Change mangement for post Covid-19
BOTSWANA GUARDIAN: What is the importance of thought process re-engineering to businesses, especially post COVID-19?
KABELO BROWN: Thought process re-engineering is important to businesses post Covid-19 because the quality of thinking is inadequate to get us to the new place we desire, there has been too many changes to our normal world and to be relevant we need new and fresh thinking. The problem with the mind is that we tend to stick and stay with the familiar (comfort zone). It takes a high self-image, confidence, courage, and belief to move beyond the common or normal. The better organizations move their employees towards personal mastery, the more agile the organization will be to change.
GUARDIAN: Explain to us what does change/culture management entail and how does it help companies into having fit for purpose staff/workforce?
BROWN: First, change is most difficult to humans because our brains are wired to resist change and settle into the normal. We are conditioned to stay with our 'truth' and become resistant to change. This type of thinking is prevalent in 70% of the population - we call it a 'fixed mindset'. 30 % of the population (all over the world) has a growth mindset. They are open to change, look forward to innovative creative thinking, very agile. When an organization wants to manage culture, that means our collective beliefs and behaviors become normal for us, an example being late, when most people at Organisation X believe lateness is ok, then lateness becomes the culture when the majority, including leadership subscribes to it. The challenge for Org is to shift those that are in a fixed mindset (70%) to a new mindset of Growth. When employees have Growth Mindset, they are better about to interact with systems within (personal mastery) and systems without (org systems and processes), thus they meet customer needs, are available to customers when needs and interact in an efficient way with internal systems, process and their people engagement is collaborative which causes efficiency in the system.
GUARDIAN: How is thought/mindset and culture change important to business sustainability and profitability?
BROWN: New tools or processes are not enough to achieve organizational change, you need individuals in the organization to adopt new values and begin working in new ways. The ability to drive transformational change such as moving from good to great performance, cutting costs, or turning around a crisis, is a key source of competitive advantage. Yet despite the 25 billion spent annually on improving organizational culture, one in three change programs fail.
GUARDIAN: As Kabelo Brown Speaks International, how do you fit into all the above and what advice can you give to urge local companies to take up your services.
BROWN: Our aim as a company is to help organizations to change their mindset and culture, we acknowledge that there are already values in place and we seek to integrate them into the new company vision. We help create a sense of belonging by creating a conducive work environment for employees as well as empowering them to have an input in the change process.
GUARDIAN: Which specific kind of companies does your company targets?
BROWN: We work with all organizations from all industries, be it mining, financial services, education, health, agriculture, tourism, government, private sector, parastatals, large corporates, small, medium enterprises etc.
GUARDIAN: How has been the uptake of your services so far?
BROWN: The market has responded very well to our services, we have worked with Vunani Fund Managers Botswana, Gaborone Private Hospital, The Administration of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ambassadors / Heads of mission) , Botswana Vaccine Institute, to mention but a few.
GUARDIAN: What major plans does your company has five years from now?
BROWN: Our plan is to partner and assist the government and private sector in changing the culture of organizations and grow our footprint regionally and continentally. We also will forge strategic partnerships with other like-minded organizations to diversify our product offering to cater for all human capital needs. Our goal is to impact and reach out to as many organizations as possible in the next 5 years, offering solutions to their organizational challenges and gaps.