Step 6

Maintaining direction and energy

Maintaining direction and energy means keeping focus while staying flexible. The biggest challenge in a change process is to find and maintain One Focus – a focus large enough to reach your mission and small enough to realistically accomplish. A focus that is both effective and generates motivation.

Since many companies start their change process only when they encounter an unforeseen crisis, they have to face many challenges at the same time. They must:

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Re-establish financial health.

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Find a new vision.

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Balance moving forward the new direction in the old environment: duality.

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Let go of parts and pieces which no longer fit into the overall strategy.

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Tend to every day routines like tackling the media, calming down angry stockholders, retraining people, getting products out the door, satisfying customers and making money.

However, too much happening at the same time results in stress and burn-out. Energy becomes dispersed rather than focused.

Positive focus
A positive focus moves attention and energy to where you want to go and creates a sense of »being in flour«. A negative focus e.g. »reduce costs« or »down sizing«, will focus energy and attention on where you want to move away from, not creating a clear picture of what you actually want to achieve. Many companies use a negative focus in their change process. This creates fear and resistance. We have experienced that a positive focus creates more energy, greater employee commitment and unequivocal.

Energy goes where the focus is. So, when the focus is on cost cutting, the energy is pulled away from growth, expansion and true profitability. Therefore, instead of talking about »reducing costs«, talk about »increasing profitability«. Instead of focusing on reducing employees, you can focus on how to develop new business or how to leverage their knowledge to reach your goals.

One focus channels the energy of individuals and corporations into a desired outcome, rather than having dispersed energy. The outcomes are reached faster with a high level of enthusiasm. Everyone knows where you are heading and has a role to play to make it happen. Thus, preparing the ground for innovative breakthroughs and rapid, effective change.