How can organizations build change management into their culture?

In today’s rapidly evolving business landscape, change is the only constant. Yet, a staggering 70% of organizational change initiatives fail, according to McKinsey. So how can companies not just manage change, but build it into their very DNA? This question is more critical than ever as businesses face unprecedented disruptions and opportunities.

To shed light on this crucial topic, we’ve invited change management expert Alan O’Neill to share his insights. As the architect behind Selfridges’ remarkable turnaround and author of “Culture Matters: The Four Must-Have Values to Supercharge Your Business,” Alan brings decades of experience in helping organizations embrace and thrive amid change.

Join us as we explore Alan’s practical strategies for weaving change management into the fabric of organizational culture, ensuring businesses remain agile, resilient, and primed for success in an ever-shifting world.

Alan O’Neill

Alan O’Neill, change management expert and architect behind Selfridges’ remarkable turnaround, explains how organizations can build change management into their culture. He emphasizes that “change management is a concept that is on everybody’s lips these days” due to the exponential growth in the pace, volume, and ambiguity of change.

Organizations can build change management into their culture by focusing on four key values: customer centricity, accountability, respect, and agility. O’Neill particularly highlights agility as crucial for effective change management. He states, “Recognizing that in your culture you need to have something around agility because agility enables great change management.”To create a change-ready culture, organizations should:

1. Embrace agility as a core value
2. Foster customer-centric thinking
3. Promote accountability at all levels
4. Cultivate a culture of respect

By integrating these values into their organizational DNA, companies can become more adaptable and responsive to change. This approach enables them to turn quickly in response to dynamic market conditions, ensuring they remain competitive and resilient in the face of ongoing disruptions.

As organizations continue to navigate an ever-changing business landscape, incorporating O’Neill’s insights can help them build a culture that not only manages change but thrives on it.