Technological Change: Evolution or Revolution

Unless you are enjoying life “off the grid,” chances are you deal with technological change almost every day. Whether it’s new settings on your mobile phone or a new work software, the constancy of change is the only thing that doesn’t change.

All this change can be a lot. It can be exhausting, especially when we expend all our energy fighting change. It’s a losing battle.

One of my favorite college classes was “Technology: Evolution or Revolution,” which focused on the changing nature of technology. Every time we learn a new platform, it feels revolutionary. However, there have been very few genuinely revolutionary technological changes in history. The Agricultural, Industrial, and Digital Revolutions are examples of revolutionary change that truly turned the world upside down, sometimes in a very short period. All the other technological changes we’ve endured or embraced are incremental. They’re evolutionary: merely different and, hopefully, more effective ways of doing something we were already doing.

Consider: how do you obtain food when feeling too lazy to get off the couch? You once placed an order using your rotary phone and a paper menu from the kitchen junk drawer. Now, it’s the mobile Uber Eats app. Either way, you just want food to appear magically.

Or, consider the need to keep track of membership information. Pitch the printed member directory and use an online membership management tool. Store email addresses instead of street addresses. (Of course, we all loved those Olan Mills photo directories, didn’t we?)

Change Can be Disruptive

While doing something familiar in a new way sounds simple, we all know it can be frustrating. Even minor incremental changes can be disruptive to our systems, workflows, and the people in our organizations.

We have choices in how we, as leaders, respond. We can fight these evolutions and make them begrudgingly. We can force new technology onto old processes and patterns. We can drag our people forward, kicking and screaming, with little support or explanation. Or, we can view technological change as an opportunity to engage in adaptive change.

Technological Change can Drive Adaptive Change

Adaptive change refers to making adjustments in response to new circumstances, challenges, or environments. It can require a shift in behaviors, mindsets, and workflows. Of course, this can be difficult as people and organizations resist change that challenges deeply held values, practices, and relationships. But what if change is seen as a value?

Successful adaptive change involves a willingness to learn and to demonstrate flexibility. It requires a mindset and culture that regularly looks for ways to experiment and push against the boundaries of “we’ve always done it that way.” Adaptive change is successful in organizations that develop practices and protocols to enable them to anticipate, engage with, and implement change.

But again, adaptive change doesn’t have to be revolutionary. Some of the most significant changes—ones that required profound shifts in workflows and skillsets—were eased into being by drawing on the familiarity of what people already knew and wanted to accomplish.

Drawing on the Familiar

The first Apple Macintosh object-oriented interface used icons intentionally designed to represent physical objects and symbolize familiar functions. The file and folder icons taught people to categorize and sort their digital information like they would manage information in the physical world of paper folders and file drawers. Likewise, the trash can icon created an obvious means for people to dispose of unwanted data. Even the ubiquitous solitaire game that came standard on every Windows 3.0 personal computer had a purpose. By referring to a known game played with physical cards, people learned how to drag-and-drop and point-and-click with an unfamiliar accessory, the mouse. For that matter, the mouse was so named because it resembled the innocuous rodent, cordlike tail and all.

Adaptive Change is What We Do

At Learning Forte, we are structured and have implemented protocols to constantly engage in adaptive change. This isn’t revolution for revolution’s sake but our acknowledgment that evolutionary change is constant. To best embrace and benefit from technological changes, we regularly practice curiosity, exploration, and innovation. We are willing to not only shift our technology choices but also change our processes, roles, and assignments. Sometimes, it is exhausting. Sometimes, it feels unpredictable and chaotic. But even so, we can be confident as we look forward to the technological horizon. When the shifts occur, we are ready, whether those shifts are revolutionary or evolutionary.