MotusQuo®, the promise of Change

As Maxim Consulting, we decided to rebrand several years ago. We completely revised our solutions, website and corporate image. Since we had founded Maxim, in 2005, we had been focused on delivering projects and felt now the urge to communicate the wonderful things we had discovered.

Therefore we asked for support from several professionals; and in particular a copywriter to help us find a name for the process we had developed in the years. After a few days of interview, to understand the essence of our process, the copywriter came out with several names, among which “MotusQuo”. At the sound of it, we were intrigued but at the same time critical. We thought that name sounded powerful but also maybe too strong.

We needed to think about it and went out for a walk. My associate and I were walking down the street with “MotusQuo” in our heads and on our lips. After having laughed about it and imitated the New Zealander rugby players doing their Haka dance before the games begin, shouting “MotusQuo!”, we had finally an insight. It suddenly appeared like the perfect name for a process of change. It was the audacious declaration of courage and strength it takes to lead others in such an adventure like a change process.

What is MotusQuo^®?

MotusQuo^® is a learning based change process to lead teams and individuals to effectively and sustainably embrace change and reach business targets, in moments of empowerment and inside a safe monitored action oriented process.

MotusQuo^® is the base of every Maxim solution and it is our integration of innovative methodologies (Coaching, Co-development, creative problem solving, process consulting) and of our long project experience.

It is articulated in 3 phases:

Goal setting

In this phase we define development objectives or challenging and ecological changes. At first, once the needs of the clients are analysed, we work with all the people who are impacted by the change in order to enhance commitment. In that sense, we also explore their gut feeling (using visual brainstorming techniques) and work on the feasibility study (gathering the main doubts, obstacles, opportunities and proposals) for the expected change.

Concerning the needs analysis, this can be a great moment of insight and awareness for the client that gives a change project the best chances to succeed.

I recall the case of an important Pharmaceutical Company that had been trying for more then a year to change the approach of the sales reps. In the communication to the pharmacist, they had to behave more like consultants (focus on active listening), instead of communicating product related messages. Till that moment, the results hadn’t been good enough and the sales director thought it had to do with the sales reps’ lack of skills and motivation.

I remember that at a certain point I asked the sales director what, in his view, should change in the area managers’ approach to support the sales reps in their improvement. At first the sales director was surprised by my question, but then he acknowledged that the area managers were the perfect leverage to empower the sales reps.

Incubation

The moment of incubation is the moment in which everyone, or at least the key people are prepared and trained to make the change or the growth happen.

Our experience showed that each change needs the right mix of protection but also exposure. On one hand, there is the need of a safe learning environment in which the participants can suspend ineffective automatisms with several rules and permissions that facilitate an empowering experience. On the other hand there must be a concrete experience of the new approach.

Furthermore we noticed that to enact the change effectively, you need a regular support on a longer period. This is the reason why we had regular monthly meetings (lasting 2 to 8 hours) according to the type of change, the number of participants (individual or groups) and the availability of the participants.

Finally we understood that the most competent people to deal with the obstacles to change are usually the clients themselves; this is the reason why we use processes like the co-development, in which each participant receives support from their colleague on a challenging professional situation.

Coming back to the pharmaceutical company, during the 4 Labs we held, the managers could support one another effectively in the difficulties they encountered along the way. Furthermore they were able to coach their sales reps. Thanks to the analysis of these cases, the managers could receive advice from their colleagues and implement them immediately. Furthermore, even if the coaching of the sales reps was supposed to be focused on the ones who showed a higher ROI, we noticed that most of the mentioned critical cases were about “low performers”; this allowed us, in agreement with the client, to bring the project back on track again.

Result Check

The result check has the objective to measure the success of the project. This third phase is articulated in 4 steps:

– regular checks with the participants at the beginning of each session;
– check with the client at the middle of the project;
– final check with the client and the participants;
– final debrief with the client.

In particular, the final check meeting is made of two steps: the self-evaluation of the participants followed by a moment of exchange with the client; it is the moment to be aware of the learning experience and to celebrate the success.

The phase concludes with debriefing of the whole experience and evaluating with the client the next steps to turn the change into a stable process.

Conclusion

MotusQuo^® is the name of our process that helps people to grow and to enact the future.
It aims to impact significantly and ecologically the business, facilitating commitment, learning and empowerment by the people who are concerned by change.

It is not a magic recipe, even if it has demonstrated extraordinary results, but it’s a way of being focused consistently, with love and perseverance on the goals defined by the organisation. It’s a process in which we create a safe space to allow the individuals define their objectives and aspirations, giving them the opportunity to be the authors and actors of the change of a whole organisation.