A strategy and change theory of everything
“The world belongs to those who can explain it.”
Juli Zeh
As you might have grasped by now, if you have read any previous notes, you understand that I advocate a contemporary view of strategy which includes change – reactive adaptation and proactive – as an integrated part of the strategy process and in doing so applying a behavioral perspective on the organization. To understand strategy and change from a behavioral perspective we need to clarify a number of terms and create a comprehensive understanding of how people actually function. In the next post I will talk about a common language, but in this one I will outline the basis of this idea.
Through their strategy every organisation can map out a direction and hopefully give themselves a competitive edge. This strategy must adapt to the situation in the outside world. As the world changes, so must the strategy change. Therefore change is necessary in order to ensure that goals are met. Simple as that. The results within an organisation are generated by the behavior of the employees. In order to realize a strategy we need to understand what behavior is, how we learn new behavior and why we behave in a certain way and apply this to a strategy context.
Organisations need to deliver today while ensuring that they will remain competitive tomorrow. Change is a necessary in order to achieve this. This means that the organisation must bridge the gap between change and strategy – to create a more adaptable or innovative climate in order to achieve its goals. More precisely this is about behavior as leverage in strategy and adaptive management, about how we can use the principles of behavioral and behavioral psychology in realizing our strategic goals through continuous improvement.
This idea finds itself at the intersection of three disciplines, giving it a broader approach regarding questions of strategy:
1. Strategic Management
2. Organizational Change
3. Behavioral psychology
When combining these three disciplines I call them Strategic Behavior Management (SBM). SBM is a method for leading an organisation in order to ensure long-term success through continuous improvement and adaption. This is characterized by basing the conduct of the entire company on the principles of educational psychology and its focus on behavior.
SBM is closely related to Strategic Management, Change Management, Performance Management, Organizational Behavior Management and Management Innovation. Organisations that use SBM I call “smart organisations”.