sor or consultant. There is no doubt that many consultants offer very technically skilled advice, quite often the correct mechanical solution, however, the subtlety and nuance that determines the outcome may not lie in the solution. Let me attempt to clarify these three dimensions: Change Consumer insights specialist, Katharina Kuehn, explains the reason why change is somewhat skewed to not changing: “We as humans are three times more driven by the fear of loss than the prospect of gain.” In other words we are often more likely to avoid risk than seek success. Now imagine that fundamental psychological dynamic permeating every board. The CEO, executives, managers and staff members in various manners when faced with changing their very secure and familiar environment? Wanting to change the outcome at the mechanical level – e.g. new channel, capital investment, new range, hiring of an unorthodox CEO to name a few, might make perfect sense, however, fail because the psyche of change management was not fully considered. Simply put, what was the risk assessment, the appetite for change, how risk adverse was this team independently and collectively? What was the past track record for undertaking change management projects? Take note of the many change programs recently commenced. The JCPenney/Ron Johnson experiment in the US comes to mind, where rapid change mechanically occurred and I wonder if the true appetite for change and the level of risk aversion was really understood at the level that facilitated success? Vision, empathy and high energy are catalysts within the leader’s job description to begin the journey of change. Culture I am often reminded of the culture of an organisation in the definition of culture being “the way we do things around here”. Closely related to change is culture. Projects will succeed or  fail in many cases because of the often intangible, insidious influence of culture. Organisations will typically have supporters, ambivalents, and blockers, and in some cases overtly or covertly so. Understanding the way we do things around here, who the informal power holders are, the decision makers, influencers and passionates can hold the key to any project. What is elasticity of this culture to the change being proposed? What benefit or otherwise will be gained, and are we meaningfully enrolled in the solution or is it being done to us? Typically the most robust definition of a company’s culture won’t come from the CEO; it will come from the store manager that has been around for a few years. That is the culture communicated daily to their customer. It is entirely possible that the CEO is the flag holder for an organisation, however, not the flag bearer on the front line. The consultant that doesn’t perceive this may well be recommending a solution that may not see the light of day. Apple is a retailer seeing its global share price start to decline. There will be many factors involved, although it’s not without reason that culture is drawing its significant share of attention in the passing of the baton. Time This is probably the greatest learning of recent times. Boards and CEOs increasingly want the low hanging fruit – the short to medium term fix – the answer that will deliver immediate results in sales and margin. This is understandable and in many examples achievable, however, the most impactful results in complex strategy change projects often take more time. As a senior retail manager and in running our retail consultancy practice I have seen that the most profound value that influences both the culture and efficacy of an organisation really starts to occur typically around month 12. Why is this? Because the first two elements start to take effect. We begin to understand the appetite for change, the risk sensitivity at an intimate level, trends in the marketplace, governance, and risk profiles, and above all, we form relationships that inform the culture of an organisation. Change, culture, and time are not mutually independent; they are seamlessly integrated, delicately balanced and fundamental to the topic of adding real project value. Candidly these are the words of experience; there can be no better teacher. Happy fit retailing Brian Walker, Retail Doctor Group * Brian and Retail Doctor Group can be contacted on 02 9460 2882 or by email on businessfitness@retaildoctor.com.au. For more information please visit www.retaildoctor.com.au