Conclusion

To wrap the series up then, bringing about behavioural change is a key factor in the success of a transformation programme. No matter how good the transformation objectives, or how effective the enabling solutions, no change is achieved unless the relevant stakeholders also adapt their behaviours. Whilst the “change-by-command” approach might require the least planning and thought, this approach does not necessarily achieve the desired effect. Again, the post-Covid return-to-work initiatives are great case studies in how behavioural change is not always best achieved by diktat. Instead, connecting with your target audience and making their path to behavioural change as easy to tread as possible, with minimum competing distractions, and aligned incentives may reap a long lasting (and more harmonious) change in how things are done.

Of course, going through the steps above is not a guarantee that your transformation programme will succeed in all respects, but it should increase the odds and may help focus minds on why certain aspects of a transformation programme failed or are failing. There’s plenty of books and articles on this subject as well – I’ve already referred to “Switch” by the brothers Heath. “Our Iceberg is Melting” by Holger Rathgeber and John Kotter is another.

Wishing everyone the best of luck with their 2024 transformation journeys, and feel free to drop me a line – here’s the summary flowchart I mentioned at the beginning of the series.? And, to finish in the same vein as I started, remember Jane Austen’s wise words - “what is right to be done cannot be done too soon” – it turns out that one of the greatest English authors is also much underquoted in the realm of legal innovation and transformation.