We are currently standing at the edge of a cliff. We face the Fourth Industrial Revolution; the way we live, work, and relate to one another is about to change for good. Successful businesses will be those that embrace smart technologies in factories and workplaces, making decisions autonomously. This next Revolution will disrupt almost every industry in every country and create massive change in a non-linear way at unprecedented speed.

The future depends on every one of us making serious and wide-ranging decisions about how we live our lives and run our companies. However, many organisations are not ready for this.

Corporate lethargy is all around us

While you may have realised that the world is changing; many colleagues, teams, and organisations around you remain paralysed. We're moving from episodic to continuous change, which means that we are always-on. With the pace of change accelerating, the relentless drive forward finds many organisations in an innovate or die situation.

Instead of propelling us forward, this feels exhausting and hopeless resulting in corporate lethargy. A toxic blend of politics, ego, presentism, and we've-always-done-it-like-this thinking creates a stifling lethargy that gets in the way of progress. We find ourselves 'playing not to lose' rather than 'playing to win.'

We've seen many examples of simple tasks taking longer than they should. Teams are actively building bureaucracy into processes and passing up clear revenue opportunities because of the expectation that it would be 'too difficult.'

Staying in the Comfort Zone

Operating in the past often feels comfortable, especially when presented with imposed change. It's not that individuals don't understand the urgent need for change. Instead, in the face of such huge decisions, change, and progression can often feel very frightening. Larger legacy organisations have it harder than most and frequently struggle with mobilising people to change and break up the lethargy that exists. Innovation and new thinking are often the exceptions rather than the norm. Innovation exists somewhere else in the organisation as a 'dark art.'

How will you and your organisation respond?

All is not lost

The simple fact is that individuals will always respond differently to change imposed on them than to change that grows organically from within their organisations. When people realise for themselves the need to change; they can experience enthusiasm, commitment, and purpose from the start.

Staring down the future – and not blinking

From our work across organisations around the world, we know all about what drives lethargy and how it paralyses innovative thinking. As leaders, we have the chance to focus on the challenges that foster corporate lethargy and what we can do to alleviate these.Some of these core challenges and how to counteract them are:

1. Fear – tackle the fear of failure, upfront, and head-on. Face the truth of the current problem and not shying away from brutal facts. Do this by encouraging the workforce and colleagues to take action. Be positive, yet realistic, facing fear with enthusiasm and making a plan.

2. Complexity – eliminate complexity by aiming for clarity about the problem that needs to be solved. Be clear and concise about what must change – keep it simple.

3. Presentism (i.e., stuck in a present-day mindset) – look at the current situation with fresh eyes and embrace curiosity about how the future and end state will look.

4. Status quo – don't be afraid to challenge the status quo. Instead, tell compelling stories about how things could be and help teams understand the barriers to change.

Creating a culture of change and innovation

It takes a long time to change the culture of an organisation, but as leaders, we can create a climate today. To bring your organisation with you, be very clear about the ambition and the need for change. Establish change agents, get people involved, and actively seek out opinions as well as new ideas.

While the future can be terrifying and intimidating (see the World Risk Report for a real shock), it will not be the catalyst for change within your organisation. Fear stifles innovation, remember?

Instead, be the courageous voice to start a revolution. Seek help where you need it, celebrate success, and recognise progress no matter how small. Soon you won't be the only one, as you find teams mobilising with you and rallying around change. A deliberate transformation – a team effort, that encompasses the organisation as a living system.

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