Our Change Philosophy
Change re-framed for both business and human beings
By enabling the capacity to see and act where others may not be able to see clarity and possibility, we vigilantly ask what is needed to move forward. Often anchored in strategy, and knowing capability takes time, we boost where we can.
Premise 1 | Life = Change
Life equals change. This fundamental concept forms how we approach change in business and personal contexts. In the world of business process and organization, we often attempt to put change into neat boxes with clear beginnings, middles, and ends.
When we understand that life itself is change, we can shift our perspective. Change becomes less about isolated events and more about an ongoing process. This understanding challenges us to use language that reflects this experience—phrases like “changing” instead of “change” and “ongoing” rather than “event-based” help clarify that change is not a static moment but an evolving experience. Rather than viewing change as isolated events, we recognize it as omnipresent and continuous. This often creates a fresh look at traditional business change management practices, encouraging a shift toward more fluid and iterative approaches.
That said, we know businesses still need structure—milestones, project plans, and progress measurements—but these want to be framed within the understanding that change is ever-evolving.
A last note: while the ongoing and ever-flowing nature of life and change is true, this does not mean in business we manage with a 24/7 always-on view of things. As we explore later, it is more about the framing of change and thus considering what the business needs, practices, and rituals are around that.
The "ING" Notion
How we understand change as a concept shapes our experience, and the language we use to describe it shapes how we experience it. The active use of present-tense words like "adapting," "growing," and "changing" reinforces the idea of consistent motion.
In organizations, adopting "ING" language in communication can create a shared understanding that change is definitely not an endpoint but a state of evolution. This linguistic shift not only aligns with agile and iterative practices but also promotes a sense of resonance and engagement among teams.
Healthy Change
One way to frame this is through the concept of "healthy change." In our perspective, this firstly involves understanding where and how change can be absorbed by people. Change, at its core, is the context of business itself. Without connection to change (market, customer, political, etc.), there is no growth, evolution or improvement—let alone innovation. But it's important to approach change thoughtfully.
Healthy change also considers financial, technological, and process-related items in business, but we start with human experience first. An amount of change experienced as healthy for both business and human beings allows space for day-to-day activities and incorporates Pause Points and Renewal time for teams and individuals, especially during long-haul initiatives. Moving through the Active-Adapt-Flow framework provides a way to envision a healthy change dynamic.
Premise 2 | Life as a Learning Process
Learning is central to growth in both life and business. Learning of self is one lever we use, inviting us to explore our assumptions, deepen self-awareness, and shape our sense of self.
As we encounter new experiences, it enables flexibility, allowing us to see and engage actively with life’s inevitable changes. Change, while not always welcome, can be a powerful motivator for learning. Learning through change can be both rewarding and challenging, especially when considering emotional experiences.
This often comes with a mix of excitement, frustration, and, at times, vulnerability. However, what remains fundamental is that it takes vigilance to “do the work.”
Beyond the Blame Game
As human beings, we all have things we feel strongly about. This can sometimes translate into a tendency to cling to absolute beliefs despite context. Certainty can lead to rigidity, confirmation bias, and an unwillingness to adapt and accept new information. When this extends to moral judgments, it can create dogmatic views of right and wrong, ignoring the nuances, duality, and spectrums of human experience.
Rather than defaulting to the blame/certainty dynamic when things go wrong, businesses that engage in the learning and self-awareness processes can create an environment more open to change. Instead of shaming or trying to always "get things right," there can be a focus on what worked, what didn’t, and why. This mindset shift turns perceived failure into an opportunity for learning, allowing individuals and teams to experiment, collaborate, and innovate.
Mastery & Learning
Being knowledgeable is a point-in-time construct, reflecting the best understanding based on available research, tools, perspectives, etc. With the pace of change in industries—driven by innovation, shifting societal norms, market headwinds, and new discoveries—static knowledge is quickly outdated. Relying solely on past expertise can lead to stagnation and inability to see possibilities. This cannot be over-emphasized in the time of Generative AI, where the very fabric of knowledge, skills, and the human is being re-defined.
Thus, "knowledge-ing" is not a fixed asset but a dynamic process requiring continuous learning, unlearning, and relearning. Evolving within one's specialty area involves staying curious, engaging with new data, and exploring diverse viewpoints to refine our assumptions. It also requires self-awareness and vigilance to recognize that expertise is contextual.
Premise 3 | Emotional & Psychological Experience Matters
As organizations evolve, change is the way we frame that process, and with it comes undeniable and “normal” emotional impact.
Although this is often overlooked—especially in the workplace—change is an opportunity for self-discovery. It can deepen our understanding of our emotions and how we respond to them. Emotional awareness is key to shaping this understanding. Recognizing when we feel anxious, frustrated, or hopeful allows us to make sense of our internal experiences.
In return, we can explore our wiring and reflect on our default reactions, allowing us to further understand how we show up during unpleasant experiences, as well as consider how we can move forward.
Being with One Another Through Change
Whether through storytelling, shared experiences, or offering a listening ear, acknowledging our collective capacity for change makes it easier to find strength in these moments. Organizations that create this kind of space can move with greater agility when faced with shifts in process, ways of working, or strategic direction.
Leaders who actively listen, communicate transparently, and validate concerns can build a culture where individuals feel valued. Understanding the human experience of technological change can encourage growth and innovation—ensuring team members can understand their experience and possibly view it as a path that enhances their creativity, rather than a force that replaces their contributions.
Emotional Time
In our Time and Emotional Time perspective, we explore how time moves differently in the emotional world. Traditionally—and even now—there has been a lack of understanding around the extent to which people's emotions can influence their work. However, wherever business exists, there are people—and wherever there are people, there are emotions.
Time in business can be seen as a block of experience carved out to complete a particular task. Depending on its perceived complexity, a goal or task will be ascribed a physical limit—for example, x-needs to complete by x-time. In contrast, emotional time moves differently, with its own rhythm. Feelings have no limits—thus applying a constraint such as "time" to emotion does not fully work.
Premise 4 | The Ledge of Self Authority
At the heart of personal leadership is self-authority: the ability to trust your own judgment, act with awareness, and also hold space for shared exploration and collaboration.
Leaders who embody self-authority lead with a strong sense of an internal compass, integrating autonomy with an understanding of the need to drive results in communion with others. However, self-authority is not about disconnected independence, needing to be right, or imposing one’s way. It is about making informed choices while staying open to diverse perspectives. As organizations experience both horizontal and vertical ways of relating, self-authority can become a support for strengthening collective capability.
Self-authority matters when leading change effectively. In times of uncertainty, leaders who stay connected to their strategic sense can shape an empowering context for their teams through ambiguity, create alignment, and build trust during times of flux. Leaders who engage in the journey of self-awareness understand that they cannot enforce change, but they can act as enablers—supporting adaptability and ownership at all levels, while first and foremost being an authentic and real human being.
What is Mine to Do + Learn
Self-authority in learning is closely tied to ownership and proactive engagement. When we talk about "what is mine to do" in the context of learning, it refers to the recognition that each of us leads our own growth.
This is where seeking to understand "what is mine to do and learn" is super important. Even in situations where you think you cannot move forward or do not "know all the information," chances are you can discover your next step. Whether it's listening to more context from a colleague, reviewing your team’s processes after integrating a new organizational strategy, or expanding your knowledge base in a particular area—it takes a level of self-agency and leadership to recognize that there are always to-dos when you focus on introspection and learning instead of investigation.
