perpetual beta — our new normal – Harold Jarche

People have a limited velocity to unlearn and relearn. The pace of change cannot be forced; it can be nurtured. People adopt change in the shape of a normal, cumulative probability distribution (i.e., an S-curve), starting with the natural Innovators. Improving ways of working needs to be safe-to-learn and within risk appetite. Middle management ar

When we shift to a process-based definition, progress is driven by incremental experimentation. Success transforms from a fixed target to an unfolding path. Without a fixed definition of success, we welcome change as a source of reinvention. Our direction emerges organically as we systematically examine what captures our attention instead of fixati

“Each change, each innovation is considered to be the new normal, a new steady state when in fact the new normal is a state of continual innovation.”

The complexity of the new networked, interdependent economy creates an ambiguous, uncertain, competitive landscape. Companies must be flexible enough to rapidly respond to changes in their environments, or risk extinction.

They are complex, participatory, interconnected, interdependent, and continually evolving systems, like ecosystems in nature. Form follows need. Roles are picked up, discarded, and exchanged fluidly. Power is distributed. Decisions are made at the point of origin. Innovations can spring up from all quarters. Meetings are held when they are needed.

“Evolution requires us to continually refresh our competitive advantage. … To innovate forever, in other words, is not an aspiration; it is a design specification. It is not a strategy; it is a requirement.”