Seth Kahan, author of Getting Change Right and the upcoming Getting Innovation Right, presents the first in a series of blogs on change, innovation, and business growth. Seth’s first post shows you how to ensure the conversations you’re starting spread and inspire action.
When you create an interaction that generates other interactions, you produce amazing impact. The result grows exponentially creating increases in the speed and spread of change. Each conversation generates more conversations, exciting others with possibilities, inspiring them to action and showing them how they can contribute.
You might think project planning would be the place this process starts—but you’d be wrong. It’s true that a project plan is useful and even necessary, but it’s a question of appropriate emphasis. Project planning is a support process that should not occur at the expense of engagement. The right place for emphasis is on sparking and leading conversations that engage.
First, you must engage all the important players—everyone whose expertise is needed for your change to make the best possible impact. Make your first contact by listening and learning about their area of focus, not propagating an agenda. Your purpose is to effectively weave new stakeholders into your process. I focus on the voluntary aspect of engagement because voluntary participants generate enthusiasm that spreads of its own accord.
You must jump-start bold conversations to reach far beyond those who initiate them. To do so, learn to make story your medium. Different types of stories have different kinds of impact. A Springboard Story is one that sparks action by illustrating where change like the one you are trying to create has already taken place. Steve Denning first articulated what it takes to create a Springboard Story in his book, The Springboard: How Storytelling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations. I also lay out exactly how to create a Springboard Story in my book, Getting Change Right.
Stories span cultures, while retaining context, and therefore their capacity to inform and influence. Take your stories to your stakeholders everywhere there is interest and make support materials available that enable others to become evangelists for your idea. As you do so, you’ll interact with audiences of different sizes. Tailor your approach to ensure success in situations varying from one-to-one, small groups, large groups, and very large gatherings. You will bring people to your cause. You will be amazed at how fast and far your message will go as a result.
Seth Kahan is an international speaker, trainer, and consultant who has worked with CEOs and senior leaders responsible for large-scale change around the world. He is the author of Fast Company’s expert blog “Leading Change” (SethFast.com), and a regular contributor to the Washington Post column “On Success” (SethPost.com). He is an Associate of the Taos Institute. Kahan received the designation Visionary by the Center for Association Leadership, and The Society for the Advancement of Consulting has recognized him as a Thought-leader and Exemplar in the field of Change Leadership.
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