The Challenge:
Following the election of a new Governor and the subsequent change of administration, the newly appointed Cabinet Secretary for children's social services wanted to drive improvements in service quality and efficiency. The key success factor for this strategy was getting the organization to generate, accept and implement new ideas. This strategy and its implementation plan were met with varying degrees of resistance.

The Approach:
Market Edge worked with the Cabinet Secretary and her executive team to diagnose the Department's preferred approach to problem solving and innovation. This included the use of diagnostic instruments such as ‘KAI’. Analysis of individuals' preferred problem solving styles indicated that:

• the management team preferred revolutionary change underpinned by conceptual thinking; but
  
• the majority of staff preferred an incremental change style, based on detailed planning and careful consideration of consequences.

The Outcome:
Recognizing the diversity in styles, the management team modified the service improvement plan so that while the main elements were retained, they were now explained in greater detail and followed by incremental implementation.

The Department's Executive Team and senior managers applied this approach to innovation and change management in each of the four divisions. In each case project teams were formed with the right blend of capabilities to ensure successful implementation.