Why is it after almost every project is complete, the most common suggestion for future initiatives is, “we need to communicate better?” Organizations spend a lot of time and money putting together intricate communication plans, but at the end of the day they hear the same “we aren’t very good at communicating” feedback time and time again. What is it that makes communicating during change so difficult?
Target Readiness is an important element of the Accelerating Implementation Methodology (AIM) change management model. Don Harrison, developer of this highly respected implementation framework, lists four requirements for Targets to get to sustained change adoption, whether the individual is a leader, or at the front lines. These include having:
Your corporate culture is the collective pattern of values, behaviors, and unwritten rules of your organization— in other words, it’s the collective Frame of Reference for your organization. Others can copy your products and services. Others can even imitate your marketing. But no other company can replicate your organization’s culture. Your culture is what makes you… you.
Transformational change is excruciatingly complex. These big changes can’t be done incrementally, and can’t be made totally safe. Once you make the leap, you can’t change your mind and go back to the old ways of doing things if it’s not going well! People, processes and technology will all be impacted. Simply put, your organization will be doing different things in completely different ways.
If your organization is implementing a change, whether it is transformational in scope or a minor procedural adjustment, you will face resistance. It’s inevitable...someone, somewhere is going to let it be known they don’t like what’s happening.
It sounds so obvious when we say, “The end goal of every transformational change should be full benefit realization.” Duh! Of course. But in our change management consulting work we see so many organizations who get to the “go-live” or the cut-over date of a project, declare it complete, and thus… successful. But the fact is that go live has nothing to do with getting to full implementation! Your transformation is not “done.”
One of the most significant questions organizations face in implementing a change is how many resources will we need to implement? And following this, where will we need them? The Who’s Who of a change implementation can be complicated. Who are the Sponsors and who are the Targets? Are the Sponsors Authorizing Sponsors or Reinforcing Sponsors? Are they all located in one department or are they scattered throughout the organization?
A few weeks ago, the CEO of Ford Motor Company was fired. The reason: the company was not moving fast enough to compete in the upcoming automated car market. It’s a real world example why speed isn’t just a nice to have… it’s a business necessity. The need to do a better job of delivering faster, better change has never been greater. Quite simply, organizations who are able to implement faster are one step ahead of their competition, ultimately meaning they are more successful.
Have you ever walked away from a discussion with a Sponsor feeling like you didn’t get exactly what you had hoped for? Have you had a Sponsor gladly offer “support” but then that very same Sponsor is unwilling to commit personal time for the project when it’s really needed? It’s a common Change Agent challenge!
Recently, we were working with a business leader in a large organization on a major initiative and we asked him what his plan was for implementation. His answer? “Oh, we’ve got that under control. We’ve got a project website set up, a focus group scheduled and an email campaign ready to go.”
