October 7 2011
Art, Culture & Change
TweetA week ago I did the all night cultural extravaganza that is Nuit
Blanche. For those who don’t know, it’s a sunset to sunrise event,
covering most of central Toronto with an array of temporary cultural
and artistic installations. They are only there for the night and
range from small independents to large scale commissions. It got me
thinking how little we use the artistic and cultural side of our
brain when delivering change.
When we talk about change management we always feel the need to
define specifics, quantify returns on investment and time every
event to within a nanosecond of its existence! But we talk about
organizational culture, communications, learning and how we intend
to use them in achieving the successful transition for the people
involved.
When we look at communications we have a message to deliver, and
we try and use the most effective words for the audience. Do we ever
really think about the style, look and shape of that message? What
about the design of posters, web pages or newsletters talking about
the changes coming? We should be thinking about designs that attract
attention, encourage the right emotional responses and gain
understanding. Creating
a black and white typed sheet as a newsletter is not the most
thrilling of communications to read – don’t you think something with
colour, patterns and some styles would be more attractive, read by
more people and thus get the message through to more people.
If your considering learning activities – does it have to be
“death by PowerPoint”. I worked on some learning materials a few
years back where we created a CD-ROM with a set of video files,
where one of the current staff talked through each piece of the
process change. Having these 30 second clips to hand was a huge
asset for the people learning the new process! It didn’t take much
to do, but had a huge impact. Learning should be designed for the
recipient not the teacher’s benefit!
I’m sure there are other opportunities to support change using
arts and culture. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so
I’m sure the right picture is worth a thousand change discussions!
What about memory joggers in the shape of a new product being
launched? How about using a cleverly designed screensaver to remind
people of the impending system changes (I’ve seen that deployed!).
I have always felt enthused and invigorated after spending some
time with art and I wonder if it would also be an opportunity for
many others to consider it as an option for change fatigue. So many
businesses have an accelerating change program that the people are
getting tired of the amount of change they are experiencing – could
well-placed art and cultural experiences give the opportunity to
recharge their batteries and reinvigorate the enthusiasm for change?
And for those that are interested, I have no artistic
capabilities and do not see this as opportunity to branch into that
arena!