Transformations Need Narratives

Off in the distance are the shining blue mountains.  The specific path is not a well trodden one;  the path you seek remains to be found.  But you can see the mountains, and will journey towards that destination. 

For transformations, whether organizational, social or individual, a plausible, multi-facetted narrative may provide that distant sign to guide the trajectory of that initiative. Multi-facetted, as that narrative should encompass more than one perspective, even if the transformation in question is individual. Realize that individuals tend to have others around them, social relationships. Different relationships, different contexts, different impacts of that change. 

To build that narrative, it may be useful to start with the benefits to those who may be affected by the  transformation. The perspective of “what’s in it for me?” helps to engage potentially interested parties.  

Note that the purpose of the change is not mentioned; that’s input, but we need to be  guided more by potential outcomes. 

The narrative should include significant negative effects to be really plausible.  Think of those as the shading in a drawing; something that gives depth to the image.  

Expect that along the way the narrative may need to be altered, to adjust to changes in circumstance, the environment.   

Even if the path is specified, at more granular levels, it will not be that clearly defined.

From conversations about the new future state, try to make explicit the underlying values, especially those that reflect changes from the current state.  

There are likely to be unanticipated secondary effects from the transformation, even if abandoned part way;  that is a tendency of changes introduced into complex systems