Change maker makes a change with merger

WHEN you teach businesses how to empower innovation and change, you must be prepared to walk the walk.

That’s the case for design thinking leader Andrew Jones who has retired his award-winning brand, G2 Innovation, as part of the Geelong firm’s merger with The Agile Eleven to form Neu21.

Mr Jones said Neu21 would be treading new ground by bringing together two complementary approaches and skill sets that would support organisations to quickly adapt in a world of change.

Initial merger conversations with Agile founder Eduardo Nofuentes started in November last year and in February the two businesses reached an in-principle agreement to merge.

“By combining it (G2 Innovation) with Agile approaches to delivery, we then accelerate embedding and delivering these changes and transformation within organisations,” Mr Jones said.

This was particularly relevant with the workplace challenges being presented by COVID-19, which has been a catalyst for change.

“A lot of our clients who have traditionally said, ‘We can’t work remotely’, are now realising that they can,” Mr Jones said.

While businesses were experiencing some efficiencies with remote working, there were also challenges and limitations. “It’s just looking at things differently and saying, ‘OK, now how do we innovate and do things differently around this approach?’,” he said.

Mr Jones said completing the merger and transformation of the teams “remotely” had involved practising what the firms preached and having to adapt to how it would usually facilitate a merger.

The launch of a new brand at the expense of the well-established ones was another example of accepting change.

“If we are not disrupting ourselves, then the world disrupts you,” he said.

The coaching, consulting and training services to be provided by Neu21 will be available virtually.

A combined team of 16 works from offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Geelong, with plans to expand nationally and overseas.

Mr Jones said a team had already been signed up in Spain and it was looking at opportunities in the Americas.

To mark the merger, Neu21 is holding four virtual events led by its founders to introduce its ways of working and thinking.

The events are set to feature Australian business leaders and entrepreneurs.