Companies often find themselves navigating through rough waters, requiring the management team to firmly hold the helm to avoid the whirlpools of the economy, the market, or geopolitics. It’s not about maintaining a fixed course but knowing how to turn in the right direction and at the right time, with the necessary force.
The business journey demands constant transformation, and managing that change requires having the necessary tools and the right strategies.
In the past, rudimentary methods were used, almost blindly rowing and hoping for the best. Today, we have navigation technology capable of continuously analyzing the currents (data), identifying hidden whirlpools and rocks, and adjusting the trajectory in real-time. Thus, the journey becomes safer and more effective.
Data Science
Technologies such as data science, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) have opened up a new scenario for organizations. In the case of generative AI, the World Economic Forum estimates its annual contribution to the global economy at $2.4 billion. However, despite its potential, these technologies provoke some resistance to change, more related to organizational culture, which can lead to a lack of commitment or talent drain.
According to a recent report by NTT DATA, around 78% of executives believe that a poor organizational culture obstructs their innovation efforts; and the truth is that many companies are suffocating under the weight of their own culture.
Through people analytics, it is possible to detect which workers can become agents of change.
Why is it so difficult to adopt changes that can represent an opportunity for the business? There are many reasons, from lack of alignment to the absence of a systemic vision; but perhaps the most recurrent is the distrust of the teams.
The question is how to reach the heart of these people so that the company can transform. The most efficient way is change management, a critical—often underestimated—component in technology projects.
It’s about empathizing, preparing, raising awareness, training, and supporting people so they can adopt and adapt to change effectively. This requires understanding the complexities of the organizational context, anticipating the possible implications for employees, and designing a purpose that drives and excites.
Predictive Models
Today, thanks to data science, we can predict how change adoption will occur. There are people analytics tools that help in this process and allow us to detect, for example, which workers can become agents of change. Instead of trying to predict individual actions, change propensities are analyzed and assigned a probability
By Gabriel Weinstein, Associate and Managing Partner at Olivia in Europe