Transformation by design

Whether digital or analog, no topic is met with so much self-understanding, head nodding and acceptance on the surface - and resistance behind the scenes.
Today, reinventing oneself is part of a company's good manners. Management, consultancies, IT experts, marketeers, agencies - everyone is allowed to sprint. Everyone is holistic, agile and, of course, authentic. But each individual expertise is only one facet of the challenge. As the saying goes: if my only tool is a hammer, every problem becomes a nail. A lot of clever things are said, but little is implemented sustainably. Even if the digital revolution usually starts with post-its, innovation is not a workshop. The rate of successful digitalization projects is soberingly low. Change doesn't just need to be made quickly, it needs to be made properly, because there are worlds in between

1. the solution is not out there

Transformation processes are always based on the existing corporate culture and this shapes everything without exception. From the briefing to the result, from the scope to the depth of the desired change. It therefore makes sense to consult external forces and trust that everything is in good hands. After all, it is difficult to solve new problems with old thinking. In the best case scenario, desire and reality are not incompatible and responsibility for results is lived within the company and not passed on to the consultants. All measures are managed centrally, work together and internal and external factors are evaluated in a differentiated manner.

At the beginning of a positioning process, it is not uncommon to encounter a multitude of analyses, studies and market research results that describe the status quo in all its facets. What this means in concrete terms from the company's perspective and what consequences can be derived from it all too often remains unclear. If this ability to differentiate is lacking, the focus quickly shifts to the outside world.

Looking outwards is all well and good, and it also provides valuable impetus when it looks beyond one's own nose. But it is no substitute for looking inwards. Focusing mainly on external perceptions when positioning yourself is like asking your friends: "How would you like me to be so that you like me?". An absurd question in interpersonal terms, and yet this is exactly how most companies proceed. Understanding that you are generally liked for who you are also goes hand in hand with the realization of being rejected by some. This self-awareness is crucial when it comes to turning a company into a brand. Because strong brands are always built from the inside out.

Patrick Wachner

2. if you want change, you have to prepare people.

We all love surprises! - Well, not really. We love the surprises that we like. It's the same with change processes. As long as the comfort zone of the individual and therefore the company is not threatened, everything is fine. To prevent this from happening, people like to venture forward and set an example. The result: innovation programs for the PR department, innovation hubs, labs, incubators or even the friendly takeover of an innovative start-up or digital agency. After all, marketing takes care of the positioning.

It is not uncommon for large companies to look back on a long history of failed transformation projects that were not only conceived and communicated without the market in mind, but above all without people in mind. This doesn't just mean the customers, but first and foremost the employees. Of course, not everyone can participate and be emotionally involved right from the start, but a management vacuum is probably the greatest danger when it comes to creating acceptance for change.

This often starts with the wording. As we all know, "projects" come and go - change remains. Or the internal set-up, which defines the importance of the project: "The Management Board has one hour for this". In the overloaded daily routine of the C-suite, this is not surprising. But it is not promising. After all, change starts from within and requires listening and understanding. Bringing the right managers to the table and shaping the framework accordingly are the next steps. Only then can team learning, systems thinking and a shared vision emerge. 

3. clarity is power

Only what allows the organization as a whole to learn leads to change. This requires commitment, a willingness to take risks and a good reason to leave the old harbor. All too often, change processes are initiated out of necessity. The market, digitalization, competition - exogenous factors as potential threats. However, from the employee's point of view, none of this has anything to do with them.

Nevertheless, the team sets out on a joint search. For what connects us, what drives us. To the big questions: Who are we? What do we stand for? What makes us different as a brand? But here, too, the danger lurks in the process of self-reflection: showing ourselves to be not enough, not wanted, not unique. The result: a weak self-image, a vision that is not a vision, a mission and self-image characterized by the lowest common denominator. You know: "No. 1 in the market", "XX turnover", "international, innovative, dynamic and sustainable". Correct in terms of content and very, very convenient.

It's worth going the extra mile in the search for your own identity. Not to achieve a rhetorical victory, but to gain the clarity that has been missing until now. Our claim "Clarity is Power" expresses this conviction. Because only those who know where they want to go can get there. Based on the words of Kurt Weidemann: Clarity leads to insight. Insight leads to attitude and style. Attitude and style enable conviction. 

4. images as an instrument of change

"You are how you show yourself, and how you show yourself is how you are" - this quote from Otl Aicher succinctly sums up the interaction between form and content. At the same time, it refers to our holistic perception, which associates meaning on the basis of appearance (form) and connects the two at every moment.

To this day, Plato's allegory of the cave is the leading metaphor in terms of self-knowledge. It is also the basis of our Western world view. Its paradigm: "Form is only appearance - the real, the true is separate from it"; "Nothing is as it seems"; "There is an underlying truth"; "Don't trust your senses". They may be true in the world of logic and philosophy. It also seems to be prevalent on the management floors of companies. It separates perception from reality, ration from emotion. However, when it comes to perception and behavior, other laws also apply. Our perception is holistic, it does not initially separate form from content. We continuously associate and combine observation, feeling and meaning. Because the image is concrete and the word remains abstract. So even the cleverest formulation is of no use if the new world is not experienced. On the contrary, it remains an assertion that needs to be proven. Until then, change is not possible.

In addition to actions, it is images that become the central instrument of change. The design is cast far into the future as an anchor, in the form of a prototype, a new shape or a vision of the future, in order to make the new world comprehensible and tangible. Leading through visual form is much more effective than any argumentation. This is because it overcomes complexity and offers a connection on a higher level. This insight is too rarely used to its full potential.

We experience it after every branding process, as soon as a new positioning finds expression in the form of a new image. It has a transformative effect on the company - both internally and externally. As a functional solution, as an insight model, as a projection for desirability, as a future perspective and identity-creating at the same time. 

5. from identity to identification

Organizational change can only happen by changing individuals. Identity is the foundation on which beliefs, skills, behavior and the environment are based. Identification is the key to change. Identity goes back to the Latin "idem" [ger.: "the same, the same"]. In the term identification, the "idem" is linked to the verb "facere" [ger.: "to make"]. To identify means to make oneself the same, i.e. to equate oneself with. The equation usually leads to an adaptation of the form of appearance with which one identifies.

If you watch small children discovering the world, you can observe it in its purest form. Everything is interesting. Every detail counts. All senses are heightened and merge into an experience in which the perceived, the self and the moment become one. What we perceive is mirrored and incorporated into our behavior. Our learning, the process of cognition, often happens playfully by empathizing with a role and becoming the person being observed. From identity to identification, to behavior. Suddenly everything is possible.