Built to Beat Chaos

CHAPTER 9Prioritize Change

For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?

Luke 14

Dreaming about what we want is not enough. Like the quote above suggests, it requires “sitting down” and thinking about your resources and how to best use them.

Remember when we discussed that sequence matters? Your leadership system has to recognize that setting change priorities is sequenced after vision formation. Otherwise, change is not purposeful. It also means that the order you complete change is critical. How should the changes that need to be made be sequenced?

If you don't change fast enough, you fall behind. That leads to chaos. If you change too quickly, you disrupt daily operations.

This chapter identifies how to create a change road map that supports the strategy. If you don't change fast enough, you fall behind. That leads to chaos. If you change too quickly, you disrupt daily operations and create a different type of chaos. How you manage change matters.

Whether focused on total organization strategy or for an individual department, the role of the leader is to understand what needs to change and how fast. Change is costly and stressful, so you only want to introduce change that drives the vision.

1. Set Change Pace

Considering long‐term vision, leaders should specify how fast to move toward the vision. Where do you need to be in two years, five years, seven years? Remember, the vision lays ...