Some are not even convinced of it, others are in the middle, others run out of air / desire. We speak of the phase of shut-down of normal life as we knew it until the beginning of the 3rd decade of this century. Proactive companies have been preparing to start up their operations since the shutdown, while others did not have to shut down theirs at all. Some are reinventing themselves with the question: Should I even go back to the “old world” status before the shutdown? Still others are still in the pause phase, and some will no longer be able to ask themselves the question because it will no longer exist. There can therefore no longer be any old normality, but only a new reality. Welcome to the “Functionism of Transformations”….
Normality . What is “normal” anyway? Was everything normal that we experienced up to the beginning of 2020? If one follows the definition in the Duden, the word normal describes “something is created / designed as the general opinion imagines it to be the usual, correct”. And there we already have the two decisive, important parameters that present a further challenge here: “The general opinion” and “Usual / correct”. The phase of a worldwide exceptional situation, currently known as the “Corona crisis”, divides society, economy, politics and the like like hardly before. So there is no such thing as a “common opinion” in the sense of a majority conviction or attitude to a topic. The next hurdle to be overcome is customary and correct, especially in this unprecedented situation. This is simply just new. So it goes without saying: There can be no return to normal with the novelty “Covid-19”, because the great transformation has already begun.
Transformation . The word “change” is also used much more frequently. In companies in particular, the word change is equated with the word change … but that’s where the big, observable difference lies. Everyone who has experienced both knows how different they are. The terms Transformation & Change differ from classic change in the sense of an improvement in that something that already exists is destroyed in the former and then rebuilt in a new composition. Sounds destructive, it is. There must be a necessity in advance, i.e. a need to be averted, because otherwise systems, due to their autopoiesis, have the property of organizing, reorganizing, adapting and balancing themselves for as long as the system is “forgiving” not fail. You can find more about this in my other blog “We have a system crisis, not a corona crisis” or in our online formats such as webinars. So, before a transformation, the need of a system and above all the awareness of people in socially complex systems, i.e. those where people are part of the system, that its functionalities are better destroyed, and then a new order is created from it to keep the existing system alive. A painful realization. This is especially true if you are affected yourself or are or have been involved in the system that has reached its functional limits. And then there is the lion’s share of the process: And what is it all for? Without a better new future in the sense of reorganization, the existing is almost always the better choice, because first you know it, secondly it worked great once, if it is now perhaps also suboptimal, and then you have to find a reorganization that works even better. And that from now on, because nobody has many phases with dysfunction, doubt, destruction, need, misery, suffering. And what is old and loved is always more comfortable than something new, perhaps not (yet) functioning.
Uncertain future . And here we have one of the main problems, why transformations or changes often come very or almost too late, and then usually do not occur in a prudent, constructive manner like planned operations in medicine, perhaps at the optimal time, but as emergency operations in the emergency room. The optimal positioning of the scar that is as minimal as possible in a possibly minimally invasive surgery is no longer important. It’s about the patient’s survival. Fast. Now. And then the question always arises: Why was the problem not recognized earlier or in good time ??? You then often come to the conclusion: Actually there weren’t that many unknown variables in the equation, because there would have been a few visible symptoms if you had just looked. If you had made yourself aware of this, you would have paid more attention to it. Had. All success stories are always written from a retro perspective. Driving mistakes are always noticeable in the rearview mirror. Afterwards you are always smarter. But why not before? Why do we leave it in our society, in politics, in the economy, in our private life, at work and wherever it depends so long that it actually no longer works, and don’t try to transform beforehand so that it doesn’t Emergency surgery coming? Why is it not possible to allow such necessities to arise at all and not try to avoid them constructively, innovatively and strategically beforehand? Why do we always lull ourselves so long in certainty that “everything works anyway” and if not, with a few “workarounds” can be bent so that it continues to work at least halfway? And nobody notices. Because the future is always fraught with uncertainty and there is usually no perspective. The so-called “Big Picture”. The bigger vision of a better future. The courage to ask such questions and let go.
On den dog came. Missing perspectives. One of the most difficult challenges for transformations to succeed is often not the lack of awareness that a system is no longer performing optimally or that it is time for renewal. It is the lack of perspective and direction in which the new, better, or at least different, future can be directed and shaped. How is “the better” to be described? If that doesn’t work, you can’t paint or describe a picture of the brave new future, for which you destroy what already exists, what is almost still functioning, on the side – because the other systems that are not affected should continue to run perfectly as always – and then new assemble. And there is always something left in the old world, and something new, often still unknown, is added. And then it works, hopefully. Who would join in with your idea if you don’t have a clear picture of why it is worth embarking on a journey into an uncertain future? This, in turn, is nothing new, because it is already found in the Bible, for example, where it was needed by disciples who shared the vision and went out as missionaries to preach the message. And who is involved in destroying the existing system, where it plays a role, makes a contribution that someone has perhaps built himself and has often maintained with strength and courage for a long time? And then when you yourself suspect that you are no longer part of the new big picture, or perhaps no longer in a central role. Because something is always destroyed and rebuilt, but not in the sense of ” copy / paste” rebuilt the same way from 1: 1. Because then it would be a classic change process or a repair, as skilled people know it: unscrewing, waiting, reassembling. We know that. We know what it looked like before and – if everything is done correctly during the repair phase – it will look like afterwards. And it works again, as before. Just a little smoother and smoother. After the maintenance break. We don’t have. Because we are currently losing parts. And because we’re not sure whether we should do all of this again after the shutdown, because to be honest: Has it always worked so well lately? Have we already had some wobbly parts in many places that we somehow temporarily held together? The only question is: who hits it so that it breaks, who is putting it together like new, with what goal and with whom / what, but above all: do we have a clear picture in advance of how it should look when it is fully assembled in the future? Because if not, we also know the problem. We dismantle something, don’t know how to reassemble something, lose something, don’t have new parts that we could need now, get bogged down, lose interest, power, speed, leave and leave everything behind. A pile of broken glass. No matter, someone / something new will come, right?
What is your perspective on transformation? We look forward to your constructive, neutral comments! Make a contribution to our world impact model! Put your perspective on it so that we can create a common picture of the current and the new order. Every opinion counts, every contribution is a mosaic of the big picture.
