The Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) is a set of strategies, tactics, principles, and tools that can be applied to any change, including a Transformational one. However, in our over 30 years of Change Management Consulting experience, we’ve seen a lot of organizations invest a heap of time and money in quick fixes thinking they are going to drive Transformation.
Lately in our Change Management Consulting work, we are seeing a lot of organizations who are strategically hoping to become customer-centric-- or for those of our clients in the health care industry, patient-centric. Simply put, these organizations are making changes to their inherent culture to make their primary focus the customer they are serving rather than the product they are trying to sell.
Jack Welch, retired Chairman of General Electric once said, “Six Sigma is a quality program that, when all is said and done, improves your customer’s experience, lowers your costs, and builds better leaders.” In fact, General Electric, one of the most successful Six Sigma users, once estimated achieving $10 billion savings in just the first five years of implementation. $10 billion dollars! That is nothing to sneeze at.
Remember what happened when you first joined your organization? You were probably given a handbook with all the formal policies and procedures. Did you find it helpful? Sure. But we are guessing after just a few days of working there, the "unwritten rules" that dictate how your organization really operates began to surface.
Generating Sponsorship is just one element of IMA’s proprietary Change Management Methodology, Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM). But, (and we cannot emphasize this enough), it is the most important factor in ensuring a fast and successful implementation. So, what exactly is Sponsorship? And why is it so important to implementation success?
Company X is about to implement a new ERP system (feel free to insert any change project into this scenario). They have been down this road before, and know it is important to appoint Change Agents who will be responsible for implementing the change at the local level. They know the job will continue from the initial planning stages through the execution of the change. A management meeting is held to decide who is going to get this important job.
Managers play a major role in ensuring change happens. The more they know about best practices of change management, the easier this will be. However, in reality...they don’t really need to know it all.
The starting point for every change management project should be a clear, compelling definition of the change. This is true whether the business change is a minor procedural change, or a transformational change affecting the entire organization. It sounds so basic... but this essential, first step is all too often forgotten in the hustle and bustle of a real world organizational change.
Let’s take a quick poll--it’s just one question. Say “me” if you like change. Do you hear the same crickets we do? In our 30+ years of change management consulting we’ve come to a very serious conclusion. The only person who likes change is possibly...a wet baby!
So many organizations are moving toward a Shared Services model. The business case for this type of transformational change is undeniably strong. Shared Services consolidates redundant business units used by multiple parts of the organization. When complete, this type of enterprise-wide change has been proven to reduce costs and increase efficiencies.
