Everyone is talking about game changers. Game changers seem to be everywhere, even on TV shows and at festivals. Life seems to be shaped by game changers now, nothing happens without them. Anyone who is not a game changer, does not have a game changer or does not know a game changer is a failure. And they are out. That’s almost how it seems.
What are game changers?
But what is game changing? What does it involve? What are game changers? What do you need to have one? What really matters?
Do game changers always have to be revolutionary and make a spectacular impression or can they also be quiet and secret, coming in through the back door, as it were? Is there such a thing as a micro game changer? How do you deal with game changers? Is there a magic formula? Can game changers be categorized, do they have certain characteristics? How important are timing, speed and flexibility in this context? How important is a change of perspective? And what really counts at the end of the day?
Many people and organizations are repeatedly confronted with these questions and similar ones.
In principle, a game changer represents a new, decisive factor. A game changer constitutes a fundamental change to the rules and mechanisms that have previously applied. It is usually inventions or products that are identified as game changers, but it can also be technologies, findings, behaviors, processes and people.
Assessment, relevance of game changers?
Because of the perspectives applied and individual involvement, assessment of game changers is usually subjective: game changer awards, which are given on the basis of a wide range of categories, criteria and assessments, long-term observation methods such as Kondratieff cycles and methodological approaches such as Gartner’s hype cycle are just a few of the approaches and perspectives for determining the relevance of game changers.
Individual involvement and perspectives are crucial for the relevance of game changers:
for those affected by them, game changers can appear entirely revolutionary, spectacular and random, but for others they can be meaningless or imperceptible. Some game changers are relevant to the whole world and can change it, others are important only to a specific microcosm.
In contrast to hype, which is usually heavily exaggerated, disproportionately overvalued and of short duration, a real game changer has a certain importance for its environment and a sustainable impact. The real significance of hypes and game changers, their actual impact, can only be assessed over an extended period.
How to handle game changers correctly
Game changers crop up continuously and in all areas of life. Change happens every day. In many different dimensions and forms!
The key – in other words the real game changer – is knowing how to handle game changers correctly!
In the event of a crisis, waiting and keeping your head down is worse than adjusting to the crisis and acting appropriately. The winners are usually those who are sufficiently fast and flexible to adapt quickly to new situations, to respond in a way that is sustainable and to develop new business models, products and solutions.
Acting flexibly is not enough on its own, however! If, for example, issues such as product quality, user experience, IT security, etc. are not resolved satisfactorily, serious problems can soon arise despite flexible action. If immediate engagement with the data is not guaranteed, it can quickly lead to failure, irrespective of the size of the company. This means that “restrictive homework” has to be completed all the time!
The solution to this dilemma lies in achieving a continuous balance between acting flexibly and adapting to new situations on the one hand and completing the relevant “homework” on the other:
homework can relate to organizations, processes, ways of thinking, (corporate) cultures, expertise, training and motivation of employees, dealing with challenges, and so on – or a combination of these things. Crucially, all these elements are based on soft skills or can be traced back to them. Soft skills are therefore vitally important in dealing with game changers! This means that the actions of individuals actually become the real game changer!
What does that mean?
Game changers require continuous rethinking and exploration of new territory, at least to some extent. However, exploring unknown territory brings with it the danger of failure.
For IT organizations in particular – although not only for them – the rule is: “You don’t hire for skills, you hire for attitude. You can always teach skills.” Crucially. It is important for their long-term activities and thus also for the way they are perceived within the organization.
Particularly when it comes to recognizing potential, open and positive engagement with anything new is essential, as is a certain degree of persistence. Simply not trying something is worse than checking out new opportunities and potential and accepting the problems that go along with realizing that potential. Pursuing new ideas is therefore expedient until they are successful or demonstrably do not work. A change of perspective is key along this route.
It follows from the observations above that mentality and behavior are crucial in day-to-day life: a “think different” mindset instead of “more of the same”, making every activity a highlight and thereby giving that little extra to make the difference, the little bit of added impetus, quality, innovation, going the extra mile – these are just some of the ways of describing this.
Together with our partners, we offer customized concepts and extensive training programs for employees and managers: this applies both to the issues that challenge you face and to the need for change in terms of personnel or culture.
ResultONE can help you to overcome your specific challenges – get in touch with us today!