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Redundancy...
...and the Capacity
for Change
In computing, redundancy
means spending a bit more money to ensure that all the critical parts of
the system have backups that can be used if there are problems.
Like the spare wheel on a
car, the more critical bits of the IT infrastructure will have a dedicated
stand-by, that’s serviced and upgraded just as much as its live
counterpart. And most systems have yet more duplication for developing and
testing changes. It’s an approach that’s virtually ubiquitous
in IT, yet it might double the cost of system ownership.
Why do organisations pay to maintain “redundant”
systems, but pay to remove redundant people?
Let's be clear. I'm not
against making people redundant. The
point I’m about to argue is that an organisation that removes all of
its redundancy is likely to be less effective than one that deliberately
and conscientiously retains some.
I’ll point out some of the symptoms of over-streamlining, and why it’s
becoming increasingly important for businesses to plan the capacity to
change.
Click here for the rest of the article
Seven steps to
sustainable change
It may be a cliché,
but that doesn’t make it any less true: the biggest challenge facing
most businesses is how to adapt to a changing environment.
It’s one thing to know
what changes you’d like to make to your organisation, but it’s
another thing to make them a reality.
As part of the preparation
for a recent client change programme, I reviewed a number of their previous
programmes: some successful, others less so.
From the learning reviews,
there emerged seven consistent themes whose absence was linked to major
issues, and whose presence was identified as an important factor in
success.
The themes were: Story, Clarity, Commitment, Focus, Incentive, Progress
and Stability.
Click
here to read more about these Seven Steps to Sustainable Change
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