About the Book
WINNER OF BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2018 (The Business Book Awards) "Essential reading for CEOs and leaders of change." - Martin Davis, CEO, Kames Capital
88% of change initiatives fail. The Change Catalyst provides you with the insight, tools and know-how you need to make sure your next change, strategy or M&A is the one in eight that succeeds.
Whether you're trying to change a process, a culture, a behaviour or an entire business, success demands complete clarity of what you are trying to achieve and why, followed by a clear plan to align your people to deliver. All change is about people, and one of the most important ingredients for successful change is the identification and appointment of a Change Catalyst. This is the person who can guide your organisation – its people and its processes – to the ultimate delivery of the outcomes your business needs.
The book takes you deep inside the culture and process of change to show you how to set yourself up for success in both the short and long term; identify your goal, clarify your vision, stay focused on the outcome and develop and deliver a do-able plan. It will also explain how to genuinely engage stakeholders at all levels in every stage of the process. Real-world case studies show you what a successful change initiative looks like on the ground, and the Change Toolbox offers a collection of proven tools and models to streamline planning and implementation. Clear, intelligent guidance cuts through the buzzwords to get down to business quickly, and a pragmatic, holistic approach helps you tackle strategy, culture, execution and more.
People don't like change; it rattles their cages and makes them uncomfortable – and emotion trumps logic every time. This book shows you how to pinpoint the emotional triggers, coax logic out of hiding and get everyone on board as you drive real, lasting change.
Learn why typical change initiatives are far more likely to fail than succeed.
Identify your Change Catalyst to strengthen both process and outcome.
Overcome cultural challenges and turn understanding into transformation.
Develop and implement a solid strategy for successful change.
Whether you want change at the team level or on a government scale, no initiative is immune from the perils of inertia, misguided focus, distracted leadership or muddled planning. Change is inevitable. Successful change isn't.
The Change Catalyst will tilt the odds on your favour and enable your next change initiative to be among the 12% that succeeds.
Table of Contents:
Acknowledgements xiii
About the Author xvii
Introduction 1
Part ZERO: Change is Inevitable 9
Part ONE: Why 88% of Change Initiatives Fail 29
1 People Don’t Like Change 31
Fear of failure 35
Fear of the unknown 38
Fear of blame 40
The comfort of victimhood 44
The long-term gains don’t seem to be worth the short-term pain 49
We need help but it is nowhere to be found, so we give up at the first hurdle 50
2 Lack of Clarity Regarding What We are Trying to Achieve and Why 55
3 The Implications are not Fully Understood 71
4 An Obsession with Process over Outcomes 75
5 Inertia 81
6 The Project is Set Up to Fail 85
7 Poor Communications and Disingenuous Stakeholder Engagement 89
8 We Forget that Emotions Trump Logic Every Time 93
9 A Change-averse Culture 103
10 The Leadership Doesn’t Stay the Course 107
Part TWO: The Necessary Ingredients for Successful Change 113
11 A Change Catalyst to Drive Delivery 115
12 Clarity About What we are Trying to Achieve and Why 131
13 Detailed Understanding of the Implications of the Change 133
14 A Laser-like Focus on the Outcomes 139
15 A Change Process that Includes a ‘Pause for Reflection’ 143
16 Clear Governance and Thorough Planning 147
17 Genuine Engagement with People at all Levels of the Organisation 153
18 Identification of the Emotional Triggers 163
19 A Strong, Committed, Aligned and Unwavering Leadership Team 167
20 A Change-ready Culture 171
Part THREE: Culture Change 177
21 Cultural Intelligence 179
22 Instigating Change in a Foreign Culture 193
23 Understanding Your Organisation’s Culture 207
24 Teaching People to Walk in the Rain 211
Part FOUR: Getting Down to Business 225
25 Vision, Mission and Other Buzzwords 227
26 Values Schmalues 243
27 What Does a Good Strategy Look Like? 251
28 It’s the Delivery, Stupid! (Execution is Everything) 263
29 Where Are Your Walls? (Organisation Design) 271
30 Overcoming Complacency (The Innovator’s Dilemma) 279
31 What Does a Good Leader Look Like? 287
32 Building Extraordinary Leadership Teams 293
33 Your People 299
34 Case Studies 313
1. Tim Wallace and the iPipeline team: Transforming insurance 314
2. Michael Sheargold: Real Estate Change Catalyst 321
3. Michael Gould and Anaplan: The UK’s newest unicorn 327
4. Unlocking the value of HR 335
5. Globalisation 345
35 The Change Toolbox 359
Part FIVE: And Finally, Tell ‘em What You Told ‘em 377
Index 385
About the Author :
CAMPBELL MACPHERSON has been helping business leaders clarify their strategy and instigate sustainable change for more than 30 years throughout the UK, Europe, Australia, USA, Asia and the Middle East.
He has a remarkable wealth of experience across a variety of industries and business disciplines.
He has been a board member, Strategy Director, HR Director, Marketing Director, eBusiness Head and internal change leader.
He is a strategic change adviser for many dozens of organisations via his consultancy Change & Strategy International Ltd (www.changeandstrategy.com).
His work has included advising the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Zurich Global Life, IFDS/State Street, International Personal Finance, Friends Life, Aviva, GoCompare, iPipeline, James Hay, Cofunds, Sesame, Misys, Openwork, Centaur Media, BP, Capital Radio, BBC, Telewest, AMP, American Express, Lazard and Andersen Consulting.
He also flew jets (poorly) in the RAAF.
He has a Physics degree from Melbourne University.
Campbell lives in Oxfordshire, UK and is married with two adult children. He divides his time between the UK, Australia and wherever his clients need him to be.
www.thechangecatalyst.co.uk
Review :
"A good book, well researched with a clear instruction to use it as a guide and a resource to assess what is the right option for your own organisation." (Irish Tech News, July 2017)
"The Change Catalyst is well-written and a pleasure to read. It is full of insight and anecdotes to help organisation transform for the better." (The Association of MBA's, June 2017)
"This is no ordinary business book. Easy to read and conversational, it leads an entertaining exploration of the subject of change." (thebiponline, May 2017)
