Session 4

This week’s session was on about drivers of change, change management and change leadership.

Prof shared with us that we should not alienate ourselves and put the blame on others and conveniently exclude our responsibility. We have to come together and recognize that there is indeed a problem and initiate change to solve the situation. The individuals make up the government and industries hence there should not be a clear distinction as to which group (Government, Individual and Industries) should take up responsibility and lead change. There is a misconception that Singapore is a small country and that our small population does not significantly contribute world problems such as depletion of natural resources like crude oil.

Charles Darwin studies about evolution by observing species around the world. He noted that the fittest animal is not the most adaptable to change. Surprisingly, the least fit animal is the most adaptable.    

Prof also shared with us a few quotes. The quote that caught my attention the most was the quote from George Benard Shaw. “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” A reasonable man would only adjust himself to live with the conditions that he does not like. However, an unreasonable man is not satisfied to live with such conditions hence he will stand up and make the necessary changes. To be able to live in better conditions, one needs the courage to stand up and push for change and not wait for others to initiate changes.  

Prof introduced the different kinds of drivers in different arenas for example, economic growth, national security and climate change. A driver is one who changes the ball game.  These drivers can significantly change the way the world works. Countries that are previously closed and resistant to change (China and Vietnam) have realised that only by opening up and learning from other countries will they be able to improve and gain economic growth. Like what Prof emphasize greatly in previous lessons that “Change is the norm” and that it’s essential for us to embrace change and adapt to it to ensure that we remain as a dominant player or a rising star. In the case of China, once it started opening its doors to the outside world, they benefited greatly and grew exponentially.

A new concept was also introduced to us- the concept of being an eagle, an ostrich and a dodo bird. An eagle is proactive in searching for opportunities whereas an ostrich is one who pretends that he does not know anything going on around him and lastly, a dodo bird is one that did not adapt and move with change leading it to be extinct or a falling star.

People who are resistant to change find themselves unable to get better jobs. The economy does not always stay the same; it changes and evolves over time. Machines have been invented to take over repetitive jobs that previously were done by manual labour. Some jobs present today were not even present in the last decade. Hence, people have to retool and improve on their skill sets to ensure that they stay relevant.

As the world moves from an industrial age to a more knowledge based economy, workers have more power to decide for themselves if they would like to stay in the company or not. Workers now are equipped with different skill sets as compared to the past where an individual specializes in certain skills and are limited to that particular job. It is essential for companies to create incentive for workers to stay.

Next, we discussed on leadership and management. Prof showed us 2 videos of people leading change. The first video showed that a leader must be able to persist in what he believes in and if there are like-minded people, they will start to follow the leader and slowly, a whole crowd forms and a movement is created. One thing that I learnt was that a follower is as important as a leader. Without followers, there will be no leader. The difference between a leader and a manager is that the leader creates the paradigm and helps to give the organisation a good vision. However, the manager is someone who works well in a paradigm and facilitates the implementation on this vision. Both roles are equally crucial for a company to function well.

To respond to changes, one is being reactive. When we are leading change, we are being pro-active. We give ourselves the chance to explore the unknown and be a fore frontier. 

In one the readings of week 4, it emphasizes that gone are the days where companies stick to their 5 year plans rigorously. The “freeze, refreeze and freeze” method cannot be used as the world is evolving so quickly that the company need to be on their feet and respond to market changes quickly.

Another idea that Prof brought in is the Pessimism Time Curve. At first, people would be very excited and eager to embark on this new idea that they thought of. However, as more in depth research is done, the excitement starts to die down and some give up halfway. Through the process of researching, many obstacles start to surface out and one gets dejected. If there’s great persistence, there will be a time where the curve would drop and that’s the time where the idea is on the way to become a successful innovation.

Key takeaway messages:

·         Change before its necessary.

·         Be open minded and be willing to learn new skills

Personal Rating: 7.5/10