Let’s be honest: trying to force change in an organisation sometimes feels like trying to herd squirrels. Angry, stubborn squirrels who have been diligently doing things the same way for 20 years and see no reason to start storing their nuts tidily in some fancy Tupperware box.
I’ve seen it many times, and I’m sure you have too. A Leadership Team (so awesome it goes by the groovy LT abbreviation) cooks up a massive, complex “Change Management Program.” They spend months in boardrooms and fancy hotels designing it. Then, they hand it down from above like stone tablets from Mount Sinai. Only, there was no budget left for stone tablets, so they ask an overworked PA to create some bullet-riddled PowerPoint Slideguff.
And what happens? The staff yawns as they raise a collective eyebrow, then tries to ignore it. Or worse, they actively resist it, dreaming up their own contrary plans. The change initiative then takes forever, costs a fortune, and achieves… well, not a lot…
Why? Because nobody likes being told what to do by someone who doesn’t understand the nuts and bolts of their daily grind. No-one.
And it’s obvious why:
People only change when they want to change.
The Great Reversal
In my recent work with everyone from global construction giants to major banks, I’ve found that the secret to being “Future-Ready” isn’t about being a visionary genius at the top. It’s about flipping the script.
Change shouldn’t trickle down; it should bubble up.
When you empower the people on the front lines—the ones who actually know where the problems are—to own the small improvements, magic happens. You stop dragging your team into the future and start watching them propel you towards it.
The 5 Shifts to a Future-Ready Mindset
If you want to stop pushing and start leading, you need a system. I call it the ReadyAlready Growth Cycle, and it involves five simple shifts:
- Follow: Stop trying to fix everything. Empower your people to pick one thing they care about and focus on understanding it better.
- React: Give them the breathing room (time and space) to actually think and learn about that focus area, before empowering them to decide how they wish to react to it.
- Open: The 1st AI- defeating superpower. Encourage your team to take off the blinkers of experience and look afresh at their work with the naïve curiosity of a child.
- Surprise: The 2nd AI- defeating superpower. Give them the courage to have wild, bold, “crazy” ideas. If you don’t start big, you’ll never end up with something game-changing.
- Tell: The 3rd AI- defeating superpower. Create a safe space where colleagues can share these fragile new ideas without fear of ridicule, and inspire others to make their ideas better.
Want to See This in Action?
I’ve helped town councils improve staff retention, banks speed up their innovation cycles, and construction firms stop wasting money on failed initiatives—all by installing this mindset.
If you’re tired of change programmes that feel like pulling teeth, we should talk.
I’m Allister Frost, and I help organisations build a Future-Ready Mindset.
I travel the world speaking at company conferences and industry events, teaching teams how to become ReadyAlready! If you’re looking for a keynote speaker who can wake up your audience, make them laugh, and give them a practical toolkit they can start using right away (and I mean right away!), let’s connect.
(I might even bring a few signed copies of my new book, ReadyAlready, to share!)
Find out more and drop me a line right now!
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