Change and Innovation or Unimproved Ends

In “Managing Transitions, Making the Most of Change” William Bridges describes a neutral zone which happens when you’ve let go of the old trapeze and you’re waiting for the new one to appear. Although this is a time of turmoil, it’s exactly because of the turmoil that it’s also a time of tremendous opportunity - as old ways are no longer set in concrete and the momentum of the status quo has been broken. William shares an example for taking advantage of this opportunity: “When you shift from one technological system to another, use the interim to redesign the work flow so you aren’t simply improving the technological means to an unimproved end.”

A technology project has a dependency on change in order to be successful, because technology doesn’t do anything, it’s only through change the promise of the project can be realized. The project itself can be a vehicle for change. And William Bridges teaches us that the chaos of the neutral zone resulting from change provides the necessary catalyst for innovation.

William Bridges gives us the recipe for success: we must protect our people, encourage them, and give them the structures and opportunities they need to succeed. Or, we can fail to do those things and simply provide the technological means to an unimproved end.