2020 was an interesting year to say the least, almost everyone and everything experienced change. While the year started off strong, the pandemic forced many of us into transitions we didn’t see coming. But despite the various challenges our communities have undergone this year, overcoming them has also made us stronger than ever before. For Harbinger, we’re fortunate that our team is made up of some of the most adaptable and resourceful people. We made the successful transition to a fully remote workplace, all while accomplishing some great work in supporting organizations with their change and learning goals. This wouldn’t be possible without the support of our excellent Harbinger team, colleagues, friends, and partners. To recap 2020 as it comes to a close, we’re taking a look back on the top 3 blogs we’ve written this year, ranked by readership and thought leadership. 1. What are the barriers to change? by Greg Roth, Managing Partner Greg takes a deep dive into understanding the barriers to change. He provides a unique viewpoint on using pain and reflection to identify individual barriers, as well as insights on how to overcome them in a transformation journey. Greg talks about recognizing the different stages of change and the questions people need to ask to successfully accept and adopt change. 2. How do you collect the right information when creating training content for clients? by Adam Rifai, Accounting & Business Analyst/Associate Consultant Adam shares his expertise as an instructional designer. He walks us through the important considerations of collecting information in order to design effective learning materials. From identifying the type of change people are experiencing to recognizing their learning preferences, he articulates the key role instructional designers play in helping clients reach their desired change results. 3. Are your people Change Enabled? by Krista Schaber-Chan, Managing Partner Krista focusses on the evolution of change management to change enablement. She discusses the contrast between managing and enabling change, in addition to the impact each process has on people and their transformation journeys. Krista highlights how today’s pace of change calls for more focus on individual change experiences, while also providing practical recommendations on how to begin adding change enablement to your toolkit. As we step into 2021, we’ll continue to provide new thoughts and ideas on change enablement, learning, and communications. Thank you to all of our readers for your continued support. Here’s to another exciting year ahead! Stay updated on our latest insights and thought leadership by subscribing to our blog here.

In the past few decades, (organizational or people) change management has been a hot topic and become a corporate buzzword. Everyone seems to know they need it, yet despite the buzz, organizations continue to struggle to manage change. Here are a few facts about change: Change is happening all the time. The impact of a change is different depending on what the change is, when it is happening, how it is being received, and whether it is imposed or solicited. Change occurs at the individual level, one person at a time – it’s these individuals who become the catalyst for an organization to change. The terminology, tactics, tools used, and methods employed, need to adapt. What do you think of when you hear the word manage or management? At best, it implies that something will be controlled and put into a nice, structured box or checklist. But at worst, it suggests that it is outside of one’s control or within someone else’s sphere of influence, which can breed fear, mistrust, and apathy. A definition search on the term manage, reveals the following: To deal with something The process of controlling things or people To handle, direct, govern, or control But all changes regardless of the reason for the change, impact people. However, people should not be managed, handled, or controlled. People should be inspired, feel connected, and be enabled. “To manage is to control - to enable is to provide the opportunity to make meaningful change possible.” Greg Roth, Managing Partner The Evolution of Change Management to Change Enablement The idea that change management needs to change is not new – I first started reading about it back in 2014 or 15, and it continues to be a topic of conversation in publications such as Forbes and HBR about how change management is dead. I have even written a couple of blogs on the topic. While change management isn’t actually dead (there is a lot of good work being done in this important field of work), it does need to be shaken up and rejuvenated. We should continue to use what works but discard the antiquated processes and tactics and supplement our toolkit with something more practical, more empowering, and more sustainable. This starts with how we talk about and support change. In a world where there is literally something changing in our lives every day, we can no longer try to manage it as if it is a “thing”. I am not sure it is even something that can be led. Change is fluid, relentless, and often overwhelmingly hard. It is also personal, even when it’s a work-related change. Every single person who is impacted by a change decides to change or not to change. Welcome Change Enablement. The word enable, by definition, gives someone the ability, authority and/or means to do something. Basically, change enablement gives individuals the power to own the change and be accountable for their own change journey and adoption. So, when we talk about change, we should want it to be perceived as an opportunity instead of an imposition. “Change Enablement makes it possible for something to happen or exist by fostering the necessary conditions.” Krista Schaber-Chan, Managing Partner Ensuring People Have the Right Skills to Champion Change Change Enablement is about the person going through a change. Think of the middle people managers, front-line workers, and individual contributors who are often told a change is coming but are rarely involved in the discussions, the planning, or are not asked for their thoughts on the impacts. Decisions are made about them and for them. They are told when to change but not actually encouraged or empowered to navigate the change, so they tune it out, try to derail it or resist it. Where traditional change management drives change down from the top, keeping things on task, and overseen by some broader plan, Change Enablement strives to ensure people have the right skills and perspectives to assess the change coming at them, and respond with leadership, rather than resistance and avoidance. Whether the change is being driven by a leader in an organization, supported by a change management professional or experienced by individuals, change enablement is a requirement in the updated change management toolkit. Traditional change management will continue to have a place but maybe it’s time it stepped down. Rather than focusing on the old “top-down” messaging and directives like change management does, Change Enablement levels the playing field. Many formal leaders in the organization are either not equipped to inspire when a change is happening or are already burdened with a heavy load and cannot support the change the way it deserves. Let’s reimagine change; how we think about it, how we talk about it, and how we flourish through it, by putting on our Change Enablement lens. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

We’ve said it before, Change Management is Dead – Long Live Change Enablement and we mean it.  Change Management has had it’s time, but we must acknowledge the shift in responsibility when it comes to business transformations.   Today more than ever, it’s important for employees at all levels to be empowered to contribute and continuously develop.  In fact, we’re constantly hearing stories of individuals making significant impacts and driving change who aren’t in leadership positions. A great example of this is the plastic water bottle ban at the San Francisco International Airport (SFO). It’s rumoured that an employee was responsible for driving this change, which will not only divert more than 10,000 plastic water bottles daily, or nearly 4 million each year, but will also limit people travelling through SFO from digesting microscopic pieces of plastic – yuck!  The impact of this change is astronomical and would not have been possible if SFO didn’t have a culture where their people were enabled to lead change. Change comes in many forms and does not have to always be as large-scale as the SFO example. Regardless of the size of the change, it’s important for businesses to focus on creating an environment where their people are enabled to lead and make decisions, while also being provided with opportunities to upskill. Having the right leaders are key in fostering such an environment.  Leaders here play an important role in motivating their people; they’re not competitive and focused on letting their people shine, are strong communicators and overall just great people managers.   More importantly, leaders delegate and encourage their people to lead while they provide support as needed. Finding and developing leaders that do this takes effort and much support from the business.  To begin with, companies need to have strong leadership development programs that match their people to the right roles, strong recruitment practices, ongoing development on soft and hard leadership skills and constant feedback and coaching.  These activities should be reflected at all levels of the organization and helps to provide managers with guidance on how they should lead their people. The next step is for managers to be able to identify and cultivate informal leaders.  Informal leaders are change champions who have the power to influence their peers often without formal authority, and are individuals who truly believe in the change themselves.   These people will vary from project to project, and have strong social networks within the company.  They’re able to get insights and share details about the changes with their colleagues with minimal direction.  They’re not afraid to express their point of view, share ideas or engage in conflict.   They also possess a great understanding of the change and the impact it will have on them as individuals.  Finally, they exhibit a willingness to learn and grow. This is important as many of the changes we are seeing today involve technology and require some form of upskilling. Having the right leadership in place and a culture of enablement is not easy. In fact, it’s said to take from two to three years to change a company culture.  To start with, it’s important for leaders to be visible.  Their desire for the culture change needs to be seen and heard for it to resonate for employees.  Leaders should embody what the company stands for at all times and they also need to be able to clearly articulate the reasons behind the culture change and what it will mean for them and their people. So, what are the reasons for the change and what will it mean for them and their people?  Understanding this is perhaps one of the most challenging steps in establishing a new culture. We recommend completing a change readiness survey or asking some questions of the questions included below to help get the juices flowing: What do you like about the current culture? What’s not working with the current culture? Why is there a desire for a change in culture? What do we aspire our culture to be like? Why is culture important to you? Once you’ve collectively worked on these questions, don’t hesitate to bring in some experts to help develop your culture.  From this point, it will take a lot of testing with focus groups, surveys and other activities to gauge if you’re moving in the right direction.  It’s also critical to have timely and transparent communication throughout the process.  Communications is foundational to all changes and if not done right, it could result in failure of the change.   Finally, the last step involves taking a close look at your people.  Based on your new culture, do you have the right leadership team in place?  Do you have the right roles? Do you have to amend your hiring practices?  This last step is often the hardest, but is necessary to get that culture work right. Businesses are entering an exciting time as changes are happening rapidly and the roles within the businesses continue to evolve with them.  It’s definite, change management has had its time.  It’s now time for change enablement to come to the forefront, and for businesses to act so that they don’t get left behind. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Change champions are individuals who have the power to influence their peers often without formal authority and are also the people who truly believe in the change itself. They can vouch for the change from within their own networks and move progress along much faster, despite having no formal obligation to do so. It’s important to identify and explore informal change leaders because they can have a very significant impact on the success of your change and the ultimate result of whether your initiative will stick around for the long term. Identifying your informal change leaders is only half the battle, its important to understand how to empower them to guide your team in the right direction, towards the desired result. The most obvious choices for change leaders are usually the employees in senior positions, your managers, team leads or executives. However, there are plenty of other strategic resources companies can use informally. Leaders and effective influencers exist within teams, departments, and business units all around us regardless of their formal position in the company hierarchy. Informal change leaders are typically employees who are well respected amongst their peers, they are proactive and often encourage a cohesive company culture. They have enough experience within their role or department to have already taken some responsibility helping others, guiding them through problems or issues, and engaging with their team personally. Informal change leaders have a variety of different traits that have crafted them into unofficial authoritative figures. Traits such as trustworthiness and approachability help build their credibility amongst their coworkers. They are also good at their job, they have trusting relationships with those above and below them, and other employees feel confident asking for guidance from them. These individuals are coachable and can truly make a difference when leveraged to help reduce resistance to change. When identifying your informal change leaders, it is also important to analyze the social network and construct of your employees. Gaining inside knowledge on how people are connected and how they share information can reveal a common individual that may be very valuable for communicating and supporting change. When you map out the social connection between your employees you will see that it will form a web of contact and interaction rather than a formal organizational structure. This will help you understand how to effectively communicate change throughout the right social channels and how to target specific people within the chain. An informal leader who is well connected to a variety of people in the network acts not only as a vessel for communicating information, but they can also reveal crucial information about real issues employees are concerned about. Informal change leaders enable you to adjust your strategy to better support areas of challenge for your employees and collect feedback on the change as the initiative progresses. So how do you empower your informal change leaders to steer them in the right direction? Sometimes they need to be persuaded and encouraged to become a change leader by first helping them understand the cause. If they are going to help inspire others to believe in the change, they need to believe in it too. To do this, it’s important to listen to their concerns and advice about the change initiative. Often, you’ll receive some important feedback that you can make before implementation. These change leaders will be more inclined to take on a leadership role if their opinions and suggestions are considered or integrated into the strategy, thus providing a sense of ownership. Just as informal leaders cultivate strong relationships with their peers, doing the same between you and them builds trust and understanding. Interacting with informal leaders consistently keeps them in the loop, builds trust in what you say and makes them more likely to spread the word because of their relationship with you. Without constant involvement, they may not hear the right message or might not be equipped with the right tools for change. They also want to know that their contribution matters; you’ve recruited them to be informal leaders so let them flourish in this role by building the relationship and empowering them to communicate and lead. Another important factor to consider is that not all influencers make effective change leaders. Just because an employee has pull in the network, does not mean they are suitable or responsible enough to help you lead your change initiative in the right direction. Some influencers may not desire the extra responsibility or have the willingness to do the extra work, others may have too much on their plate at the time of change. Lastly, your informal leaders must understand the benefits of the change and its impact on their roles and peers. Although there are plenty of attributes to look out for when trying to identify your informal leaders, there is no formula or unique leadership style that pinpoints the most successful leader. Each informal leader will have their own strategy based on their personal style and skill set. They understand their peers best and which communication styles work for them, so giving them the autonomy to guide their peers as they would normally do in their role is essential. Let’s look at some common examples of informal leadership styles here: Influencers help their colleagues see “what’s in it for them” as a result of a successful change program, they help reduce skepticism and clear rumours about the change before it gets off the ground with clear benefits and advantages. Informal leaders build a consensus, they inspire others by explaining what, why and how the change is going to happen. They communicate how the change initiative will affect the long-term success of the company as a result. They encourage their colleagues to share concerns and challenges they see with the change. They foster a community of open feedback and discussion which ultimately shapes the change strategy and provides ownership to employees. Informal leaders use enthusiasm and commitment to success to simply convey their dedication to the change. They are well respected and leverage this to broaden the level of devotion among their colleagues to the program. Overall, change is constantly evolving and while higher-level employees are able to articulate a clear and compelling vision for change, this isn’t always sufficient enough for the program’s success. Identifying, recruiting and empowering informal change leaders in support of the vision can significantly increase its likelihood of success. Informal leaders are an invaluable asset in their own community and network as their voice and impact has the power to define your change and implementation strategy. Author Gregory Roth Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Hallowe’en is upon us. It is a time of year to celebrate all scary things: monsters, goblins, ghouls. But for some of us in the change management, communications, and learning field we see and experience the scariest of things on a daily or project basis. Sometimes the scary monster is that project sponsor who is aggressive and pushy but essentially does very little to drive the project forward. Or those goblins in the form of the extended project team – they really mean no harm, but they can’t help but be a little malicious toward people or the project. And of course, there are the ghouls – those resisters who revel in revolting. While these archetypes are not always present during a project or other change initiatives, we also need to keep a vigilant eye open for them. Like all things that go bump in the night, these characters can be summoned without warning. What can we do to be watchful, without being paranoid? How do we move forward when they do appear? The Scary Monster The scary monster can be anyone, but often the scariest is the one who is supposed to lead and drive the change. But for whatever reason, instead of being a critically minded thinker who supports the change by removing roadblocks and providing a calm and positive presence that people can gather strength from, they are a source of fear, chaos, or even worse, indifference. I am sure we have all experienced this monster. The executive who has been charged with sponsoring something she doesn’t believe in or care about. Or the senior leader who thinks he doesn’t need to support his people through the change because employees will just do what they are told because it’s their job – no need to “coddle”. When we come across this scary monster what are we to do? How do we help them change? Or in their absence/inability, how do we help the project and the people along the change journey without their sponsor or leader? The first thing to remember is the executive and leadership team, just like all other employees, are also going through a change. We often put these super-high expectations on leadership because they are leaders. And while, yes, they do have the position they have because they are expected to endure and produce more than a middle manager or an individual contributor, they are still people who need to adjust and go through the same stages of change as everyone else. Empathy is key when assisting these monsters. Like everyone else, they often need someone to listen and care. Ego and pride are often the source of energy for these monsters. In everyday lingo, ego means the extent to which one thinks highly of one's self. We all need a strong enough ego to deal with everything that needs to be accomplished to survive and we rely on our ego to provide a sense of identity. The role of a leader or project sponsor is to enable change – to provide those going through change with the means, support, and direction and when required to, remove blocks. This often requires some level of letting go of ego. According to Cy Wakeman, the average employee spends 2.5 hours per day on drama in the workplace. In her book, No Ego, she points out that ego-driven behaviours are the #1 source of drama in workplaces today, and it’s costing organizations billions annually. By tapping into the source (ego), monsters can change. It is always good to have a little monster in us when driving change, but acknowledging it and knowing its place will make leading and sponsoring change more rewarding and beneficial to the organization as a whole. The Goblin Like the scary monster, the goblin can be anyone, but often the goblin appears as a member of the extended project team – someone who has been tasked to provide subject matter expertise for their business unit but are not fully embedded into the project. Subject matter experts or SMEs are individuals with deep knowledge of a particular job, process, topic, or function. They are often called upon to answer questions, provide input into the design or development of materials, or to communicate and transfer knowledge clearly to other people in an organization about their area of expertise. SMEs are often asked to perform their SME duties as extra, on-the-side-of-their-desk work which ultimately ends up being a full-time job. So, it’s understandable that goblins can be a little malicious and mean towards people or the project. The question I always ask myself (and the Project Manager, Project Sponsor(s), and HR), is what are we doing to enable these people, so they don’t become goblins? They too are going through a change but are also being asked to do their full-time job, while taking on near full-time project obligations. Have their fears about the change been acknowledged? Have they been provided the correct information and context? What training have they been provided? What about other incentives? How about back-filling their day-job role so they aren’t working from 6 AM to 2 AM every day for 6, 8, or 12 months? This requires more than empathy, it requires thought, planning, and compromise. The Ghoul Ahh.. the ghouls – those resisters who revel in revolting. Okay, maybe revolt is harsh, or at least it is often not a showy, loud performance. But revolt can be a good word for resistance. Merriam Webster dictionary states that resistance is “an act or instance of opposing” – specifically a hostile or contrary action or condition. The American Psychological Association dictionary states that resistance is “generally, any action in opposition to, defying, or withstanding something or someone”. Sounds a little like revolt to me. Tyler Davis, associate professor of psychological sciences at Texas Tech University says “some people feel their identity is related to [the thing they are resisting], that they most likely don’t disagree with the [logic or reasons for the change] but are making a cultural or political statement: [Basically] ‘I don’t want to and you can’t make me.’”. A hot topic for everyone in the world right now is masks – and I don’t mean Hallowe’en masks! Resistance is a big part of leading and supporting change, and you should never be surprised by it – resistance is normal. It is basic human nature of people to try and keep methods and customs constant, even when they are inefficient or ineffective. Resistance is a word that is tossed about a lot during change initiatives. The question I like to ask is, “Is it resistance? Or are people simply "stuck" because they do not feel enabled or empowered?” I also hear the buzz-phrase “engagement” a lot. But the reality is, people will not fully engage (despite best efforts) unless they feel responsible and accountable for their own change journey. Resistance often comes from a place of not taking accountability for one’s own outcomes or from a place of loss of identity. So how can the onset or disruption of resistance be reduced? How do we keep the ghouls away? Proactively supporting resistance is about acting on foresight, instead of waiting for a problem to arise. So, when watching for resistance, do so by looking at where employees are in the change curve – signs of resistance or being stuck can happen at any stage: Are employees informed and do they understand? Meaning, are they aware and do they fully understand why, what, when and even how? Do they feel optimistic about this change? If not, why? Have they learned what is required to go through the change? Learned new skills or desired behaviours? How able are they? Have they had any training or other learning opportunities? Are they being supported and empowered? Communicate the WIIFM (What’s In It for Me) or the What Does It Mean for Me. These three characters (monsters, goblins, and ghouls) are always lurking, ready to feed on whatever they can to gain power. Often when a change is happening there are many people going through it who need support. We know that change happens one person at a time, but that doesn’t mean you have to actually speak with or coach each person individually – could you imagine? When supporting an organization and their leaders and people through a change, I find applying a coaching mindset, by asking the right questions and providing the right focus and support structure can shift the balance of responsibility and accountability from the Change Manager (i.e. me or you) who is supporting the change to the individual(s), who are being impacted by the change. Applying a coaching mindset doesn’t need to be time consuming or difficult. Instead, it’s about asking the right questions, to the right people, at the right time via the right medium! If you are a change practitioner or change champion, you probably already do this, whether it’s intentionally or instinctually! But essentially, you want to open people’s awareness and discovery and you can do this through many different approaches: 1:1 meetings Focus groups Emails (targeted to individuals, small groups) Social platforms (Yammer, Teams sites, etc.) Broad or targeted communications (such as town halls, recurring agenda slot in a team meeting, videos, etc.). Using a coaching mindset (like coaching), is about the other person – helping them produce their own awareness and solution. When enabling people through change you want to ask the types of questions that make them think and reflect. To learn more about applying a coaching mindset and tips for curbing resistance, take a look at our infographic on our website here. Change is scary for most of us, most of the time. But change is inevitable and more, it is constant. There will always be change monsters to fear, but putting in the effort to enable people rather than managing them, can turn them into change champions. Author Krista Schaber-Chan Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Harbinger SCR Ranks No. 85 on the 2020 StartUp List – Canadian Business unveils annual list of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies Toronto (October 15, 2020) - Canadian Business today ranked Harbinger SCR No. 85 on the 32nd annual StartUp List, the definitive ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies. Produced by Canada’s premier business and current affairs media brands, the Growth List ranks Canadian businesses on five-year revenue growth. Growth List winners are profiled in a special print issue of Canadian Business published with Maclean’s magazine and online at CanadianBusiness.com and GrowthList.ca. Harbinger SCR made the 2020 StartUp List with two-year revenue growth of 29%. “The companies on the 2020 Growth List are really exceptional. Their stories are a masterclass in how to survive when the economy throws a curveball. Despite turbulence, the 2020 Growth List companies showed resilience, spirit and, most importantly, empathy and strong leadership,” says Susan Grimbly, Growth List Editor. “As we celebrate over 30 years of the Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies program, it’s encouraging to see that the heart of Canada’s entrepreneurial community beats strong, even in tough times.” “Being a start-up with big ideas can be challenging, especially when part of that challenge is created by a global pandemic,” says Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Krista Schaber-Chan. “But we are Harbingers of Change and we like a challenge. We help our clients lead their organizations and people through tough business transformations creating lasting benefits by ensuring user adoption. To be a part of the Canadian Business Growth List – Top Start Ups is an honour, and a testament to our team, partners, and loyal client base.” Harbinger is a Canadian-owned change management and learning consulting firm that partners with companies to help foresee, plan, and manage upcoming change. We provide businesses with top-tier, reliable, and flexible consulting throughout their Change journeys. We get to the heart of your people-related problems by operating as members of your team and mentoring great talent that will champion change into the future. Visit our website at www.leadlearnchange.com, or find us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. About the Growth List For over 30 years, the Growth List ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies (formerly the Growth 500) has been Canada’s most respected and influential ranking of entrepreneurial achievement. Originally developed by PROFIT and now published in a special Growth List print issue of Canadian Business (packaged with the December issue of Maclean’s magazine) and online at GrowthList.ca and CanadianBusiness.com, the Growth List ranks Canadian companies on five-year revenue growth, and the Startup List ranks Canadian new growth companies on two-year revenue growth. For more information on the ranking, visit GrowthList.ca. About Canadian Business Founded in 1928, Canadian Business is the longest-serving business publication in the country. It has fuelled the success of Canada’s business elite and, through the Growth List ranking, celebrates leadership, innovation, business strategy and management tactics.

Establish a remote workspace that works for you Enable active communication within your team and external parties Change Enablement Humans have proven to be prominent adapters. We don’t only adapt amidst challenging times, but also throughout when things are smooth sailing. Often things that were new and exciting quickly become familiar and commonplace. This gives us hope to drive change from a system that has worked for so long and allowed employees to get comfortable in a working routine. You know the routine I’m talking about. Waking up, listening to a new podcast on our commute, spending our break time with co-workers, and ultimately spending after office hours with our family at home or with our colleagues at happy hour. Mix-in the occasional workout we keep telling ourselves we're going to finally do, and I'm pretty sure I've summed up the daily routine for most people. Believe me, I'm guilty of it too, but the first step to enable change is awareness. We also have tendencies to focus on the negative when faced with change and inaccurately forecast how we and others will feel in the future. We were recently hit with a pandemic, and to avoid releasing "just another COVID blog" to the world, I want to focus on the future. We've already learned that remote workspaces are something every business needs to at least consider. As we start to see industry leaders, like Microsoft, making Work from Home more commonplace, we will see positive ways to adapt to adverse situations. So how do we get the best out of this situation, avoid focusing on the bad, and better predict our future? Establish a remote workspace that works for you You may have already accomplished this and find yourself quite productive in your home office. But if you're like me, you might find it sometimes difficult to stay on task for long periods as opposed to working in the office. There are a few things I considered to enable myself to work from home more effectively. The first thing I had to consider was my actual workspace. Ensuring I have adequate desk space and easy access to any materials I need to do my job. Adding a workspace to your home may be difficult if you're limited on space. Not everyone has the luxury of a spare room to add a desk and create their own office. Some people share their home with other working family members or roommates. So not only do you need to create a workspace that works for you, but it also needs to accommodate those around you. Personally, I have a desk in my bedroom, which is large enough to support my laptop, two monitors, and a few other work-related items. I also have the luxury of using my window as a whiteboard to track to-do lists and take notes saving paper and space. I share a condo with two other roommates, so I don't have the luxury of using a separate room for my office. This means there are times I am working in my room for significantly consecutive hours. It's important to remember to take breaks from your workspace because we are losing out on our commute and team lunches. But on the bright side, sharing a remote workspace with my roommates allows us to build an office atmosphere. Although we all work for different companies, we still get to feed ideas off of each other, have social interactions, and spend our break time with each other. Next, you need to consider what made the corporate office work? Was it the social aspect allowing you interact and keep up with colleagues? Was it the change of scenery required for you to focus on work and not worry about other things? Is your home simply too quiet or too loud (pets and children can certainly be a distraction)? But they can also provide some emotional therapy boosting your mental health and productivity. Each thought has pros and cons; it's essential to focus on the good and find what works for you. For me, I admire the flexibility a home office provides. Two benefits come to mind when I think about workspace flexibility. For instance, when you work in an office, you, more often than not, must arrive at 9:00am or earlier. Although you may not have any meetings or work due at that time, it's good practice that you showcase punctuality. Varying start times can make your co-workers question level of responsibility, dedication, and respect. Between you and me, we know that's not true. I agree that starting your day early is beneficial, mostly because financial stock markets open at 9:00am EST. Meaning businesses all over the world are making decisions that impact everyday life around this start time. Nonetheless, we are certainly trending to eliminate the 9-5 mentality, and remote workspaces strongly support this. My workspace set up is always readily available, so my work hours can follow an as-needs strategy. My number one priority has become "get sh*t done". This includes getting up at 6:00am to finish up work for a 9:00am meeting, followed by catching up on some sleep post-meeting, then getting back to work for the day. It also includes finishing up some work before I go to bed because my bedroom and office are the same room now. A few months ago, I took the workspace flexibility a step further, bringing me to the second benefit. Who cares where you work from, as long as you get your sh*t done? This past June, I visited my brother in Vancouver; however, my stay was prolonged because of COVID flight cancellations. This meant I had to find another way to work remotely and still be productive in a brand-new setting. Now some of us may look at that as a challenge and an issue remote workspaces face. On the other hand, it attributes to the flexibility of working from anywhere, so long as I am still producing high-quality work. My sister-in-law did an excellent job of transforming their home into an accommodating workspace for us. Yes, working on the West Coast made 9:00am EST meetings challenging. Still, when you’re faced with a challenge, you’ll find that you’ll naturally discover a way to make it work. Enable active communication within your team and external parties Once you're comfortable with your workspace, it's important not to get lost in your work. You may want to refer to Krista Schaber-Chan's piece on The 4 Principles for Staying Connected as a Virtual Team for how to accomplish this. I will focus on why it's crucial. Communication still is, and likely always will be the most important. How can you be a team without effective communication? The problem is, our days are so busy, do we even have time for additional touchpoint meetings, virtual town halls, or team socials? The solution is, make time. People often ask themselves; how do others find the time to go to the gym, cook, work, spend time with their loved ones? The answer is, they make time for the things that are important to them. This isn't to say that time management and sacrifice are easily accomplished. Still, you must enable yourself to make this change. And I am telling you that communication with your team is something you need make time for to get the most out of a remote workspace. Remote workspaces might also mean reduced or no more client visits. This makes it more challenging to build meaningful relationships with clients but does not make it less critical. Meeting someone for the first time on a Zoom or MS Teams call is not the same, but you can certainly improve the interaction. For example, using video. It always helps to put a face to a voice, read body language and facial expressions, and information retention will see an increase when video is used. Change Enablement This type of change is large and requires a lot of focus. It affects the entire organization and its processes. But, as I mentioned earlier, the first critical component to keep in mind is a workspace that works for you. Meaning this change impacts everyone differently. If we rely on change management to come from the top, we will reap the benefits after the fact. Change needs to be driven and led from the middle but supported from the top. Suppose businesses can enable their individual contributors to lead and drive change from the middle, rather than relying on leaders and executives to lead each time. In that case, they will be better suited for future challenges because their teams are more prepared and involved in the change. Involvement can go a long way for engagement and desire for change. Avoid making managers responsible for the change for their individuals and enable individuals to take accountability for their growth and development. Now you might be asking yourself, as a change leader, “how do I enable my team for change?” Well change enablement, itself, has four critical components. 1. Active listening and observation 2. Be OK with failure 3. Let go of your ego 4. Identify and empower informal change leaders Active Listening and Observation Just like active communication is significant to a remote workspace, eye contact, body language, and facial expressions are important for verbal communication and getting your message across. Be OK with Failure Letting people fail is a crucial part of the change journey. The lessons learned from experiencing failure and making mistakes can pivot your people in the right direction for your change initiative. Let go of your Ego Replace ego with accountability. This will reduce the resistance to change, disengagement, and overall buy-in. Instead, coach your people on learning and personal accountability to drive better business results. Identify and Empower Informal Change Leaders Informal leaders can have a strong positive influence on their peers’ behaviour and pivot them in the right direction. They may not be in a leadership role, but they can be powerful change champions, and having their support is crucial for any change initiative. If you would like to learn more about change enablement and other change management topics you can register for the Association of Change Management’s upcoming conference on October 22nd, 2020. Our very own Harbinger Krista Schaber-Chan will be speaking on Empowering People Through Change Enablement. Forward-Thinking I want to finish this off by adding a bonus critical component to keep in mind. Throughout this entire shift in your workspace, you need to continuously be forward-thinking. Ask yourself questions like: What are the benefits of making these changes? How will these changes make my job easier? How will these changes impact me in the long run? Ensuring that the changes you make are effective, impactful, and sustainable, you will see a positive outcome. Author Adam Rifai Financial & Business Analyst / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

By using it to clearly articulate the 5W’s and get buy-in to achieve success. The pandemic has highlighted the need for effective communications, especially this month where parents are debating whether to return their kids to school. Like all other parents out there, I am struggling with making the right choice. As a communications professional, I have been fascinated by the pace of change to the back to school plan, specifically the communications and the invaluable role it plays for parents during these unprecedented times. Communications has always been a critical piece of managing change and is often mistaken for change management. While the two go hand in hand, communications alone cannot manage change but are needed to build awareness, get buy-in and ultimately achieve success. Back to school is not only impacting the school boards but businesses too. The past five months have been challenging for parents and children and will continue to be for a lot longer. At first, many of us felt things would get back to normal sooner than later. But suddenly weeks and months are passing by with no end in sight, leaving many parents struggling on what to do in September. Do we send them to school? Do we keep them at home? Does one of us stop working to take care of our children and home school? What can parents do to put pressure on the government to ensure our schools are safe? Businesses are in the same position and are asking themselves what they can do to prepare and support their employees during this time. Some of the questions they are likely asking are, have we done enough to support parents that are keeping their children home? Do we have the right protocols in place if parents are sending their children back? Are we enhancing or updating our policies on sick days? How are we supporting those leaving the workforce and what are we going to do to fill this gap? Are we providing enough resources to get our people through this trying period? As you will see in my video, a lot of the work for communications professionals and teams has always been about managing change and back to school is no different. To achieve a positive outcome for back to school, it is important for communicators to build their plan and develop their communications using one of the organizational change methodologies. As a Harbinger, I would develop these pieces using our Foresight ™ methodology, which allows for flexibility of focus on the various stages of change and increased emphasis on individual change experiences. As a corporate communications practitioner, using the 5 W’s (Who, What, When, Why and Where) and How really comes in handy when building an effective change communications strategy. In this blog, I’ll demonstrate how communication teams can articulate their 5 W’s to structure communications for successful change in our current environment like the back to school season ramps up. But first, I invite you to watch my video to hear my insights for communication teams before I dive into all the details below. 1. Who In this instance, the “who”, or the key stakeholders would include the C-Suite, leaders, and employees, with school-aged children. The communications practitioner will have to develop key messages for back to school, in addition to the ones they’ve already developed for the coronavirus. They would also need to have specific communications for each group to support their different needs. For example, communication teams can provide guidance for leaders on how to plan for and support their employees that have school-aged children, flexible working hours, or a condensed work week. When targeted at employees, this could include information on how to apply for leave or talking points for leader discussions. For the C-Suite, focus on relationship management. This continues to be an important tool and ensures that employees have a seat at the table to help the business make informed decisions regarding back to school. Being able to a part of these discussions will help determine how to best communicate important decisions regarding the implementation of new flexible working policies or enhancing sick day policies. Having strong relationships also helps to get buy-in and build trust so that you can execute your communications strategies seamlessly. 2. What Next would be the “what”. The what in this case is back to school, which similar to the Covid-19 activities, the pace of change is fast, and information is endless. It’s challenging to stay on top of everything, especially since each school board has variances to their plans, but it is crucial for corporate communications teams to do their best to stay on top of these rapid changes. Why? So that they can have the right information to provide to senior leaders to make decisions, and to guide their communications. There definitely won’t be a one size fits all approach, however, it is possible to develop guidelines and scenarios including flexible hours for parents, extending maternity leaves, or providing short term leaves of absence. 3. When Next comes the “when”. Timing is everything in communications! Decisions are being made faster than ever with back to school and employees must be kept informed regularly of business decisions. For September, employees will expect to see frequent and regular updates from their employers because they’re used to this pace of communications from the government. Companies will also need to know what parents decide as this will have an impact on their business. Many predict a significant number of female employees will be exiting the workforce as noted by several news sources including the CBC. Pandemic 'shecession' A report last month from RBC Economics called the hit on women's employment "unprecedented," with 1.5 million women in Canada losing their jobs in the first two months of the pandemic. In April, women's participation in the Canadian workforce — or the share of the working-age population that is working or looking for work — fell to 55 percent, a level last seen in May 1986. With this gap, organizations will have to look at internal development programs and other activities to mitigate this as much as possible. Corporate communications teams will need to work hand in hand with businesses to communicate all aspects of the plan, as well as key updates and information. 4. Why Now comes the ”why”. This is one of the most important questions to answer when building your communications strategy. While communications teams may understand who their audience is, what they need to focus on, and when to focus on it, they also need to understand why it is important. For back to school, the “why” is about supporting our employees who have school-aged children. Businesses cannot lose sight of their mental health initiatives. They need to continue offering resources like the “Not Myself Today” mental health workplace campaign from the Canadian Mental Health Association. While this is not only the right thing to do, an analysis from Deloitte states that workplace mental health programs provide a median return of investment of $1.62 for every $1 spent. The communications teams will be responsible for working in partnership with human resources to deliver these mental programs that are crucial in supporting employees and also contributes directly to the bottom line. 5. How Lastly comes the “how”. Once the company has outlined its plan, communications teams will need to relay this information to employees by leveraging several different channels. With more employees working remotely, it will be crucial to focus on the last stage of change which is reinforcement. There are different ways to successfully complete this and one of the most important communications pieces is repetition and leader support. Information shared to employees must be repeated several times, and from several communications channels such as the intranet, internal social networking platform like Yammer, MS Teams broadcast messages, executive communications, and video conference calls, for it to stick. In addition to this, leaders must be provided with tips and guidance on how to manage and support employees during this stressful period. One final piece worth mentioning is the underlying thread, the communications work to embed a change resilient culture. This takes time but can be achieved by developing and executing communications that support the results from a change capability assessment. Some activities that can be used include creating change agents, or leader intranet portals that include key information, speaking points and FAQs. It is crucial for change to be built into a company’s mission and employee value propositions, taking the time to develop a chance resilient culture will take your business to the next level and enable your employees to champion change proactively. There’s no shortage of work here for communicators at this time, some may even consider us to be essential workers. While the communications process and planning remain unchanged, the quality and detail of our work will only get better if we incorporate a change management methodology like Foresight ™ into our communications. What’s more, is doing so will allow us to understand what types of communications are needed, and what tone is required during the several phases of change for back to school. Personally, I would appreciate it if my organization lead with compassion and empathy and had regular updates like Q&As available quickly following key changes or updates from the government, like the staggered start dates that were just announced. As a parent of a toddler and a newborn, I’ve never felt so much stress and uncertainty. While I’m currently on maternity leave, I’ve been grateful to have supportive leadership. However, as a communications professional, I’m definitely missing the intensity and thrill of working on once in a lifetime change communications for the pandemic including back to school communications. To close, I’m wishing all the parents out there all the best and encourage you to be kind to yourself. We’re all in this together and there’s definitely no right or wrong answer. Siri Author Siri Maldonado Director of Marketing & Communications Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Some say that storytelling is central to human existence, and I agree. Almost everything that happens in our lives is documented through stories. The narratives we tell, and the ones we listen to, shape our personality, thoughts, and actions. This concept dates back centuries, from the first tale ever carved into stone to today’s on-demand streaming, narratives and their purpose have evolved rapidly. Every time we open our phones, watch TV, or browse on the internet, we’re encouraged to be part of a story or at the minimum, react or comment on it to keep the conversation going. When we take a step back, we can see just how big storytelling has become as a part of culture and everyday life, so much so that participating in them isn’t really a choice anymore, its inherent and automatic. So if we can’t escape stories, shouldn’t we be using them to the best of our advantage? Well as we’re going through the current pandemic, the world’s most impactful individuals are. News channels, reporters, political leaders, and other influential figures have directly impacted the way we think about the crisis, by leveraging storytelling. They’ve told us what’s right or wrong, how to keep safe, and have also shaped our opinions on themselves and those around us, based on the stories they tell. COVID-19 has had a huge impact on a global level and the principles they’ve been using to drive change during COVID-19 can also be applied to organizational change. So let’s take a deeper look at the methods these narratives are using to influence our behaviour, and how we can apply them to the organizational context. The Principles of Effective Storytelling Our power to influence change largely depends on our ability to communicate information (or misinformation) in effective ways, COVID-19 has shown us that the right information delivered in the right way can prompt people to change their individual and collective behaviours. If we use the example of the “Flatten the Curve” movement, we can further understand how narratives can transform information or instructions, into engaging and compelling messages. The “Flatten the Curve” campaign has been widely used across so many different platforms and one of the main methods used in developing this campaign, is using personal experience to encourage empathy and emotional response. Using real-life examples when telling a story makes information more engaging and influential. The stories we hear about our frontline workers, health care professionals and other important people in our own communities, puts information into context and gives us something human to relate to. A message that emotionally resonates with an audience will help spread information further, as people become their own advocates for the campaign. This same idea applies to organizational change. When communicating about a new initiative to your employees, using practical examples that feature trusted employees, helps similarly bridge the gap between the change and the people. Employees will better understand how the change affects them individually or the “WIIFM” (What’s in it for me) by seeing their colleagues as a role model for the change and reducing its overall uncertainty. This role model also sets an example for the desired behaviour during and after the change, encouraging other employees to follow the same path. Collaborative or co-created stories in the organizational context are useful tools, it can make the change seem significantly less daunting by connecting people to something they’re familiar with, or something that resonates with them on a personal level. Stories that empower your employees will create a sense of accountability for the change, helping them feel like a true part of your organization’s change plan and journey, not just the result. When you’re in the process of crafting your story, be sure to also consider the different audiences your message is intended to reach. This is something that news channels, reporters, and leaders have perfected in today’s media and COVID communications. Take the WHO (World Health Organization) for example, to ensure that their key safety messaging gets across to the right audiences, they’ve presented the same information and data in different ways. Here are a few examples of how they’ve tailored their “general advice” for different target audiences and platforms: Infographics are available in different languages for sharing on social media YouTube videos narrated by young adults to target youth audiences Short 2-minute videos created for sharing on TikTok to target youth audiences Live interactive press releases to be shared on news channels and social media We can see that the key messages they’re sharing are similar between these examples, however, they’ve leveraged a wide variety of platforms and mediums to ensure information is being heard across different groups. Modifying your organizations’ communications and delivery methods when thinking about storytelling are important to consider. In an organization, different roles will likely have varying understandings of the change, or some part of the initiative might be more important to one specific group than another. There are a few questions you can ask yourself when thinking about how you can tweak your messaging to target different groups in your organization: How does the change impact this group’s specific roles and expectations? Is this group familiar with the terms used in this messaging? Does the verbiage need to be altered? Is this an effective method of communication, or am I using the best delivery medium for this group (i.e. email, intranet, social media, posters)? How many times should this messaging be repeated in order to be retained by this group? Just as you would customize training materials for different departments and roles in your organization, putting yourself in your employee’s shoes to understand how they would interpret your stories is particularly valuable for ensuring perceptions are consistent and clear. Final Thoughts The crisis has significantly changed the way we communicate. Less transparency and a higher risk of misinterpretation means that we still have a lot to learn when it comes to storytelling in the virtual landscape. While mass media pumps out thousands of narratives by the minute, we can learn a lot from the world’s biggest storytellers on how to craft powerful messages to champion change in our own organizations. Mary Catherine Bateson, an American writer and anthropologist says, “The human species thinks in metaphors and learns through stories.”. Because storytelling focusses on the people, it has the power to drive change. After all, organizations don’t change, people do. Check out my video on our Harbinger YouTube channel for a summary of my key thoughts on why storytelling should be an integral part of your change toolkit below. If you’re looking for resources on how to create effective communications for your change initiative, our Resource Hub features free templates and infographics designed to help you manage your business transformation with success. Learn more. Author Rachelle Su Marketing & Business Analyst / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Over the past few years, I have had the pleasure of leading numerous training classes, courses, and providing on-the-job support for users undergoing large-scale job process change. In the video below or on our Harbinger YouTube channel, I review three of my favourite techniques and tips that I have learned to enable effective training programs for enterprise-level change programs. These tips will increase retention and understanding while creating a better learning experience, ultimately leading to the desired project outcomes. My top 3 tips are as follows: Know your Audience Repetition Crafting a Story While my list of tips is by no means exhaustive, I believe any trainer, regardless of experience, can include these three principles in their classroom – be it virtual or in-person – and produce a practical and rewarding experience for the learner. Know your Audience The first tip is to know your audience – Understanding the audience means knowing their comfort with technology, how they work (Do they work with clients? Internally? In an office or the field?), their role, etc. Your audience dictates almost every aspect of the training session, so understanding where they excel and where they need help can make your training relevant and applicable for the learners. Knowing your learners has many facets. One of the most pertinent factors for training, especially now, is the audience’s comfort with technology. With remote training on the rise, the audience’s ability to interact with and learn from a virtual session can be a significant consideration when deciding if learning can be done virtually and how it can be executed in order to be successful. Options to consider for virtual learning can be duration, which may need to be extended if users are less comfortable with technology; or increased interactivity and screen sharing if users feel secure or have experience with technology, among other options. While there will be outliers among your audience, it is critical to cater to the broader group’s competencies and abilities when crafting training. To understand your audience, it is essential to ask pertinent and direct questions to get an accurate depiction. With eLearning or any other form of learning, there is great importance in understanding the audience. It can be seen in this article by Shift eLearning, which outlines essential questions that can help craft the course for the end-users. Repetition Repetition is another useful technique that should be implemented in training programs to help with retention and understanding. As a trainer, repetition can be applied in creative ways so that learners do not get served identical content repeatedly or as apparently. With the increase in digital learning, learners will require forced repetition to understand concepts previously taught in person. Delivering repetitive training needs to be done creatively to provide the most considerable benefits and avoid fatigue, especially with remote learning. Scenario or case-based learning is a technique that can be leveraged to get learners practicing what they have learned. While it may be a little more difficult remotely, users can be called upon to share screens or go into breakout rooms to be engaged and get their repetition in. In our training classes, we like to use a technique called spaced repetition, where the same topic is covered at different intervals of the course. For example, a topic introduced early in the course will reappear in a different segment as a review and in a final review or scenario-based example. This method has been proven to increase retention due to the Spacing Effect, which states that learning is more effective when content is spaced out. Crafting a Story Engaging an audience, especially when leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software or project-based training, requires a well-crafted story for the learners to understand what they are learning and how it relates to their job. Crafting a story is merely relating the learning topic to the business processes, and terms learners are used to and have experience with. The “story” helps learners connect the dots between the old and new, providing clarity to what they are learning. For example, a sales team learning how to use their CRM software will get better outcomes if the training mimics the real-life scenarios those users will face in a real-life setting. The sales team gets context from the story and can apply what they learned since they have gone through the exact process in a training scenario. This helps explain why casework and practice scenarios are effective in training since they give the learner practice in a risk-free training environment before moving to real life. Building a story requires in-depth knowledge of the learner’s roles and responsibilities since a poorly crafted story can lead to undesirable outcomes and a misunderstanding of the concept. You can also go the opposite route and allow the learners to come up with their own stories and role-plays to further employee engagement retention. To help with crafting a pertinent and compelling story, use this guide. Other Tips We can also look at a few different techniques that can help with a successful training session: Set the Stage – Setting the stage means preparing your users for what they are about to learn. This can be as simple as informing the learners about what is to come or doing a little more and providing a context to the training before beginning. This is important as it gives users the “why” before the “how” and can help eliminate confusion Over Prepare – Over preparing is essential to running a smooth and engaging training session. This can take the place of arriving early and setting up or having a greater understanding of possible questions the audience might have. Not building this level of confidence from your audience can lead to an erosion of confidence, and the training will be less impactful. Get Feedback – Nobody can judge the success of your class better than your learners, so getting their feedback can significantly improve the quality and success of your course. This can be done via survey or informal conversations and can have a tremendous impact on the future iterations of the course or the rest of the sessions. Implementing some of the training tips into your upcoming training sessions or classes can help you develop a more robust and successful training course. No matter what type of training you are leading, you can leverage some of the above to provide a better experience for your learners. Since learning the tips above by conducting virtual and in-person training sessions, I’ve noticed a significant increase in the quality of my training, and the retention of my learners. Author Colin Carmona-Murphy Sr. Financial Analyst / Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

Rachelle Su, Marketing & Business Analyst, recently sat down with Barnaby Chan, Co-Founder and Partner to learn more about his work experience, expertise and interests. In this role, Barnaby is part of the senior leadership team and is leading Harbinger’s business development and sales strategy. Harbinger just celebrated its five-year anniversary. Tell us about what inspired starting the company? I think it was a natural evolution for Greg and Krista given their deep expertise in Change Management and Learning. They’d long since outgrown what the Big 5 consulting firms could offer especially from a personal and professional satisfaction standpoint. We all recognized there was a large underserved, and frankly, poorly served market. From my own perspective, I’d developed a deep appreciation based on the challenges I’ve seen on countless projects entirely related to the “people side” of digital transformation projects. What are some of your biggest learnings from this journey so far? Explaining what Change Management is and why you need it is harder than we thought! Joking aside, I think that even over the past few years we see organizations are expecting their people to do more with less. And “Change Management” either isn’t considered or people are just expected to make do and just adapt. So I think more “Change Management” services from a third party like us isn’t necessarily the answer. I think we learned that we need to help organizations recognize the need to invest in their people’s abilities to lead through change, and ideally only use traditional Change Management services to supplement. Where do you see Harbinger five years from now? I hope of course that we’ll be able to grow and create opportunities for our people. I think we’ll need to be more diversified in products and services that drive more value for customers. Prior to your work with Harbinger, can you tell us more about your work experience? I’ve spent most of my career in and around business and technology consulting. Around 2000 I took a slight left-turn when the internet was still “new” but was clearly going to change the world. I jumped on board a music industry dot-com start-up and learned a tonne. This allowed me to transition back to a consulting organization that was focused on driving value from the internet for corporate customers. We’re getting to a similar sort of tipping point around AI so last year I dipped my toes in doing a master's degree to better understand it. I’m not sure yet where that will lead but I feel somewhat equipped to navigate that whole domain for ourselves and for customers. Today’s workplace experience has drastically changed. How do you see change management and training evolving to reflect this and where does Harbinger fit into the mix? We’ll be offering some interesting things to our customers this year. We’re really focused on how to provide more value by doing things differently. As you say the workplace experience has changed, but more importantly, how people want to experience their workplace has changed. Philosophically we need to move beyond just managing change to equipping managers to lead change. Change is happening at a faster and faster rate, so this has to become a core skill of any good manager. Disruptive events and trends will force organizations to change more and more frequently. You shouldn’t expect to staff up a bunch of change managers or consultants every time change happens. Frankly, I’ve seen in many organizations, leadership has pretty much abdicated that responsibility to consultants, it doesn’t even occur to them they should be out front leading. I think the time is right because a new generation of managers and leaders that are taking the reins don’t blink at change, so we just need to give them the tools so they can be successful. On the training front, the same concept applies. I think people are more open to learning and adapting to change. But we need to shift to better accommodate the process of learning, which really happens while people are actually working, not in a classroom and not really while “practicing”. There’s still lots of inertia out there and reluctance to stray from traditional monolithic training approaches, but we’re helping customers shift a little bit at a time. Looking at it from a project management and “consulting industry” perspective, the challenge is that the nature of projects, timelines, consulting contracts, budgets and funding are at odds with providing a good learning experience that people deserve and need, to be successful. We want to help companies break out of that box. You mentioned your master’s degree in Artificial Intelligence (AI) with The Smith School of Business at Queen’s University. What are some of the greatest challenges and opportunities that businesses will see as they continue to navigate and implement AI within their organizations? I won’t address the businesses that are working at the cutting edge of AI research, or building a business around a new disruptive concept that leverages AI, but will speak to the 99% of businesses out there where they can just leverage someone else’s AI solution that will enhance some of their existing processes. This will likely come packaged up in some off-the-shelf software. Good examples would be fraud detection in financial accounting software or predictive maintenance in an asset management package. All the big software vendors now purport to have some AI or Machine Learning capability and will compete in this space in the future, so this shouldn’t be a huge incremental investment in of itself over time. However, with this context in mind, the investment comes where these companies need to do 2 things: Make sure they have people who deeply understand the opportunities and weaknesses in their business’ “value chain” i.e. where there are levers to drive value in the business both on the revenue and cost side, and especially as it relates to customers With that understanding, get their data in order. So that means quality, consistency, and collection where they don’t currently capture it. (I mean you should do this anyway, purely from an analytics standpoint, however, AI makes the case that much stronger.) Without data, you won’t be able to leverage AI, so this will ensure you’re ahead of the curve in taking advantage of capabilities they do fully arrive (because they will) as opposed to falling behind your competitors. But above all of this, I would say please do not just avoid it. It might seem like a daunting, impenetrable topic, but leaders should inform themselves and address this proactively. I saw firsthand working in the music industry how incumbents fought digital music tooth-and-nail. In retrospect knowing what’s come to pass we would call it sheer negligence and even incompetence. So to business leaders: A.I./Machine Learning is just a tool, but it's almost a sure thing it will affect your business in some way if it hasn’t already. In addition to AI, what are some of your other predictions on the greatest changes people and organizations will experience in the future? This is probably a foolish prediction to try to make given most of us wouldn’t have imagined the state of things today, but I’ll try! Clearly the idea of a remote workplace now is a given. Many of us have developed more ease with and appreciation for working remotely, and recent studies (Global Analytics) have shown that more people now want some ability to work from home. And the economics of office space reduction will make this happen. I think while so many are hoping for when things go back to normal or the way they used it be, this may fundamentally shift not just how and where we work, but also how we live and what we aspire to. We went from peak materialism in the 90s to pretty much the equivalent of peak “experiences” just prior to COVID. Whether it was about travel, food, wine, etc. still largely focused on “consuming”. Maybe this is naïve and overly hopeful but perhaps this will shift us a little bit back towards a focus on things that make us more resilient like learning, creating things, and human connection. That kind of shift could drive everything from restaurant and food trends to work/life balance preferences to education choices. There’s definitely lots of exciting things coming up, and a lot to prepare for. Tell us more about what you like to do in your spare time when you’re not thinking about the future state of Harbinger and helping to run a business. We have a new baby, so plenty to focus spare time on with her! I’ve been dragon boating for over 10 years now and sadly given COVID our 2020 season is cancelled. I’m also aspiring to learn how to woodwork, but haven’t been able to dedicate enough time to it. Maybe this is the year! The Harbinger team consists of avid readers. What are some of your favourite books and why? If you’re in the consulting business here’s an old must read I usually recommend: Managing the Professional Services Firm - David H. Maister Everyone who cares about cooking should own this classic book. A fantastic reference with a ridiculous amount of knowledge on seemingly every conceivable topic, and surprisingly enjoyable to read (in parts). On Food and Cooking – The Science and Lore of the Kitchen – Harold McGee A lot of change is happening at the moment. What is packed in your survival kit? Pocket knife, sourdough starter, Harold McGee’s book (I think you can build a civilization using it), potato chips. Authors Barnaby Chan Co-Founder and Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn Rachelle Su Marketing & Business Analyst / Associate Consultant Toronto Email | LinkedIn

When we think about change or learning how to do something new, we often look to our peers to help us learn from their experiences. We ask our mentors for guidance, read memoirs from industry leaders, subscribe to their articles, and try to absorb as much as we can to help us feel prepared for the uncertainty of new beginnings. But one of the most obvious and impactful sources of learning is often overlooked, simply because its the hardest to face. Learning from ourselves. Reflecting on our pain and pinpointing where we went wrong on our journey can spiral into a whirlwind of self-pity, which isn’t exactly ideal. But, as the famous saying goes, “we learn from our mistakes”, exploring these pain points and dissecting our challenges is when you truly begin to understand how to move forward. Talk about tough love. The legendary Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, tells us that our most painful moments are also our most important. One of my favourite quotes from him is “pain plus reflection equals progress”. Pain is something we try to avoid, instinctively and consciously, so building our relationship with it is not easy. It practically goes against what we’re programmed to do. By now you’re probably wondering if this blog is going to be an inspirational dialogue about coping with your pain—it’s not. Well, at least not entirely. This fundamental principle that Dalio preaches is the same formula that launches every project, there’s a business problem to solve and part of the journey towards the right solution means understanding your organization’s relationship with pain. So how do you identify the barriers to change and these sources of resistance? This is a tough question to answer, so let’s look at it through a more familiar lens. Think about our current business climate. The COVID-19 crisis has forced so many businesses to pivot to a virtual workplace overnight. There are so many new barriers developing rapidly. The most successful organizations have adapted because their leaders and people both understand the pain points the disruption is introducing. If you’re looking for the SparkNotes version of my explanation, take a quick peek at my video below on our new Harbinger YouTube channel. Otherwise, I’ll take you through the reasoning behind my answer in the rest of this blog. Pain When we look at the amazing strides businesses are making during the COVID-19 disruption, we can learn a lot about how an organization’s relationship with pain determines how they act. For the first time for many generations, we have crystal clarity around what and how big the barriers are—keeping the doors open and the lights on. Consider this. Transformations to remote or virtual workplaces are historically planned over months or even years, but in this very unique situation, the typical barriers to change were eliminated and businesses pivoted over the course of just a few days. So, what does this tell us about pain? When pain is acute and sharp, it gets our immediate attention and creates a burning platform for us to act. This acute pain is what drives our immediate responses. We pivot fast because our organizations are experiencing something incredibly intense. Acute v. Chronic So how do we harness the power of our pain responses when we aren’t faced with a global pandemic? It’s important to remember our psychological responses aren’t just tied to intensity, but also to type. Consider physical pain for a moment: Acute—most often the result of a trauma—often accidental (e.g. broken ankle) but can be tied to a medical treatment (e.g. surgery) as well. Chronic—may have began as acute but is pain that persists. The textbook definition is pain that lasts longer than 12 weeks, but certainly, it can last for months or even years. Think about your own personal experiences with acute and chronic pain. How did you react when you broke your arm or strained your back? Drawing from my own experience—and likelihood to seek out help—acute pain wins every time. Chronic, while potentially as intense, offers me the option to simply suffer. Resign myself to my “new normal”. Now extend the analogy a little further to our workplace transformations. What types of pain get your attention? What types of pain should be getting your attention? The Big Barrier Here’s the first lesson. Pain is a messenger. We need to listen. If we don’t, we’re surrounding ourselves with invisible barriers. Confront pain—don’t avoid it. Dalio says it best, “Every time you confront something painful, you are at a potentially important juncture in your life—you have the opportunity to choose healthy and painful truth or unhealthy but comfortable delusion. The irony is that if you choose the healthy route, the pain will soon turn into pleasure. Pain is the signal.” Ray Dalio, Principles, Pg. 153 That said, don’t forget about the second half of the equation. You need to reflect. Reflecting on pain and challenge is where we truly start to develop a plan of action to address our barriers to change. Reflecting doesn’t have to last for days, weeks or months. Consider the very limited time businesses had to reflect on the changes they’re making amidst all the COVID disruption. For many, they had no more than 24 hours. But it was enough to acknowledge the situation and map out the path forward. They fast-tracked their change by immediately mobilizing a crisis response team whose sole responsibility was to seek out the challenges, contemplate options, then act. Breaking Down Barriers Now for the second lesson. Organizations don’t change, people do. When we are willing to acknowledge the pain and move through and beyond, it’s done one person at a time. That means every person has a slightly different context and, very likely, different barriers. To break down those barriers, you need to understand the unique circumstances each individual faces. You might argue, this is the silver lining in such a large percentage of the workforce now working from home. We are all seeing behind the curtain. In the pre-COVID world, people compartmentalized how they acted at work and how they acted at home. Suddenly those worlds have blurred. Normally, we don't know all of our people's responsibilities—now we’re seeing it firsthand through Zoom. Yet, we are reacting with compassion when life happens. We are leading with empathy. We have adapted, encouraging each other to understand people's context. It’s critical to remember that we can’t make assumptions about people’s pain or assume that their experiences are the same as our own. Change happens at the individual level and each person will have different barriers to overcome in their transformation journey. Take a look at Harbinger’s change adoption curve, it illustrates the different stages of change your people might be going through. In order for people to successfully accept and adopt change, they need to know the answers to these questions: What is the nature of the change? Why is the change happening? What is the risk of not changing? What is in it for me? What am I losing? Every change in this environment is affecting people differently and so your employees will likely be at different stages on the change adoption curve. It’s also important to consider that they will likely require different forms of communication to help them stay informed along the journey. In the context of the virtual workplace, think about your introverts as an example. They might be enjoying their time behind closed doors and have easily transitioned to the quiet working space at home, but have you checked in on your extroverts? They might be struggling with their new isolated routine and could use some support moving along the change adoption curve. I know, there’s a lot to consider here, but answering these questions is a great place to start to really understand the intricacies of your workforce and what those barrier points are for each person. In today’s workplace where things are changing at the blink of an eye, it’s important to remember that understanding the barriers to change is not a one-time activity, it must be ongoing. As the business landscape quickly evolves and more disruption is introduced, being aware of your organization’s pain points is crucial to ensure you’re not falling behind. Yes, COVID didn’t really give us a choice. But look at what’s possible when we address the pain head on! If you’re looking for support in developing these change capabilities in your organization, Harbinger is happy to help. We’ve put together a resource hub for small-medium sized businesses where you can access free resources to help you manage change during disruption. We also offer a suite of change management and virtual workplace solutions and services. Contact us here or send us an email at hello@harbinger-scr.com to get in touch. Author Gregory Roth Managing Partner Toronto Email | LinkedIn