How to Be a Catalyst for Change

Never at any point in time in history has change been demanded or at the forefront of opportunities for companies than it is right now. Coming out of two years with the pandemic, the entire fabric of our lives has radically changed from where we work, how we work, and how we live to how we buy things and use services. This in turn has changed how companies operate, lead their people, and provide value to stakeholders.?

For many, points of disruption like these are often viewed as ominous, things that must be avoided at all costs. But really, disruption isn’t something that should be feared. There’s an aspect to change, its ability to push our society forward, that is inherently good. It pushes all of us, including our products and services, to a higher level. It pushes business leaders across all sectors to evolve the way we provide value to consumers.?

The Need for Change Catalysts?

In times like these, really, C-suite executives must become champions of change and seek out ways in which all of these swirling external forces can have a positive, rippling effect. Whether the emerging headwinds on the horizon are treated as opportunities to spur incremental improvement or to drive drastic innovation, however, will depend on the lens through which leaders choose. For those eager to accomplish the latter, I offer up design thinking as the best approach to really move the needle and position themselves at the forefront of what’s next.

Becoming a catalyst of change in an organization is critical because currently there is a lack of big ideas within our general business culture. The fear of thinking differently, questioning how things are done, and presenting alternatives has become all too prevalent. And even for those brave enough to come up with a new idea, a lack of internal resources and buy-in can make it extremely difficult to realize. Evidenced by the fact that nearly a third of all change initiatives fail.

The “gift” of design thinking is creating a space where great creative thinkers can come up with the next big thing, number one.?Two is its ability to empower these catalysts to realize those big ideas across a business no matter the obstacle. Only with a change agent fully invested in pushing ‘big ideas’ forward and trained on the methods of how to do so can a firm incubate and bring the next big thing to life.?

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The Role of Design Thinking

Design thinking plays such a large role in helping people become change catalysts because of its human-centered approach to gathering and processing information. Design thinking teaches us the methods and frameworks to get into the hearts and minds of consumers. To identify seemingly undetectable problems and create solutions around them. It’s a way of thinking that forces us to create things that consumers haven’t even dreamed of yet.??

Through the design thinking process, you’re able to unlock powerful information, which in turn enables powerful strategies. Strategy lies at the core of how a company pivots in times of change and pivoting into what’s next ultimately drives innovation and allows a company to break beyond its current constraints and reach new heights.?

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How to Be a Catalyst

?While there are many tactics at your disposal to be a catalyst of change in your industry and business, three specific principles of design thinking rise to the forefront.?

The first is intentional partnerships. Design thinking has a tendency to ditch the traditional view of competition and to actually encourage partnerships with peers and even competitors in ways that elevate your business. Doing so can have a profound effect on positioning yourself and your company at the forefront of what’s next because it establishes an exchange of information and ways of doing business that really push you and your company to question the status quo.?

?The second principle I always encourage executives to follow in order to become catalysts of change is championing work with clients in different industries and sectors. From a design thinking perspective, it’s not unusual to generate ideas on how to innovate the commercial real estate industry by looking at what’s going on in tech. By working with a diversity of clients, you become well-versed in divergent markets, divergent approaches to business, and divergent value propositions. You’re able to then pull on this variety of experience and expertise to inform where the envelope can be pushed and how to adapt in the face of changes in the market.

As an example in my own career, prior to founding Big Red Rooster, our work with clients in the automotive industry, telecommunications, and real estate sharpened the lens through which we could look at all opportunities and apply ourselves in new ways. We would notice things that worked very well in one industry and found ourselves able to leverage them into a completely different sector in a way that was considered groundbreaking and innovative. This in turn enabled us to navigate multiple recessions and downturns and become the company we are today.?

?Lastly, a third principle you can use to be a catalyst of change in your company is to encourage your internal team and culture to take an innovative approach in their day-to-day dealings. To become a true catalyst of innovation, you need to foster a culture of innovation around you. The language, activities, and conversations that take place within your organization must all encourage out-of-the-box thinking, persistent questioning of how things are meant to be, and limitless creativity. Design thinking hardly ever takes place in a vacuum but rather in environments where people come together and can build off each other’s ideas that lead down a new path.?

Change is Good

What I’ve realized over the span of my career is that change is inevitable; it’s the one constant that every executive and business leader can expect. Change is also necessary and hard, which makes a focus on solving for pain points and solving them through a human/consumer-centric lens as prescribed by design thinking essential. Especially in spaces where you initially may think it may not be necessary.

No matter the external business environment, there is always opportunity in what’s next and being at the forefront of the future to come. Sometimes it’s very hard to identify and even harder to create!?Hence why becoming a catalyst and agent of change driving a business forward is so important.

Embracing this is why we at Big Red Rooster are great at what we do.