Exploring ways to affect sustainable change
Change is challenging and even more formidable in professional services firms. It takes two willing and able participants: professionals and organizations. In my last post, I zeroed in on the fast and inevitable pace of change and the individuals' struggles, especially in the professional services domain. I also offered a few tips on accepting and embracing change individually. I received several positive comments from professionals who related to the struggles and the recommended approach. In this post, I'll focus on the responsibility of organizations to enable an appealing and successful change journey by leveraging choice architects.
Choice architecture, as you may know, is a term coined by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein in their widely regarded book, "Nudge." The premise is that we all make decisions influenced by the environment, and those who create the background, also known as choice architects, can influence decision-making without forcing pre-defined outcomes. I am a big fan of the concept. It can be compelling in professional services firms, where highly educated and knowledgeable professionals may push back on mandates and change initiatives. They, however, may embrace the opportunity to make their own decisions and follow a change roadmap on their terms. This framework can also be equally valuable in designing client acquisition journeys where clients make choices to fit their requirements and priorities.
The good news is that organizations have a ton of choice architects (we all are!). Inviting professionals to technical training makes you a choice architect. You are a choice architect when you create a feedback form for clients and employees to complete. I suspect you don't fully appreciate the power and responsibility of being a choice architect or leveraging such functions and the choice architecture framework to influence change. I know I need to remember at times!
The other good news is that the choice architecture frameworks are very effective, even if simplified, as illustrated below. They enable architects to consider how to influence behavior by presenting choices simply and attractively and encourage them to think about how to package options and when and where to offer them. The process takes time and design thinking to map the specific behavior journey. They call for feedback mechanisms to provide real-time views, analysis, opportunities for potential modifications of the various choices, and an incentive system aligned with the journey and the key stakeholders. Technology can enable that process further. More on that in the next post.
For now, please reflect on some of your change priorities, who are your choice architects, and how can you and they embrace the choice architecture framework to influence change in a palatable way. The opportunity is too big to ignore.
