What is the most critical challenge when it comes to implementing transformational technologies? You pose this question, and the answer is change management. Cringe statements like “change is the only constant” galore on our LinkedIn feeds. A key question emerges. What is the factor that drives resistance to change? If you take a deeper look, some companies just go ahead and successfully implement new initiatives, while others just struggle and keep struggling, no matter what technology they invest in. What drives the resistance to change is the culture.

Some corporate cultures are just more receptive to change. But culture is never static. Organizational cultures have transformed over the years, which in itself is an indication that organizational culture is not a static recipe. Companies that were pioneers in their respective industries have become laggards, and companies that were “meh” in their industries have successfully entered new industries and categories. If organizational culture is not a static recipe, then what changes in the recipe?

To understand that, we need to understand just a straightforward aspect. Organizational culture is nothing but the collective habits of every employee. Consider this momentarily and try applying it to your organizational context to evaluate this statement. You will find it holds. An organization where most managers and leaders are micromanagers will build a micromanaging culture. An organization where most leaders are receptive to new ideas and suggestions from their teams will be innovative. But what defines our habits in organizations? When I say organization, it may sometimes be teams and divisions. There are plenty of instances where within the same organization, different teams and divisions have starkly different cultures.

The fact is that the majority of employees are looking out for themselves. Chances are that if an employee is working for an organization, they are not working there with the goal of “I will take this organization to new heights” but to improve their career prospects, financial position, etc. But even if the organization hires employees who take their career prospects and work seriously, collectively, it benefits the organization and the culture. Organizational culture is nothing but the individual professional habits of employees that are clubbed together.

So, the only way to change organizational culture is to change the habits of your employees. One way to do this is through hiring. You hire people with the traits you seek in your culture. This can be a slow process, and it is realistically impossible to replace your people in masses. Also, if your hiring rate is slow, the people you hire may adapt to undesirable habits faster than you can hire more people to change the culture. So, while this is an excellent long-term consistent approach, the other way is to force (in a professional context) existing employees to change their habits.

We started the article by using the example of technology change management. We hear that technology implementations fail because of a lack of adoption or change management culture. That is correct. You can implement the most advanced analytics tool, but if your employees love using Excel, they will use it anyway because that is their habit. Eventually, you have to change that habit.

Technology can help change that habit but then the question becomes, how can technology change habits and culture, if the culture does not allow successful implementations of technology? Chicken or the egg situation. Eh?

We explore this in the final and 40th Episode of “Think About It“. You can watch the episode here: