Clearly-articulated goals supported by effective data analysis are minimum requirements for making progress instead of endless, futile change. But, how do you get there?
Or, rather, how do you ensure you're going to get somewhere better?
Do you Data?
Transformative change is supported by real-world data analysis, and an understanding of cause and effect within your industry, business model, enterprise and client base. Positive and effective change requires metrics – before the pivot to guide the direction and after to document the effect. Uninformed change is driven by desperation to rapidly alter outcomes, and generally results in more random, largely useless changes.
Thorough research, data analysis, and a guiding narrative that brings it all together to detail key drivers, risks, assumptions and potential effects, are required to guide effective change. After-the-fact tracking and analysis provides evidence that the change is working, identifies areas for adjustment or indicates that further course correction is required.
Without the before and after-action data, a relentless cycle of change-adjust-change begins to take root. Leaders blindly alter processes, strategies and structures with no real sense of what would have the greatest impact, how to transform the organization effectively or how to succeed.
Got Goals?
Change without clear goals is, to paraphrase Shakespeare, a useless endeavor, “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Effective transformation starts with a detailed and definitive end goal. What are you hoping to accomplish? “Success” is too vague. What does success mean to you? What does it mean within your industry? What does it mean to your clients, employees or shareholders?
Break down the impulse to change into specific, detailed and measurable goals.
If you’re making an adjustment to your employee relations or work structure; do you know how your employees feel about the status quo? Do you know what motivates them or drives them to perform? Do you have a specific, achievable outcome and a way to explain your employees’ part in its success?
If you’re changing to improve organizational performance or market share; do you know what your competitors are doing or why they’re more successful? Do you understand the core drivers behind your clients’ buying decisions? Do you understand why your organization is behind the market?
Without solid answers to these kinds of questions, a clear goal and justification for the change is impossible. If you go through with the change it will be the first of many adjustments, course corrections, and general upheaval that will accomplish little to nothing positive.
Buy-In is More Than a Buzzword
Any level of change requires cooperation from the affected parties. Keep in mind that you cannot force clients to go along with your plan just because you think its a good idea or it works better for you – even cable companies are discovering that’s a losing strategy.
Client buy-in valuable, but must be obtained indirectly. If a change does not explicitly benefit your clients, then you need to make sure it does not negatively affect their experience – and don’t mention it. If data tracking documents an improvement in results, then, by all means, explain how your changes have benefited them.
Employee buy-in is critical to execution. A clear explanation of the end-goal, how the transformation will achieve those goals, how employee participation affects the outcome, and how the change will ultimately benefit the organization and the employees are vital to success.
Buy-in across your organization’s leadership is key – the larger the organization, the more buy-in required. Building consensus across business leaders can be like herding cats, since they each have their own drivers, goals and imperatives. Further complicating the issue are the disparate leadership approaches to change – two of the more challenging types are the excessively enthusiastic and the dedicated traditionalist.
The enthusiastic leader will jump at any suggested change and run off to revolutionize their department, organization or business without a plan or clear goal. If you have enough of this leader type it’s like having 20 outboard motors in different locations trying to turn a ship. There’s a lot of agitation, but nothing’s really happening.
The traditionalist, on the other hand, abhors change, prefers placing blame for challenges, and supports only superficial action which they believe proves that change is not needed and would not be successful anyway.
Obtaining buy-in across your enterprise leadership requires uncomfortable conversations, awkward data reviews and blunt observations, but the alternative is stagnation, useless churn and eventual obsolescence.
Make Progress, Not Churn
Have your hard conversations, look around to see what’s going on, what’s really going on, get actual stats to back it up, and figure out what result you’re going for. Then put all of it together and tell the story of where you’ve been, where you’re going and how everyone can help and benefit.
Inspire others to work with you and embrace the challenge of change. Progress done right is disruptive, transformative and compelling – and nothing survives without it.
No comments:
Post a Comment