One useful diagnostic lens in change management is to consider the relationship between the volume and velocity of change. Typically, high-volume change does not move with great velocity because, well, many big events and trends do not move very fast. Yes, of course, there are exceptions. Some hurricanes come to mind.
In change-management terms, Coronavirus is a gargantuan event that is also moving extremely fast. That's why they call it viral. It's the nature of many pandemics and one of many reasons why the best-led governments in this context, in the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland, engaged in early detection, read the signals well and acted fast. They understood the near-impossibility of trying to catch up with a very large, very fast-moving phenomenon.
It gets even more complicated, however. High-volume, high-velocity events do not generally last for long periods of time. Hurricanes move fast and affect large areas, but they usually end quickly. Big, fast-moving events such as Coronavirus could be difficult to sustain in the long run, at least in places whose leaders and citizens have been fighting them correctly. A third and particularly frightening variable in the U.S. and other nations that are literally behind the curve, however, is that Coronavirus will have an extended duration, too, in addition to high volume and high velocity. Duration adds a third dimension to the model that two-dimensionally plots volume and velocity, making things even scarier.
It's very clear that volume, velocity and duration are all dependent variables with many inputs, starting with leadership and citizenship effectiveness. For better and worse, poor leadership and citizenship can simultaneously extend and enlarge the volume, velocity and duration of Coronavirus. It's happening right before our eyes.
In change-management terms, Coronavirus is a gargantuan event that is also moving extremely fast. That's why they call it viral. It's the nature of many pandemics and one of many reasons why the best-led governments in this context, in the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal and Switzerland, engaged in early detection, read the signals well and acted fast. They understood the near-impossibility of trying to catch up with a very large, very fast-moving phenomenon.
It gets even more complicated, however. High-volume, high-velocity events do not generally last for long periods of time. Hurricanes move fast and affect large areas, but they usually end quickly. Big, fast-moving events such as Coronavirus could be difficult to sustain in the long run, at least in places whose leaders and citizens have been fighting them correctly. A third and particularly frightening variable in the U.S. and other nations that are literally behind the curve, however, is that Coronavirus will have an extended duration, too, in addition to high volume and high velocity. Duration adds a third dimension to the model that two-dimensionally plots volume and velocity, making things even scarier.
It's very clear that volume, velocity and duration are all dependent variables with many inputs, starting with leadership and citizenship effectiveness. For better and worse, poor leadership and citizenship can simultaneously extend and enlarge the volume, velocity and duration of Coronavirus. It's happening right before our eyes.
Image courtesy of TravelWeek.