Surf Conditions Are EPIC, But Can You Ride the Waves?

Miki Saxon’s post in her Leadership Turn blog about a new book called EPIC Change by Timothy Clark got my attention. There’s no use trying to summarize it except to say that “EPIC” stands for Evaluation, Preparation, Implementation and Consolidation; read her excellent post for more. Then get ready to deal with change if you want to survive as an executive. My comment to her post is repeated below:

Miki- nice post about a book from an author with credibility built from his plant manager experience. There is nothing like a manufacturing environment to give you experience with change, whether it’s simply an increased rate of the same type of process (customer order change rate) or a complete makeover of business processes. His looking-outside-the-market approach is what many innovative companies have set up a standardized research process for, using an organization like a PMO, to at first lead it and then present justified, strategy-aligned, projectized innovations to top executives. I compare the degree of change, and therefore degree of preparation required, to surfing in that small, ridable waves are giving way to large less certain waves that can hurt or drown you. You’ve got to be prepared with more and better “equipment” and a higher level of skill. Interestingly, good big wave surfing conditions are called “EPIC” but few can ride them.

Do you agree that dealing with change, through standardized business processes, is necessary to survive as an executive? as a company? What evidence do you have that the degree of change is increasing? What is different about this change versus the type of change 10 years ago? How do you and your company deal with change?

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