TWC Session 4

Brief Overview/Summary

We discussed about the Drivers of World Change and Change Management vs Leadership. We begin the lesson by discussing about the responsibility we all as consumers have, with regards to choosing the products that support sustainability. As long as we believe strongly in sustainability, we can pressurize governments and companies to listen to us. We can play a DIRECT role in changing the world. I believe so, because the shifting values of people, with the help of social media, can propagate changes to the world we live in. People is a strong driver of world change, as I have discussed in my oral presentation.

On top of that, a globalised country will be more adept to reacting positively to world change, be it Evolutionary change, Revolutionary change, or Disruptive change. And these are the countries that will do better because of their awareness of standards which may help them imitate and innovate at the same time. According to Charles Darwin, only the ones being able to adapt to change may thrive.

In Change Management and Change Leadership, we discussed the difference between a leader and a manager and came up with a conclusion that leaders formulate new paradigms while managers follows these paradigms and get things done. To be a good leader of change, one has to be far-sighted and be proactive in preparing for change.

Interesting Observation and Ideas

1. We discussed about the differences between Drivers of World Change in reading 1 and reading 3. The first reading, Global Drivers of Change to 2060 predicts several trends that might take place in 50 years times, while the next reading suggests world trends specifically to security, economy and power shift. It was insightful for me because now I am aware where we are heading and can anticipate the imminent changes for the world. These trends serve as a guideline to let us examine whether are we heading towards  a better direction, or to change the path that we are currently undertaking. Identifying potential paradigm shift may help us to prepare ourselves in time of change and to be ready in responding to changes. This acts as a tool to stimulate generation of new ideas to cope with the changing needs of the world.

2. The pessimism – time curve is a great illustration of the reality of life. It proves only one thing, that is only the ones who persevere to reach past the “informed realism” will get to the completion of a launch of an idea/ business/ relationship.  I can connect with this notion because I experienced the process of setting something up and giving it up half way due to difficulties faced and business partners withdrawing from their commitment. If this is the guiding principle of all successful ventures, I would definitely abide by it and try and try till I make it past the “informed realism” stage!

3. The shirtless dancing guy illustrates a good point about how the first follower of a lone nut can transform him (the lone nut) into a leader. Video was hilarious but very insightful. We always give credit to the leader of change but neglect the fact that it was the first few believers that enabled the change to spread.

Key Takeaway Points

The ultimate message taken from class was that keeping an open mind about change is an essential attitude to thrive, and managing change is as difficult as leading a change. Both are constant and demanding affairs. We have to think ahead of time to anticipate changes and stay relevant before they catch us by surprise.

On change leadership, I learned that as a leader of new paradigms, one needs to have the first followers who believe in him and help turn him from a lone nut to a leader. One must also constantly be preparing for change and never give up in times of informed pessimism. This tells me that having the right partners and fellowship is as important as the new idea itself.

Issues for Further Discussion

I am lucky to have a lot of time for people to discuss about my oral presentation, but I wish to hear more views on what people think about the power of people and social media, especially in the context of Singapore. Is the Government’s policy to regulate internet content a form of regression, instead of progression in terms of development? Should there be better policies implemented to ride on the power of social media rather than to try and control it?

Personal Rating

I enjoyed the class tremendously due to the new knowledge and insights gained. I rate it a 8.5/10.