PxG: “At the beginning, there were just three of us working on a project: one in R&D,
Greg explained that the people who succeeded in creating a change inside an organization were not the ones who said, “I did this; this is cool,” and then other people started to use it. The ones who succeeded were the ones who could excite others, and they would react with, “This is cool; I would like to do that as well.” Let’s illustrate this with the digital tech transformation initiative of a multinational consumer goods corporation, Procter and Gamble. Procter and Gamble created an initiative called PxG, which dealt with using digital technologies to solve the organization’s research and development (R&D) problems. They started with only one project. According to PxG’s head, John Gadsby, “At the beginning, there were just three of us working on a project: one in R&D, one in manufacturing, and one in IT... We knew that we could work together in a better way. Through experimentation and iteration, we reduced the time for a key process from weeks down to hours. That got our work noticed.” (Satell, 2020) We often think that starting small is meaningless, and we all want a significant impact right away. But successful change always begins with a small group loosely connected and united by a shared purpose. As Greg told me, “You have to find their reasons to participate. People adopt change for their reasons, not yours.” This is why our mission as a changemaker is to create small groups and bring like-minded people interested in the project in as soon as possible. Those aiming for change should facilitate connections among like-minded people with a sense of shared values and purpose. It is about making everyone proud to be part of the movement; it creates a sense of belonging. If this happens, people will feel empowered and will want to participate.
Satell, Greg. “You Don’t Need a Grand Strategy to Achieve Organizational Change.” Harvard Business Review, March 10, 2020.
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