Change How You Think About Change with Caleb Gardner

“We have to constantly be dealing with disruption and dealing with new data, new entry points, new ways of looking at the world that are different. Building that adaptive capability as an organization is something that we need to be thinking about doing all the time,” explains Caleb Gardner, co-founder and managing partner of 18 Coffees, an innovation consulting firm. Today he brings his wealth of experience to the table to discuss changing how you think about change.

There are always going to be disruptions to the way a business is being run, whether it's in the form of new data, changing technology, or evolving social consciousness. The most successful businesses are the ones that build adaptive capabilities into their processes, enabling them to keep up with changes and work quickly. Being able to adapt to change and guide a team through adapting to those changes is a mark of great leadership. Leaders must approach change with authenticity and intentionality, prioritizing diversity and inclusion as well as bridging communication gaps between the older and younger generations.

Change is never going to be a one and done situation. Business does not occur in a vacuum and will always be influenced by what is going on in the world such as access to more effective technology and concerns about social justice. This is why an organization should always be thinking about its adaptive capabilities and planning ahead for how to navigate change.

• “We have to constantly be dealing with disruption and dealing with new data, new entry points, new ways of looking at the world that are different. Building that adaptive capability as an organization is something that we need to be thinking about doing all the time.” (8:40-8:57 | Caleb)
• “I think it's harder to do the work of culture building in a workplace in a remote work environment.” (13:27-13:32 | Caleb)
• “Workplace culture is an output of the effort that we put in. So as long as we're putting in the right inputs, it's going to end up in a healthy place.” (14:05-14:15 | Caleb)
• “Once we get sick of hearing about something and talking about something is usually when it starts to penetrate the people that we are trying to reach.” (17:11-17:19 | Caleb)
• “It's not a one and done thing. We’re always going to be learning more about how we should be socially conscious.” (21:19-21:24 | Caleb)