by Linda Holroyd, CEO, FountainBlue LLC
Change is a given, especially in the spaces where innovation meets leadership. The political, environmental, social, technological, legal and economic (PESTLE) shifts brought on by the pandemic and beyond have greatly affected the pace and direction of market and technology changes.
Change has always impacted leaders of all shapes, sizes, backgrounds and perspectives since the beginning of time. It’s different now because today’s leaders face changes impacted by a multitude of accelerated and inter-related pressures brought about by our ever-globalizing technology and economy.
- The pace of change is faster as we continue to leverage technology to connect to a global world.
- Technology changes have escalated exponentially as Ai and LLMs make room for broader and wider adaptations.
- The interconnectedness between formerly disparate, independent business units makes responding to change more urgent and also more complicated and complex.
- Collaboration and innovation are required, but adopting these practices also can complicate, stall and even stymie progress.
- There are increasingly higher stakes as larger rewards for those with the insight and ability to be first movers or early adopters, but also huge risks involved for doing so.
- The continued rise of social media and the volume of empowered consumers worldwide can quickly provide wide and broad consequences for organizations and leaders.
Considering all of the above, there’s amplified pressure to do right for others, for the environment, and for those who come after us. With so much at stake and so much less time to navigate these technological and market changes, it becomes more critical to stay in front of the change curve by connecting the desire to innovate with the imperative to lead.
Connect Innovation and Leadership
We can all tell a true tale of companies and teams who lead and can’t innovate, and equally as many tales of companies who innovate and can’t lead. But it’s those who bring the two forces together who navigate the headwinds and tailwinds of change best.
I have developed a model which helps respond to changes by facilitating leadership and innovation. This model is designed to strategically and proactively plan responses to technology and market shifts while respecting the interconnectedness of an organization’s people, product, operations, growth, and strategic plans to stay ahead of the change curve.
Create a Clear Understanding of Your Current State
A foundational concept for this model is the concept that we must have a clear understanding of the status of our people, product, operations and growth. A detailed status report would provide an overview of workforce skills, of product offerings and product roadmap, of operational efficiencies and hurdles, of market share, indeed a corporate overview for an organization.
 | Staying Ahead of the Change Curve | ||||
| People | Product | Operations | Growth | Strategic Planning | |
| Status Report | Workforce Skills | Product Offering and Roadmap | Operational Status | Market Share, Product Offering | Corporate Overview |
Provide Detailed Red, Yellow, Green Ratings
Gather detailed data about the status of the product, people, operations and growth metrics for the organization. Decide where this snapshot fits in the graph below (generally it’s red or yellow). Then populate the remaining cells describing metrics that would be ‘good’ or even ‘stretch’ goals. Status reports would then be rated based on this chart and you will have a clear understanding of how to improve in each area.
 | FountainBlue’s Red, Yellow, Green, Blue (RYGB) Model for Managing Change | |||
| Red (Danger) | Yellow (Risky) | Green (Good) | Blue (Stretch Goal) | |
| People | ||||
| Product | ||||
| Operations | ||||
| Growth | ||||
| Overall | ||||
Evaluate Plans and Implementation Strategies
Once you have a status report, you can leverage the Change Curve model as a scenario planning tool so leaders can review the ripple effect of product, innovation, market, operations and people decisions.
It can also be used to think through the BIG, HAIRY, AUDACIOUS, GOALS (BHAG, big ideas) which can help organizations stay ahead of the change curve.
In fact, the model can be applied to everything from innovation planning to partnership evaluation, from M&A and investment opportunities to global expansion into new niche markets, from strategic partnerships to spin-offs. The sky’s the limit.
It takes a team of visionary leaders focused on innovation to plan, and implement a collaborative strategy to seize the market and business opportunities ahead. It all begins with finding clarity on where we are, where we want to go, and how we can work together to proactively navigate technology and market changes.
Interested in connecting and finding out more? I’m happy to send you appendices with step by step instructions as well as sample red, yellow, green and blue descriptions? Just Email me and/or schedule a time to connect and engage in a strategic discussion with your team regarding your change management goals.
