Chief Change Officer
#171 Colin Savage: Change Junkie on a Global Tour—Swapping Comfort for Chaos – Part Two
Mon, 10 Feb 2025
Part Two. Change isn’t just a phase for Colin Savage—it’s his entire identity. In this three-part series, we explore how he went from chasing change to mastering it. With experience spanning seven countries, seven secondments, and projects in over 70 nations, Colin knows what it takes to adapt, reinvent, and thrive. Forget cramming knowledge forever—Colin says lifelong learning is outdated. Instead, he’s all about skill stacking, a smarter way to stay ahead. And if that wasn’t enough, we’re taking on AI, human intelligence, and why you absolutely need a personal AI strategy. Because let’s face it—if AI is evolving, you should be too. Get ready—this episode moves fast, just like Colin’s career! Key Highlight of Our Interview: The Kung Fu Panda Approach to Change “Wise, measured, and reflective—the best change leaders channel their inner ‘Kung Fu Panda turtle.’ Fewer words, deeper thought, and a collective approach to charting the path forward. Because real insight comes when you listen more than you speak.” Why Collective Decisions Matter “Making life-altering changes isn’t a solo act. Consulting with those affected—be it family, colleagues, or friends—adds invaluable perspectives. Ignoring this step risks blind spots and unanticipated challenges that could have been addressed earlier.” Lifelong Learning: The Good, the Bad, and the Outdated “While lifelong learning emphasizes constant self-improvement, it often lacks focus. Simply chasing degrees, certifications, or skills without purpose can lead to a disjointed portfolio of knowledge. The real magic happens when learning is intentional and builds toward expertise.” Skill Stacking as a Career Superpower “Focused learning that combines seemingly unrelated skills can redefine your career trajectory. It’s not just about learning for the sake of it—it’s about intentionally connecting knowledge areas to create a broader, more adaptable toolkit for the future.” _________________________ Connect with us: Host: Vince Chan | Guest: Colin Savage --Chief Change Officer-- Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself. Open a World of Deep Human Intelligence for Growth Progressives, Visionary Underdogs, Transformation Gurus & Bold Hearts. 6 Million+ All-Time Downloads. Reaching 80+ Countries Daily. Global Top 3% Podcast. Top 10 US Business. Top 1 US Careers. >>>100,000+ subscribers are outgrowing. Act Today.<<< --Chief Change Officer--Change Ambitiously. Outgrow Yourself.Open a World of Expansive Human Intelligencefor Transformation Gurus, Black Sheep,Unsung Visionaries & Bold Hearts.EdTech Leadership Awards 2025 Finalist.18 Million+ All-Time Downloads.80+ Countries Reached Daily.Global Top 1.5% Podcast.Top 10 US Business.Top 1 US Careers.>>>170,000+ are outgrowing. Act Today.<<<
Chapter 1: What is Colin Savage's perspective on change?
Hi, everyone. Welcome to our show, Chief Change Officer. I'm Vince Chan, your ambitious human host. Our show is a modernist community for change progressives in organizational and human transformation from around the world. This is a three-part series with Colin Selvidge.
In part one, the first episode, we'll dive into Colin's fascinating journey as a self-proclaimed change addict turned change guru. Colin's career spans continents, cultures, and industries, seven countries lived in, seven more seconded to, and projects in over 70 nations.
From organizational transformation to personal reinvention, he has mastered the art of embracing change and applying those lessons to life. In this conversation, Colin unpacks his unique perspective on change. How throwing himself into the unknown led to unparalleled growth and insight.
From leaving Canada with nothing but a suitcase and ambition, to navigating industries from telecommunications to financial services, Colin shares how the constant evolution around him became his greatest teacher. In the next episodes, we'll explore the learning required for transformation. Why Colin believes lifelong learning is outdated and skills decking is the future.
And finally, in part three, we'll tackle AI, human intelligence, and why every one of us needs a personal AI strategy. Buckle up, this one is a ride. Like you said, one of the threats running through your experience is change and strategy changes. You've worked with so many firms and organizations, guiding them through their transformations, so you must have seen countless business cases unfold.
What have you learned from these consulting projects and organization change initiatives that could apply to individual situations? Are there lessons from these business cases that also resonate on a personal level? especially when we face dilemmas or crossroads in our own lives.
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Chapter 2: How does Colin's experience in Japan illustrate change management?
One example is going to be a bit of a surprise to people because they will have read, potentially, how traditional this country is. And this is Japan. So I lived in Japan, as I mentioned, for quite a long time. And with the Japanese life insurance company, we're in Brazil. We're seeing something that's a bit unique. In Japan, one of the largest minorities, and they are people who,
travel to Japan as youth. They have access to visas and other things, and they start their working life in Japan. So they're actually indoctrinated. They learn working culture from being in Japanese companies, a lot of them, and otherwise. They learn things like, hey, life insurance is important. You need to have it. The discussion went, how are we going to go build this business idea and
Chapter 3: What lessons can be learned from consulting projects?
What came about was I learned that change, individual, team, and otherwise, comes from doing a lot of promotion. So Japan is a lot about individual conversations to get support or get direction. Big organizations are great at providing that direction, but often indirect. You have to be acute to the team. So, hey, why don't we consider this? Why don't we do that?
But also, it's measured and it's planned change. You can't just come up with an idea and throw it at people and get them to say yes or no. You've got to research your idea. This is the market size. These are the people. Look, they would buy. This is how it would benefit them if they stayed where they are or then when they moved back. This is how we could think.
a dovetail or a pipeline into getting new people in a new market we might make. So it took a lot of time, but I was very surprised and very proud that we actually managed to get this kind of a deal. I got support from lovely people within the organization. They provided their time to me. We moved ahead. It took two years, but the change did happen.
And it was actually a real shining example of just because you think a culture and a group of people are traditional in their practices doesn't mean they're averse to change. You just need to be from that change addict thing we were talking about, Not willy-nilly, not, hey, let's just do it for the sake of doing it.
Be measured, be strategic, be researched in what you want to change, and then find the kind and supportive voices. And if you bind enough of them, you'll get groundswell and you'll be able to do it. If you don't, maybe your idea really isn't that great. Maybe you need to go back to the drawing.
So learn to take the interest and the novelty and the energy that comes from a potential change and have it, you will huge do the really important. steps, fundamental steps to maybe make that change happen. And the flip side would be actually back here in Canada. I worked for a quite traditional marketing company. Probably if I tell you who it is, people will know right away.
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Chapter 4: How does personal change differ from organizational change?
They brought me in as a change person. That's how I was recruited. Please come here. We know our industry is on the decline. We're not really entirely sure where to go with it. We've seen what you did in other places. We're eager to change. We want a chance where they use all the right work. They were very receptive to the idea before I moved in-house.
I got in there and I asked, do you want me to be disruptive? Would you like me to push new initiatives? Absolutely, if this is what we want. And within a month of me doing that, we don't really like it. Or that was a little too much. The reality is they were a different kind of ad. They were hooked on a legacy of very high revenue and high profit margin.
And they weren't willing, they really weren't willing, and they hadn't done the time to figure out, do we want to change? Are we willing to forego some of that to potentially make it somewhere else? Or maybe not. And even though they had all of the support, allegedly support from people above and their ownership and others, they were incredibly reluctant to do it.
So I was sitting in a role where change was in my title, but I couldn't do anything. And I had tried, I had built up goodwill. I'd got some champion. I was doing everything that change management tells you to do. Pushing the needle here, take scaling here. And for the time period that I went there, they were wholly unwilling to take it on.
And at a certain point I had to, you know what, it isn't going to work for me. I'm pushing the rock. I'm ill as whatever the Greek do. And I'm not getting anywhere. And I'm being told two different stories. So we dig into it, which might have really been like an external push from other people. So we don't want to do it. And it ended up being a failure for myself.
And it's something that I've taken on and I accept. I learned a lot of really good lessons from it. And frankly, I had some work with some wonderful people that were driven to do it. But when the entire organization has been dictated change and not really trusting of the person who's supposed to pilot it, then it's not going to happen. But in this instance, it's a little bit about.
It's maybe less about the change addict thing, but learning how that change grow, if that's a good word, or change guide, which is, all right, maybe we need to take a step back and figure out what is your definition of change? Is it collectively the same? Do we all think it's a good idea? Okay. Maybe we need to tailor it a little more specifically.
and then move on from there and that's hopefully where i am now and how i actually go about it a little bit more there's a little bit less less put on the gas more let's put the car in park for a second and let's have a talk we'll drive a block down the road and then we're going to have another talk and that way we can get to the kind of again change that we're all trying to achieve and back to that definition of success not just keep that
directed by the outside or financial reasons only, the whole way that we're going to evolve and change for the better.
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Chapter 5: What is skill stacking and why is it important?
Chapter 6: How can family dynamics affect career decisions?
And at a certain point I had to, you know what, it isn't going to work for me. I'm pushing the rock. I'm ill as whatever the Greek do. And I'm not getting anywhere. And I'm being told two different stories. So we dig into it, which might have really been like an external push from other people. So we don't want to do it. And it ended up being a failure for myself.
And it's something that I've taken on and I accept. I learned a lot of really good lessons from it. And frankly, I had some work with some wonderful people that were driven to do it. But when the entire organization has been dictated change and not really trusting of the person who's supposed to pilot it, then it's not going to happen. But in this instance, it's a little bit about.
It's maybe less about the change addict thing, but learning how that change grow, if that's a good word, or change guide, which is, all right, maybe we need to take a step back and figure out what is your definition of change? Is it collectively the same? Do we all think it's a good idea? Okay. Maybe we need to tailor it a little more specifically.
and then move on from there and that's hopefully where i am now and how i actually go about it a little bit more there's a little bit less less put on the gas more let's put the car in park for a second and let's have a talk we'll drive a block down the road and then we're going to have another talk and that way we can get to the kind of again change that we're all trying to achieve and back to that definition of success not just keep that
directed by the outside or financial reasons only, the whole way that we're going to evolve and change for the better.
I can totally relate to your Canadian example. I've had a similar experience myself. We can chat more about it offline. But eventually, it led to me leaving that company. If I think about it in a more personal context, like within a family, change isn't just about one person. It's a group decision that can lead to challenges too.
For example, when I used to help younger professionals plan their MBA career paths, many of them would ask me, Vince, should I apply to this school or that school? Should I study in this city or another city? Often, these decisions weren't just about them. They were married, so the decision had to include the spouse. My answer to them was, this isn't just about you.
What does your husband or wife think? Have you discussed whether it will mean long distance for two years? Will they move with you? If they do, will they be able to work? If not, what happens then? That's where the tension often starts. One partner wants to change, but the other doesn't, or they see the change differently.
It creates conflict, and that's not unlike what happens in a business setting. One stakeholder might push for a big transformation, while others hesitate or resist because the interpretation of change is different. So yes, I think that dynamic applies across contexts, personal or professional.
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Chapter 7: Why is lifelong learning considered outdated by Colin?
A lot of people lean on lifelong learning when they are at a crossroads or want to make a change in their lives. They fall back on education, upskilling, retooling, whatever the buzzword of the day might be. But you've shared some interesting ideas with me about skill stacking and how that might offer a more impactful approach. So what do you think of lifelong learning as a concept?
How do you see it evolving? And where does skill stacking fit into the equation?
Chapter 8: What is the future of lifelong learning and skill stacking?
Very recently, I found myself, and I think this also leads a little bit to my love for novelty. I don't think a day goes by where I don't find the topic that I go, hey, you know what? I should really study this. And then I go and I start to spend 10 minutes looking for universities where I could go and I could study. And I don't know if I'm ever actually going to get over that practice.
But to talk to your specific comment about light blonde learning, the skill stacker. So I am the product to academic people. And so both of my parents were educators. They both were educators at all different levels. They were both academically inclined. And so was our family. And it was ingrained in us very young in two ways.
And the first one was we always had a room in our house that was more our study than den. It was a room where there was a lot of books. A lot of things on the wall, inspirational quotes, all that kind. And my parents often argued about who got to use the big desk and do their writing and do their research and whatever else. And on one of the walls were all of their degrees. So that's it.
From a very early age, I'd look up at a wall and I'd see lots of people with paper and very nice brains. Oh, what are those? Well, that's my degree in education. So that was the first. And then the second one was, and this came more from a grandparent who actually didn't have a lot of education. Yeah.
He would relay to us as little kids all the time, you know what, like somebody can, they can take away your house, they can take away your possessions, they can take away your money, they can take away your family, they can take your health, they can do all that kind of stuff. The only thing that they cannot take away from you is your education. And so I still believe that.
I still believe that's very true. And so anyway, from a long, from my early age with those kind of two things, It was education is important, right? And you should constantly be learning, right? And I didn't know at the time that, yeah, I'd constantly be learning. Now it's related to keeping technology and technological advances and things like generative AI that I'm now studying.
It was more like you just should keep learning all the time. My parents were very flexible and it didn't really matter what. But it was important that it was with somebody who knows it. So there was an expert. And at the end, there was going to be some kind of a written comment. There was going to be a degree, a diploma, letters behind your name, whatever it is. So that's lifelong learning.
For me, there's continually learning from established institutions, programs, gathering up the diploma and other things. And really the area doesn't matter. Lifelong learning, learn whatever. But lifelong learning is, I think it's an outdated concept and particularly because it just lacks focus. I may be an example of that.
And that's where I studied English literature, I studied philosophy, I studied liberal art. Then I went to Japan and then I did a master's degree in modern Japanese literature. Okay, there's a little bit of a connection there with literature, but it's two different cultures, different languages. Then I go to the UK and I do a master's degree in social anthropology in South D.C., learning Burmese.
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