Massive change and breaking patterns

I’m making some people really uncomfortable by asking, “How might we expand the field of change management to take a leap in our thinking and impact change?” Breaking patterns makes people feel uneasy. Oh well. So goes it.

Bruce Mau,  world leading innovator, author of Massive Change, and Chief Creative Officer of Bruce Mau Design articulates the approach his team takes in every project  in what he calls the Incomplete Manifesto. No. 5 and no. 40 are two examples of what I believe are needed in the field of change management to expand our thinking.

5. Go deep.

The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.

Design thinking bridges the gap between mechanical change management methodologies and going deep to engage others in realizing successful change. In plain terms, design thinking is a human-centered methodology used to solve complex problems.

40. Avoid fields.

Jump fences. Disciplinary boundaries and regulatory regimes are
attempts to control the wilding of creative life. They are often
understandable efforts to order what are manifold, complex,
evolutionary processes. Our job is to jump the fences and cross the
fields.

Being an equestrian, I really like this principle. Why wouldn’t we look to companies and other disciplines that are at the forefront of realizing successful change? Does your change management strategy consider the 5 Fs - characteristics of companies that are the forefront of realizing successful change? It should. Does your change management strategy bridge the chasm from thinking about change to realizing successful change?

Do we need to break some patterns to realize change? I think so.