership. http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2011/07/12/change-management-vs-change-leadership-whats-the-difference/

My personal ratings for this session 8.5/10