With the launch of hashtag#ChatGPT by OpenAI, artificial intelligence has received a major boost in both day-to-day application and public awareness/discourse. I have started experimenting with ChatGPT quite intensely and would like to touch on the potential of recent AI developments in change management in a few posts over the next weeks.
As a large language model, ChatGPT is capable of generating human-like text and engaging in natural language conversations. I‘m already convinced that this technology will prove to be an invaluable tool for organizations looking to navigate the complex and dynamic landscape of change management. In this post, I would especially like to look at its role in the creative parts of change management.
Over the last weeks, I have seen how ChatGPT can support you very practically in developing and finetuning your change messages to be clear and concise for your target audience, but also how it can become a source of inspiration for creative communication. Let me illustrate this with an example:
Many companies will currently name the switch from SAP R3 to SAP S4/HANA as one of their top change struggles. Such change in a company’s ERP (enterprise resource planning) system is, firstly, touching almost all underlying finance systems and processes, and, secondly, extremely complex to grasp and project-manage. The full benefits of this change will be difficult to understand for the individual colleague and activating the project task force (and keeping them engaged) presents a real challenge. ChatGPT is a good partner in breaking down this complexity for your change communication.
Creative support for crafting your change stories
Being asked to “describe the benefits of switching from SAP R3 to S4/Hana in simple words” it produces a convincing first try in just a few seconds:
As a father of three, I also like to deconstruct a change challenge enough so that my kids would understand what I work on (and yes, this proves helpful in change management as you want to take everyone along). Also this is something ChatGPT can help you with. It can re-write a given text and content for a specific target group. When I asked it to rephrase the above text into something that a five-year-old will understand, it suggested the following:
Having a written text as a basis to inspire your own creative thinking is nice. But ChatGPT will also help you with different other content formats. When asked to redesign the case to fit on a PowerPoint slide, it came up with the following.
And when I prompted it for some further visualization advice, it produced the following, which at least gets you thinking about the one or the other alternative visual expression.
Of course, the two above examples of slide and image are not yet transformed into a fully usable target format (but there are some other AI tools out there that are already attempting that).
ChatGPT for sparring and inspiration
ChatGPT also helps you to reflect and express other change challenges measures. Similar to a conversation with a colleague, it can help you find ideas for dealing with resistance:
To take it further, I asked about the potential of establishing “S4 ambassadors” as change drivers. ChatGPT identified some clear benefits for this approach:
Just like a normal conversation, you can deep-dive into specific areas at your own discretion. For example, I asked it to suggest the optimum number of ambassadors (and it gave me a few handy criteria to base such number on). I also asked for its advice on particular trainings and skills for such ambassadors and ChatGPt advised to look at systems training, communication and change management, problem-solving as well as leadership / team skills. When asked for the particular risks connected to appointing S4 ambassadors, it suggested:
And getting even more creative…
ChatGPT is still more powerful than that. I truly enjoy involving it for a change in perspective. Exploring different ways of framing the same story, I asked for a fable that would incorporate the essence of our conversation:
And yes, no conversation with ChatGPT should be considered complete, without asking it to put the content into a poem 😉
Summary
The above examples show a wide field of possible applications for ChatGPT to help you design communication and craft messages. The above examples were all results of a 30min conversation with the tool. I would also like to emphasize that you can refine any product together with the tool in several steps until you are actually happy with the result. And you can return to this conversation at any time later, to continue exploring or changing aspects of the exchange. Of course, ChatGPT in its current form will not replace the change manager – and discussions around such extreme impacts are way too superficial. But it will increase your productivity by producing base outputs that you can then develop further or by sparring your own work so that it yields better results. Along this continuum you will find your own areas to integrate AI into your creative work. But let me also highlight, that the sparring and exchange is exciting and fun. And – other than most of your colleagues – ChatGPT doesn‘t protest against a spontaneous creative night session 😉
So now over to you… have you explored ChatGPT and its practical application yet? What were your experiences? Where has it helped you deliver better messages (and where not)? Have you explored other AI tools?
hashtag#artificialintelligence hashtag#AI hashtag#OpenAI hashtag#ChatGPT hashtag#Change hashtag#changemanagement hashtag#communication
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