humility of these people, and in the hope that we choose to make the right changes in business. We can learn to find some meaning in what we are doing and make some simple changes to make a difference in our lives, the lives of the people who give of themselves to business everyday and ultimately the lives of our customers who are the reason we exist.

So what happened? There was definitely a build-up of events. It was a combination of these experiences that changed thinking and behaviour. Based on reading all the material out there and your own experiences, you will realise that none of these events are unique in isolation; the power lies in combination. It was a lead-on from one event to another that ultimately led to fundamental choices being made at the highest level in the business. There was no radical decision at any point that “we are going to change”. Rather there were decisive steps taken at the right time to progress the process. Each decision was filled with integrity, sincerity, purpose and careful design.

If I look back at the process, these are some of the key events that mark the journey:

for various reasons: the impact of the recession and the pressure of the retail business recently

“At no point did Jack make the

event the focus, nor did he try to make it too big a picture. It was rather about deciding what needed to be done now and understanding what came next.”

It wasn’t as good as it used to be. This was

purchased during this time were forcing some deep introspection. Everyone was working hard but it seemed like something was missing. It took the right person. It was around this time that the Company appointed a new executive who had come up through the ranks. Jack Henry Colins had a simple approach of getting everyone on the same page to increase market share.

was not a massive roll-out of a process or intervention but rather the communication of a strategy easy enough for everyone to understand.

Every person understood the role they needed to play. Jack realised that if he could get everyone to really understand what they needed to achieve, on their terms and their level, the rest would be simple. He wanted to make the direction clear and help everyone understand their part in the process.

This was about the time I got involved. Jack called me in to discuss his idea of how he could communicate the strategy and make it a reality. My role was to translate it into a workable concept that every person at every level could connect to, and to design an experience that would enable people to make the right choices. Jack understood that he could communicate the strategy effectively but that it was up to the individual to make a decision to support it or not. The experience was fundamental to the people making the right choices.

He took it one step at a time. At no point did Jack make the event the focus, nor did he try to make it too big a picture. It was rather about deciding what needed to be done now and understanding what came next. Jack made very sure that he never overwhelmed his team at any time or at any point as we built up to the roll-out.

always the simple understanding that if he could get the key people in the business to

He got the right people involved. There was We connected the idea with the people. It was about the way forward. Jack’s plan

The Company is an organisation in South Africa and has requested to stay anonymous for the purposes of sharing this information in the public domain. Names have been changed at the request of the client.

56 Management Today | September 2011