Valuable Change, With Brendon Baker

Brendon Baker believes that as a profession, we have over-complicated our approaches to change management. He has taken it upon himself to simplify it and in doing so, to help change leaders drive real value. Brendon and Managing Editor Brian Gorman discuss his approach for doing so

Tune in and get Brendon Baker’s answers to questions such as:

• The title of your book is Valuable Change: What You Need to Know to Ensure Your Change Pays Off. The name of your company is Valuable Change. What do you mean by “valuable change?”
• You quote Leonardo Da Vinci, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” One of the American Supreme Court Justices, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., is quoted as saying, ““For the simplicity on this side of complexity, I wouldn’t give you a fig. But for the simplicity on the other side of complexity, for that I would give you anything I have.” I think it is important for our listeners that you are striving for that “simplicity on the other side of change management complexity.” Why?
• Your book is divided into three parts, the third being a brief recap of Parts One and Two. Part One is about the change, and you begin that section with a look at asking the right questions. Briefly, what are the right questions, and what makes them so important?
• In this section of the book, you also introduce your Valuable Change model which consists of two steps. Would you describe that model for our listeners?
• Part Two focuses on people. You begin by introducing what you refer to as the “value equation.” Not surprisingly, the equation is a simple one consisting of three elements. What is the value equation?
• Would you give us a brief story of how it has been applied with one of your clients?
• Here is what you wrote regarding the profession’s approach to the people who have to change. “The industry has overcomplicated the ‘Who’ question. Stakeholder profiles, engagement strategies, communication approaches, impact assessments, change readiness questionnaires, saturation heatmaps and many more. Despite their often useful content, the truth is that when it comes to engaging and working with the people component of our changes – it’s all to easy to fall into document overwhelm. When there are too many documents, it just becomes too hard.” So, what is the approach you bring to the people side of change?

About Brendon Baker:

Brendon Baker is the Managing Director of the Valuable Change Co. Brendon’s approach to change… Keep it simple. As a leading expert in the field, Brendon has consulted on over $10 Billion in key transformation projects and programs across a range of industries including public infrastructure, business/cultural transformations, shared services implementations, restructures, process overhauls, technology deployment, and social policy.