Tips & Tricks to Avoid Being Spooked by Transformation
You might not think Halloween and large-scale business transformation have much in common…and you’d mostly be right! But big transformation projects can be deceiving, tricky, and downright scary, and those similarities gave me just enough inspiration for this post. So, with Halloween just around the corner, here are five tips to avoid being “spooked” by your business transformation initiative.
Don’t be tricked by a technology platform dressed up as a silver bullet
In my work helping clients navigate major operational and technology transformation initiatives, I’ve unfortunately seen this play out dozens of times: software vendor comes in, shows an amazing demo with some combination of wizardry and vaporware, convinces the client the tool will solve all their problems, signs a licensing agreement, and then disappears faster than a bag full of candy on Halloween night. While many of the leading software platforms out there are indeed very powerful and play a key role in transforming organizations, technology alone is rarely a silver bullet.
If you’re looking at new technologies for your business, evaluate the tools as components of your broader vision, not the whole solution. Define what your future state customer experience should look like, how your products and services should change, and what roles and responsibilities you want your team members to have…and then determine what technology requirements you have, and which tools are best suited to meet them. Conduct a detailed fit-for-use analysis based on your organization’s specific requirements. Request detailed walk-throughs from the software company on your most important use cases. And ask for references from other organizations in your industry who have used the proposed technology to solve similar problems.
Whatever you do, don’t be tricked by the shiny “costume” these technologies often wear in a sales demo. Like eating too much candy on Halloween, you’ll end up feeling sick if you fall for their trick.
Don’t treat “the way we do things around here” as hallowed ground
“That’s not how we do it here.” It’s a common refrain heard in almost every organization when change is on the horizon (incidentally, it’s also the title of a great book by John Kotter on this subject). And it’s an understandable response to change. Human nature is to avoid change. In the face of something new or foreign, we are literally programmed to “fight or flight.” I’ll even admit that – despite being in the business of change – I don’t really love change in my daily life (even my dog gets annoyed that I walk her on the same route every day!).
But in the context of business transformation, accepting this excuse – that we’ve always done things a certain way and aren’t willing to change – will inevitably lead an organization straight into the graveyard of its industry. Organizations that embrace the opportunity to change are far more likely to not only survive but thrive. Look at how Apple pivoted from a closed ecosystem to an open platform that brought to life a network-effect-powered ecosystem of applications that generate value for consumers, application developers, and Apple itself. Think about how Netflix evolved from mailed DVDs to streaming movies to a content creator or how Amazon transformed itself from online bookstore to a global online retail behemoth. None of these companies treated the current business model as hallowed ground. Rather, they looked to the future and embraced change in order to transform into stronger, more sustainable businesses.
As you define the vision for the next phase in your organization’s evolution, challenge the status quo and encourage your teams to do the same. Think about how your customers’ needs are evolving, how your workforce is changing, and how your industry is adapting. Look at every process within your business and ask not just how you can make those processes better, but if you have the right business model and processes in the first place (hint: probably not!). What opportunities do you have to enter adjacent markets? Can you leverage technology to lower your cost-to-serve and in turn pursue lower-value, higher-volume deals? And if you really want to embrace the digital era, what opportunities do you have to shift from a product or service model to a platform model (this article from Forbes provides good context and tips on navigating the emerging platform economy)?
Continuous improvement of your current model is important, but it’s not enough to sustain your business for decades into the future. If one of your colleagues tells you, “That’s not how we do it here,” you’re probably on the right path with your change vision.
Beware the ghosts of past projects
For many organizations – particularly large enterprises – investing in big “transformation” projects and announcing re-orgs can feel like an annual occurrence. And when employees are exposed to big projects every year or two, they are bound to experience some bad ones. Unfortunately, when a big change initiative leaves a bad taste in someone’s mouth, that’s often the first thing they think of when a new project is announced.
So, if you are leading a big transformation project for your organization, one of the first things you should do is think through and seek feedback from a broad set of stakeholders on past projects. Figure out why Project X, Y, or Z was such a bust. Identify which business functions were particularly affected by the project’s failure, understand what went wrong, and ensure you’re avoiding those same mistakes on your new project. Then, proactively lean into the situation and ensure you are effectively communicating to the key stakeholders what’s different about this project and why you need them engaged in the effort.
Otherwise, your entire initiative will be haunted by the ghosts of past projects.
Realize that change is scary, and do something about it
I hate scary movies. Comedies? Love ‘em. Dramas? Always keep me glued to the screen, despite my short attention span. But scary movies? Just not my thing. And while I have a few friends who love the feeling of being scared, I’d venture to say most people just don’t love being frightened. And in the corporate context, nothing is more frightening than change and uncertainty.
Research from the NeuroLeadership Institute found that uncertainty registers in our brains much like an error does. Our brains want the uncertainty to be resolved before we can feel comfortable again. You can imagine, then, that employees being told about a major operational, organizational, or technology change (with few details other than the change itself) are often left in a state of extreme uncertainty and fear. That’s not exactly a great mindset for leaning into change and helping make the initiative a success.
This is exacerbated by a false narrative that many business leaders fall into, which is the idea that employees and customers will naturally embrace change as long as the new processes or tools are better than the existing ones. Unfortunately, while communicating the benefits of the new world is important, it won’t necessarily get people over the hump of change resistance because many will struggle with the inherent uncertainty of the change. As the podcaster and lifestyle guru Tim Ferriss says, “people would rather be unhappy than uncertain.”
So what can we do about it? The best thing we can do is accept that uncertainty is challenging, say it out loud to our teams, and communicate with them as early as possible, as transparently as possible, and with as many specifics as we can to help lower the amount of uncertainty they have to deal with. Beyond that, we must walk alongside them as they navigate an evolving landscape and show them that even some scary movies have good endings.
Most people get scared in the dark; shine a bright light on your vision!
There’s something about being in the dark that can be a bit unnerving. It’s why little kids (and some adults) really like having a night light. It’s why streetlights on a dark road can make you feel a bit safer at night. And it’s why all our cars have headlights for when we’re driving in the dark or in bad weather conditions.
In the work I do helping clients envision, plan, and execute major transformation initiatives, nothing is more powerful than shining a bright light on the vision of the project. Yes, people care about the project plan. And of course they want to know the specifics of the process changes, new technologies, and customer impacts. But no matter what kind of project it is, what people really need in order to buy in is the vision. In other words, why are we doing all this work and dealing with this much change?
If you really want to rally your teams around a change initiative, you’ve got to proactively, clearly, and repeatedly communicate a compelling vision. Giving them a one-slide summary in an All-Hands meeting or hoping they’ll figure it out from a presentation you posted on the internal SharePoint site is like putting your employees in the driver’s seat of a car at night, turning off the headlights, and asking them to drive down the highway at 75 miles per hour. They’ll either stop the car or crash the car, and either way you’ll have a failed project on your hands. So, define a compelling vision for the future and shout it from the mountaintops, over and over, to ensure your teams aren’t stuck in the dark and too afraid to help make your vision a reality.
If you want to chat about tips and tricks for successfully delivering large transformation programs – or hear more about my dog’s Halloween costume – please reach out info@flexpointconsulting.com. I’d love to talk!