Change Management — PhD or MBA?
July was a month of taking on a change management project that involved planning movement for a company that had minimal online presence towards a robust e-commerce strategy, thus supporting a significant shift in how the business operates and engages with customers.
Although I don’t have an MBA, I found myself very capable of problem solving for this project. I enjoyed the fast-paced, forward-thinking initiative for sustained change. It reminded me of my time in the field, strategizing with highly capable and very busy (scattered 😂 💛…”diverse in their interests”) CIA case officers who needed that complimentary analyst to hold their focus and help them organize an adaptive and responsive plan.
My client was a small-mid sized business that had been around for over ten years, but had very little online presence and was missing out on building recognition, influence, and sales for their brand. I found myself blending my CIA analytic skills and my Leadership PhD coaching mindset to understand and aggregate the CEO’s ideas and vision.
By listening, asking questions, and getting feedback, I crafted a strategy for the company with step-by-step initiatives to organically move their business to support e-commerce. I facilitated meetings between the CEO and experts in the e-commerce field, which resulted in a practical vision of what the company could afford now and how they could enhance their presence in the future.
Together, we drafted a full contract for a future online sales representative and I outlined key steps to take to direct online sales first to their website and then to an e-commerce platform. Additional deliverables for the project included a social media strategy as well as initiating and organizing social media accounts, creating baseline content, identifying socially responsible, low-cost content creators* for future content, and building the the beginning of their online network.
We also surfed regularly, which I am certain helped align our energy for our meetings 🌊
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