Episode 40
Positive change in challenging times with Randip Singh
July 9, 2020
When the pace of change feels faster than ever, it’s critical to ensure that new initiatives are rolled out in a way that enables easy adoption. Finance leader Randip Singh talks with Diana about how people, technology, and process need to work together for short and long-term success.
You can connect with Randip on LinkedIn.
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Positive changes: Key takeaways from Episode 40
Taking on extra responsibilities and volunteer positions will help you learn to prioritize and delegate. It helped Randip to realize that there are a limited number of hours in the day, and forced him to be deliberate about where he spends his time.
Being away from the office has helped many of us remember how important it is to make time for deep thinking. Creating that space, as well as time to recharge your energy by doing things you love, is absolutely critical to long-term success.
Bringing about successful change requires equal effort in three areas: people, technology, and process.
1) People: Two-way communication is key. If you don’t communicate, people will fill the vacuum with their own thoughts, and that can become a significant derailing influence. People must understand the need for a change in order to enable quick adoption. Ensuring people have a way to ask questions and provide meaningful feedback is just as important as putting information out.
2) Technology: Any new technology needs to fit into the workflow of what people are already doing. You want them to embrace the tool, so it needs to be useful and address pain points.
3) Process: Any process is only as strong as the weakest link in the chain. When you implement a new process, how does information get communicated to various team members? How does it work through the technology? It all needs to work together.
As part of the technology change, think about the data that’s available to you and what data may be important to collect going forward. In the talent space, there tends to be more data available than many people realize, and you can use that data to plan more effective change.
When you create your long-term vision, build in time to work toward it. Randip recommends that about 20% of our activities today should be items that will pay off in a few years. Considering how you want the business to look in five years will help you find the space to accomplish this.
Remember to align everyone to that five-year vision. Find out what’s important to your people, and you will begin to see ways that their passions and priorities can feed into the company’s objectives.
Additional Resources from Randip Singh
Project Implicit - Use this tool recommended by Randip to find out your implicit associations about race, gender, sexual orientation, and other topics.
Harvard Business Review IdeaCast - A weekly podcast featuring leading thinkers in business and management.
National Diversity Council & Texas Diversity Council - These organizations offer free resources and materials on their websites, virtual programs that address current day topics and mental health awareness.
