Sigmoid Curve

There's probably not a single business or organization on this planet that is just content to stay with the status quo. And given so many changes in our ways of working, markets and economies, you can really understand why. But making the actual change is often harder to do in your team. So understanding a visual journey to your next transformation is gonna be incredibly valuable to lead you and your team towards your vision.

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[00:00:00] Pia: There's probably not a single business or organization on this planet that is just content to stay with the status quo. And given so many changes in our ways of working, markets and economies, you can really understand why. But making the actual change is often harder to do in your team. So understanding a visual journey to your next transformation is gonna be incredibly valuable to lead you and your team towards your vision. I'm Pia.

[00:00:28] Dan: And I'm Dan, and this is Squadify Connects. Yeah, charles Handy developed this model called the Sigmoid Curve, which charts how successful businesses, industries, teams, even organisms, reinvent themselves to keep themselves relevant and to enable growth. You'll find this bottle in the show notes and it's represented by an S shape. So the first stage of that, anything that starts out has a stage of invest or experimentation. So the sort of performance drops over time.

[00:01:01] But you learn, and that's followed by a period of strong growth and development. Then that plateaus, things start to happen in the environment. Competition comes in and it starts to plateau and then ultimately descends. And if new ways aren't adopted, the game is over. The challenge here is to recognize this pattern and that the speed of it is increasing, and then work out where you are at A, B, or C on that curve, and then be proactive in determining what that second curve is. What does the next version of this team or organization look like? Waiting too long means that fear can creep into the process and will require a bigger structural change when it actually occurs.

[00:01:43] Pia: Yes. Procrastination does not pay on the sigmoid curve, and leading through to the next curve requires strong direction setting to keep your people aligned and motivated. This period is often termed by the acronym vuca, which means volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. It could be tricky, so having a clear W one, what it is that you're trying to achieve and why is going to be so crucial as setting the other conditions, climate and competence for your team.

[00:02:15] Dan: Yes, in that middle section, you've got the new curve and the old curve operating together. That is a leadership challenge that needs a lot of work. But for this week, take a look at the sigmoid curve and ask yourself and your team, where are we currently at on the sigmoid curve, and why is that? What will be the cost of doing nothing, and what clarity do we need to create to start that second curve? The next eight Connects will help you to plan each step of the direction on that journey, um, with your team. So stay tuned and will help you navigate to the next curve together.

[00:02:52] Pia: So this week was all about transformational change and the e. Of your team and business and organization. So think about the sunlit uplands of a new future. And remember, procrastination can leave you traveling down the wrong side of the curve. So see you next week.