We are facing a great number of societal challenges that we believe can largely be explained by one shared cause. In recent decades, we have come to see earning money as an end in itself rather than an important means to a meaningful existence. It is highly questionable whether we can solve the societal challenges that have arisen as a result with the same "old" thinking that created them.
Some examples of this are:
Healthcare, where turnover, not the patient, is central.
The public sector, where cost savings, not the citizen, is central.
The private sector, where profit maximization, not the customer, is central.
This conviction has also become central in organizations, both public and private. Earning money has become such a priority, that we have lost sight of each other, the humans. Even though organizations are precisely there to create social value humans.
It is therefore no wonder that many organizations have come to a standstill. This is becoming visible internally and externally in the way that customers, citizens, patients and employees experience these organizations. This is unfortunate, because organizations can be a driving force for a better future.
Despite all their efforts, these organizations are not making the desired progress, for example:
Declining customer satisfaction
They are increasingly losing touch with employees and stakeholders, for example through increasing absenteeism
And they do not have the right explanation for solving these challenges, for example endless reports that do not identify the underlying problems
Fortunately, we are seeing that there are more and more like-minded people who believe that it cannot go on like this. Who want to take action together. We call them explorers, the 3.5% who want change but are not yet able or allowed to implement it sufficiently.
These explorers are often frustrated with the way things are going but do not (yet) have the support or the position to really help their organization to be meaningful. Their organizations have, with all good intentions, remained stuck in optimization in recent years and are not getting to the transformation of the employee and customer experience.
It is therefore important to find a way to give this group of changemakers the space to change the organization. But how? There are many different views on this. In all its simplicity, it comes down to three important starting points for us.
By implementing major changes through many small developments in attitude and behavior
By guiding the 3.5% explorers in organizations and giving them the space, resources and mandate they need
By putting people back at the center of the transformation of a meaningful employee and customer experience
Note: These three points are not complete and are not universal, but they come very close.
It is possible to get large complex organizations moving by mobilizing the right group of people and providing them with expert support. This only works if we do it under the right conditions. One of these conditions is the simple reality that work is ultimately about people. We sometimes seem to have completely lost sight of that.
Did you know that progress and connection are linked to two fundamental human motivations and are therefore deeply rooted in us? We speak of:
Progress motive - wanting to achieve results and in doing so wanting to be competent, useful and free as an individual (agency).
Connection motive - wanting to be connected and minimizing conflicts within the group (communion).
And so we also come to the position that meaningful progress can only come from connection with each other and our environment. Because it is precisely in the CX and EX field that it should be about connection. Let's keep making that a reality!