Case Study

The Seed Company:
A Change Management Success Story

Introduction:

The Seed Company (SC), an entrepreneurial arm of Wycliffe Bible Translators, has impacted over 2 billion people in over 130 countries. Their mission is to “Unleash the potential of God’s people everywhere by helping to bring Scripture to people who don’t have it in the language they understand best.” The Seed Company originally built its quality investor communications and reporting based on 10 languages, with an investor deeply connected to each language.

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The Challenge:

While the idea of connecting investors to languages remains unchanged, the methodology and means needed to change. In ten years, the number of translations grew from 10 to over 900. This meant a corresponding rapid growth in investors (donors), 166 field partners (translators), and 300 staff. Internal processes were built quickly and independently to meet urgent needs. Fractures in the environment appeared in communication to the investors, funding uncertainty to translators, and unsustainable workloads to staff. As a result, the goal of adding 1,100 languages by 2025 was in jeopardy.

In March 2021, the Executive Leadership Team resolved to change the SC operating model and culture. They decided to diversify the revenue streams by introducing multiple product offerings for investors and rework internal processes to align with these offerings. Dr. Deborah was brought in to assist with these changes, especially the culture.

Major activities:

  • Coached the leader and his staff for the Change Management Initiative. 
  • Met with change champions in all levels of the organization to coach on proposed changes being implemented.
  • Participated in focused multi-functional teams that re-engineered several processes.
  • Ghost wrote corporate communications for CEO, COO, and others.
  • Provided five webinars to staff on: The Heart of Change, Science of Change, Navigating Uncertainty, Trust the Cost of Commitment, and Finding Rest in the Midst of Work.

Results:

  • Staff shifted their beliefs that this change initiative would be different and result in positive change.
  • People in all areas of the organization adjusted to the new culture and processes.
  • In 2021, of the 112 new language engagements, 81 were First Scriptures.
  • With translation mentoring, international partners took more ownership in the management and resourcing of their Bible translations.
  • Seed Company is positioned for future growth and set up to achieve the 2025 goal of 1,100 new languages.
"Our company went through an organizational-wide change initiative in 2021 that was long overdue. We interviewed multiple experts in the field and ended up selecting Dr. Deborah Jenks from Emerging Futures to work with. What a privilege it was! Deborah has an excellent background in technology and change management, but more than that, she excelled at focusing on the people-side of change. Her sensitivity to our environment was evident from the beginning, as she listened intently to understand the culture, reasons for the change, and helped us work through difficult issues with ease. Both our team and the larger staff noticed a tangible difference from other change initiatives we've done in the past, most notably, that the actions and behaviors of leaders seemed different. I believe this is a testament to her work, and one of the reasons this change initiative has been so successful. Thank you, Dr. Deborah, for working with us this year! It has been a joy to work with her, and our entire organization is better as a result." 
Justin Miller
VP, Strategy &Technology, The Seed Company, a Wycliffe Bible Translation Affiliate