Corporate change management.
Change for Business Results
- Is business change too slow? Are change strategies hard to understand and realize? Are change programs too long and too expensive?
- Are you constantly challenged by semi-manual routines and solutions depending on product and organizational structure?
- Are you impacted by heritage of other companies’ routines long after their acquisition?
- Is exemption management too often prevalent?
- Do you really get the expected efficiency at each of the affected business units, considering all the major investments in standard corporate processes and IT environments?
Decades of experience and numerous success projects in different industries clearly show that a different approach is needed in the execution of business vision and strategy especially in corporate change programs. It is time for change for business results.
The current industry practice is
- Set vision / scope
- Choose instrument: e.g. tool and / or method
- Implement the chosen instrument.
Issues with this practice are: Losing sight of target; Scope/time creep; losing control over project due to shift in focus from Business – target to Instrument definition/implementation/operation – target.
In contrast, experience shows that the correct approach is based on
- Focus at start on:
- Understanding scope, benefits, environment
- Consistence of expectations
- Prerequisites,
as addressed often in interviews and communications.
- Focus at execution on:
Definition – Operation – Maintenance – Quality control/Delivery control.
Today, by several reports the majority of corporate change programs fail as they do not deliver a new, lasting, profitable solution of new processes, organization and IT environment as expected. In other words, change for business results. Corporate change management often suggests various instruments to realize the change, as a certain set of methods, a suggested set of IT tools or focusing on soft value priorities during execution. Although each of these vehicles may be useful, they cannot guarantee success for the change program. Reports show that experience is needed with competence in finding and meeting a visionary yet doable purpose in the relevant and often complex environment of people, processes and technology. In proper Corporate Change Management that delivers true business innovation and results where the defined purpose reflects an understanding of the benefit delivery stage right from the start and all along the Change for Business Results project.
It is equally important that the resources preparing the strategy, educating management and key members of the operational organization and leading the corporate change management program have experience of auditing, advising and executing several different change programs. They should also have substantial experience of significantly successful, disruptive innovation programs and turnaround initiatives demonstrating the difference between failure and success across different, global industries, industrial processes and enabling methods and technologies.
The challenges in Change for Business Results can be understood by the current definitions of change management, for example: Wikipedia or by the vast research publications in change management, including Harvard Business Review.
There are two key components which stand out in reported failed corporate change programs:
1.) Lack of independent competence
2.) Poor definition of requirements.
Experience also shows that failure is often a consequence of difficulty in finding lasting, viable consensus among different, external and internal stakeholders with conflicting interests. In addition, requirements on different levels and in different processes, departments across the organization and the corporate change management project prove to be inconsistent, or often even conflicting and changing over the life time of the change project.
To avoid these pitfalls verified competence with business, management and technology understanding and demonstrated, independent know-how is needed.
Change for Business Result in industry often focuses on digitalization, simulation innovation and product lifecycle management. These are the areas where Predict Change have special competence, experience, and resources.
Change for Success in Business Change Projects
Think Big, Start Small
Contact Predict Change and Ask them about how to introduce and realize change for business results with less resources, budget and time? Ask them how to think big and start small.
Yes, I am interested to learn more about Change for Success in Business Change projects and Predict Change’s approach how to turn them into lasting business success with reduced efforts.
Please, contact me.