At a time when innovation sometimes sounds like an incantation ("If we shout it often enough, it will happen by itself!"), Frank van den Ende offers a refreshing counterpoint. His book Stop innovating, start changing sustainably is not a manifesto for yet more experiments, but a practical roadmap For organisations that take their raison d'être seriously.
Van den Ende challenges organisations to stop blindly chasing hypes like headless chickens and to work on real, sustainable change using a methodically practical approach. A method that is cleverly and clearly structured in three layers: putting the basics in order, floor and enrichment.
His plea reads like an invitation to treat your organisation like a vegetable garden and not like some kind of running race. No sprinting to every new trend, but mindfully sowing, weeding, tending - and only harvesting when the fruits are ripe. Strengthen the roots first (core values), then understand the soil life (the real issues) and only then try new crops (experiment and learn).
What Van den Ende does particularly well is to expose the tension that many of us feel every day: between the temptation of rapid innovation on the one hand and the need for rooted, sustainable development on the other. Especially now that technology - with AI leading the way - is changing faster than many organisations can keep up with, it is almost a revolutionary act not to innovate indiscriminately.
In doing so, he underlines the importance of ownership, autonomy and connectedness as the keys to change that stays. No more waiting for "management to decide something", but setting the course together - like a flock of starlings moving smoothly along with the dynamics of the environment. And that is necessary, because many an organisation lacks the agility and self-organisation that these times demand.
Van den Ende is also crystal clear about the risks of one-sided data fixation, following external trends without internal anchoring and underestimating biases such as confirmation bias and status quo bias. He makes clear that real change starts with a sharp analysis of the real problems - not cosmetic interventions because "the market demands it".
Above all, his approach is inviting. You feel with every page: this man believes in organisations that dare to question and reinvent themselves. His call to seek enrichment outside one's own sector - through dynamic learning cycles, action learning and growth loops - is urgent and inspiring. It encourages action, not another meeting about action.
A powerful image he indirectly conjures up: organisations need to stop mopping up (treating symptoms) and instead leather redesigning the entire water system. THERE, future-proofing arises. That is where sustainable change occurs.
Conclusion
Stop innovating, start changing sustainably is required reading for anyone who not only wants to do new things, but above all wants to make things better and more meaningful. In an increasingly fast-changing world, Van den Ende offers exactly what we need: not even faster trainers, but sturdier mountain boots and a compass that really points to the future.
What I got out of Stop innovating, start changing sustainably take away, is the confirmation that sustainable change starts with patience and skill. In my work, I notice daily how tempting it is to run with every new technology, especially now that AI is developing faster than ever. This book reminds me that real impact happens when innovations are chosen consciously, rooted in an organisation's core values. Change is not a project, but a continuous process. With Frank van den Ende's insights, I feel empowered to guide organisations towards changes that are not only smart, but also truly sustainable.
You can find more about Frank van den Ende and his book here: Frank van den Ende - Educational Design & Innovation
