Executing Change – getting it right
Change is inevitable. If you stay still, change will occur around you.
You know deep down you have to change, you plan the change however execution fails. More than 80% of projects fail to make the proposed change.
Change is inevitable. If you stay still, change will occur around you.
You know deep down you have to change, you plan the change however execution fails. More than 80% of projects fail to make the proposed change.
You know the process – you work on the business case document (more than 40 pages) to explain why change is required. You get the funding (most companies spend up to 30% of their cash inflow on capital projects to deliver change. But then you get to delivery, things fail.
The change doesn’t happen, it’s not well understood, there is resistance. The business case benefits are not delivered. After failed projects, people get despondent with the whole process and don’t ever both.
Why can’t organisation deliver change well? Well depends on where you work but I am going to focus on the 3 things you require to ensure you deliver.
3 things to ensure change will occur:
1. Executive Sponsorship – you need an Executive Sponsor that can support your business case and ensure where there are roadblocks they help clear. If you can get a couple of supports on the Executive team, this will help your case.
2. Budget & Resources – you need enough money to deliver the change and dedicated resources to help (that are not also trying to do BAU). When budgets squeezed and every project gets hit 20% cut, no that’s not ok you need to ensure you have sufficient money to deliver.
3. Build momentum & excitement – you need to build momentum and excitement across the team, division and organisation around the change – what does it mean for them? Why the change will help them and get support.
Other considerations that need to be considered to improve project management
Companies need to consider their business case process. People spending months building business case, is not a good use of time or energy. A business case document over 40 pages+ will not be read again or by many people and doesn’t help assess the delivery of the project. Could you do the business case in 4-5 pages.
Do less projects but deliver them well. Do less projects and then focus on delivering them well.
Don’t be scared to show RED, project off track. Everyone wants there project to be green, but can’t get things back on track or help if it’s status is not correctly represented.
Centralised PMO structure needs to be provided to the business to have consistency across projects, but should not be running the projects. Business SME should lead and run the project. Working out the project model is critical, otherwise it’s all about governance and nothing gets done.
For the money that companies spend on projects, getting them right and delivering the change that is required is critical for strategic success of the organisation. Companies need to rethink their process for projects and be honest on what works in the current project.
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Why companies fail at executing change?
Why companies fail at executing change?
And what you can do about it….
Yes, it’s harsh but the data doesn’t lie. More than 80% of projects don’t deliver. That’s a terrible statistic.
Think about how many money businesses spend on projects & the projects don’t deliver….hmmm if only something could be done.
Why companies fail at executing change?
And what you can do about it….
Yes, it’s harsh but the data doesn’t lie. More than 80% of projects don’t deliver. That’s a terrible statistic.
Think about how many money businesses spend on projects & the projects don’t deliver….hmmm if only something could be done.
There are 5 main reasons companies fail at making change, through major projects:
1. No executive sponsorship
2. Insufficient budget
3. Change resistant culture
4. Only using internal resources, who have a day job
5. The business case doesn’t explain the why in a way that people buy in to the change
So, for a bit more detail on the 5 reasons that companies fail to make change, through major projects:
No executive sponsorship
If you don’t have Executive Sponsorship, you are doomed. When money gets cut, and projects get reprioritised your project will be removed or cut first up. If change is required from the change, you will need Executive approval to drive the change through, if you don’t have it you are doomed.
So what….
You should have an Executive Sponsor, but also 2-3 other influential Executive Sponsors that can help you navigate the politics of getting things done and ensure they have your back when shit hits the fan.
Insufficient Budget
You know the budget processes where everyone bids and they give everyone their projects but just cut the top off the 20% of all projects, so no projects are funded correctly. Without the right level of funding you need to cut corners and what you started as the plan is now in the toilet and you are making things up to hit all the metrics to ensure that the project is not cut further.
So what…..
Fight for your budget. Have a detailed budget prepared and if they cut it show them what they are not going to get and the financial implications so you have an ROI story. If they still don’t give it to you, adjust your business case for the new funding to ensure that you adjust people’s expectations on what will be delivered.
Change Resistant Culture
Have you ever worked in a company, where the company just couldn’t do change, it wasn’t that they didn’t want to, but they didn’t. They were paralysed. They had tried so many times and failed that they were all cynical about making change that when a new person came in they convinced them that they wouldn’t be able to change either, and not to bother. And so the cycle of a change resistant culture is bred. It’s really sad. It’s possible to make change, but you will need to make people uncomfortable and if you have change resistant HR you will likely get yourself into all sorts of trouble.
So what…..
But for people like me I see this as a challenge and opportunity to show people change can be done. However, for the normal person, this is incredibly sad and depressing and really does making change and successfully implemented projects hard, if not impossible. You’ll find the PMO in these organisations is full of people that are stopping people from actually delivering on anything as well. My only solution is they need Collin Ellis – he can actually help organisations with the culture change.
Internal Resources – who have a day job
Internal resources are great! Actually, a combination of internal and external resources is a great mix for any successful project but need to take internal people off their day job to implement the project and backfill them. Find strong leaders, change leaders and SME’s and put them on the project, and backfill them and give them a budget to hire some other people to support. But empower them. I kinda of answered the so what about on this one.
The Business Case doesn’t explain the Why
Do you know why you are making the change? Have you articulated to the people that need to buy in? Does it make sense? Have you communicated it, and then communicated it and then again? You need to be clear on the why and everyone else needs too, so when people get fed up, they remember why they are doing this project.
At Whiteark we love to work with businesses to help them deliver exceptional projects, that deliver results and financial outcomes. We get our hands dirty to implement with your teams. We will force the hard conversations, will challenge the team to think bigger, will make people a tad uncomfortable – but will make the project be successful.
Our approach and team are tailored to what you need, so reach out and have a conversation if you have a project you want to be successful or you need help on a project that needs to be restored or project portfolio reprioritised and reviewed
Reach out for a no obligation chat to Jo Hands on 0459826221, or jo.hands@whiteark.com.au
Article by Jo Hands, Whiteark Founder
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The people that shaped me & what they taught me
The people that shaped me & what they taught me
When you look back, there are people that have made a big difference in your life. Maybe you see it more when you look back, rather than when you are in the thick of it. People come in and out of our lives and sometimes we don’t go back to say thank you to the people that have shaped us.
The people that shaped me & what they taught me
When you look back, there are people that have made a big difference in your life. Maybe you see it more when you look back, rather than when you are in the thick of it. People come in and out of our lives and sometimes we don’t go back to say thank you to the people that have shaped us.
On a day of reflection, I wanted to think through the people that shaped me and what main key learnings were. Rather than name people, I thought I would paint a picture of the kind of people in my life that shaped me & what I learnt along this journey of life.
I am 43 and have a lot of living to do but don’t want to forget the people that shaped me and what I have learnt. As you read this, think about the people that shaped you and what you have learnt.
Take the time to reflect…..
Highschool Teachers
You are in year 10 and you need to pick your subjects for Year 11 and 12 and what uni degree you want to do. Who the hell knows? My Accounting teacher was passionate, entertaining and very encouraging and I really enjoyed accounting and picked up the basics quickly.
It was something I had never considered as a career, but my Accounting high school teacher shaped me. She gave me extra attention and help and gave me the confidence for being able to do really well in the subject. On our year 11 and 12 exam she met us with special pencils for the exam - it was a really nice touch.
First Corporate gig
I did an internship out of high school at a CA firm to do audit. A big transition of travelling to city, clients and earning 14k per year to do audit for small business and councils. I learnt so much. I enjoyed the experience, and it really encouraged me to go to university to do the degree so I could come back to one of the big 4 firms. It gave me a goal to focus on.
This gig gave me an open door when I went for graduate jobs which meant I got to pick Arthur Andersen (the year they were taken over by EY). My graduate experience at EY was exceptional & has set up my career. Paths lead to other paths.
Partner sponsor
An experienced partner at EY took me under his wing. He coached, encouraged, challenged me and gave me opportunities to work on stuff outside of audit that I loved. It gave me opportunity to travel, present, lead high profile projects globally and work on some great accounts / projects. He always challenged me and supported me. It’s been 12 years since I left EY and we still keep in contact.
He is a great bouncing board. His best piece of advice is life is a marathon not a sprint, so slow down….I have listened and maybe now as a bit older see the importance of this advice. Having someone to help you navigate a large Corporate as a sponsor is important, so you don’t get lost.
Great leaders & leadership development
EY leadership is a big area of focus; which means you get annual 360 feedback, leadership development training and an opportunity for feedback on how you lead your teams. You get to work with a range of manager / leaders on different assignments and learn how you work best, who you like to work with and their style. You learn from the good managers and bad ones as well and you shape the kind of leader you want to be.
In a Big 4 environment the people that survive are A class. It’s a competitive environment so to make it you need to be pretty amazing, so you get to learn from a lot of leaders at different levels.
Training opportunities meant that you got to consider what kind of leader you want to be and really map out an action plan each year on how you are going to improve.
Female role models
As a female, this is important, having female role models. Partners at EY, CFO, or senior Finance people in client sites. These role models help you work out what is possible & these evolve over your journey.
As I moved into Corporate, I focused on finding female role models that I could bounce off to continue to build my confidence. I also wanted to be a role model for other women who are on their career journey.
Team members
I have built some super amazing teams through-out my career, what we have delivered, the fun we had and the relationships we have built will always stay with me as I continue on my journey. Keeping in contact with people that you built relationship with, beyond work.
I have met some amazing people and I genuinely care about people and helping and supporting them in their career or their life. I am not good as keeping in contact but when people reach out I’m always very happy to help.
Mentors
Having a couple of mentors (informal) that you can call when you are stuck, need advice or just need a kick up the arse. Life’s journey isn’t always what we expect, but it’s imperative that we take the time to build mentor relationships that work across the journey.
Terrible leaders
After working for a terrible leader (that’s a very long story), you learn what a bad manager/leader is. How to ensure you never work for someone like them again and how you never want to be like them. You learn not what to do. It also has helped me realise that working for someone I respect and I can learn from is so important.
Over time, you build your own confidence and path. It isn’t always what you expect or where you thought you were going to go, but along the journey there are many people that shape who we are. We need to consider / acknowledge these people and their contribution & consider how you give back to others.
Writing this has encouraged me to reflect on how lucky I am to have so many people that shaped me, have contributed to my success and happiness. I want to ensure I say thank-you to them and consider how I can continue to give back.
You might want to explore other thought leadership articles
Guide to Successful Integration
Getting the integration right is critical to ensure that the business has a ground footing to accelerate the integration benefits of the merged business.
Alignment at the Executive level will be a critical step in ensuring that the integration is clear.
A large part of the integration is about people and communication. That is, taking people on the journey so they understand what the plan is, why we are driving each activity and how they can be involved.
Getting a business merger right is no easy feat. You need to make sure that your technology integration is on point, and you need to get everyone on board with the plan.
It's easier said than done. But that's why we're here! We'll help you make sure your merger goes off without a hitch and that you're ready to take advantage of all its potential benefits as soon as possible.
We have some tips for making sure your merger is a success:
Strategising for your merger is a team effort, and we've got the tools to ensure that you come out on top. We'll help you evaluate your strategy for success and make sure that no one gets left out of the equation.
Getting the integration right is critical to ensure that the business has a ground footing to accelerate the integration benefits of the merged business.
Alignment at the Executive level will be a critical step in ensuring that the integration is clear.
A large part of the integration is about people and communication. That is, taking people on the journey so they understand what the plan is, why we are driving each activity and how they can be involved.lation.
If you want to chat around integrations, reach out to Jo Hands on 0459826221 or email me on jo.hands@whiteark.com.au
The secret sauce of change
❝ Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end❞
- Robin Sharma -
Love this quote on change. It’s a good reminder that change is hard. That is why people are good at change
“Change is hard at first, messy in the middle and gorgeous at the end”
Love this quote on change. It’s a good reminder that change is hard. That is why people are good at change.
Data doesn’t lie
80% transformation (change) programs don’t deliver the required outcome.
78% of people in organisations (generalisation) don’t want to make change
Organisations that effectively make change, have an improved customer and employee experience & a better financial outcome.
Every organisation is working to make change – new product, new sales strategy, new investment, new plan, new operating model, new ways of doing things. Change is what continues to add value to organisations.
Organisations that effectively make changes are more customer centric, employees like working at these organisations and have a better financial outcome. So, it’s a no brainer. We need to create an environment in an organisation for change to occur and for it to be celebrated.
While nothing I have said above is really revolutionary or something you didn’t know, why is making change so hard? What is the secret sauce to make meaningful change?
SECRET INGREDIENTS TO SUCCESS
Culture – if you don’t have the right culture in the organisation, you will not be able to make the change. Culture takes time to develop and when done well, is co-developed with the organisation to get their buy in and create the culture they want in an organisation. The person I have seen do this the best is Collin Ellis.
Leadership – strong Executive leadership, where people are not scared to fight for what is important, to have challenging conversations and to take the job of navigating teams and organisations through change, as their number 1 priority. If you don’t have this, you are not going to success.
Why – being clear on the why. Why are we making change. What is it going to improve – for our customers, employees and the way the brand / product is perceived in the market?
Linking the activity with the why is critical to get buy-in.
Champions – build a strong champion network across the organisation that have Executive team support to implement a change agenda. Strong personalities to push through the hard bit and resistance piece and drive the change agenda.
Agility – as you are making change, your plans might change and you need to pivot quickly, not a 6 month review but on a day by day basis to ensure that the change doesn’t lose momentum and people don’t give up that the change will occur.
Celebrate change – making change however small should be celebrated by the CEO and leadership team. People should be encouraged to make changes in their teams, roles and outcomes. Saying change is important, is one thing but then celebrating or recognising people for change is another.
Time & money – without time and money, nothing happens. Time (resources) need to be allocated to make change. Giving people time out of their day-to-day work to do the change journey. The structure might be dedicated resource on change program or space in role(s) to have time to work on the change, not getting too lost in the business as usual.
Money makes the world go round. Funding needs to be allocated to change programs. Doesn’t need to millions of dollars, but flexible funding to make incremental changes or a larger change program is critical.
When I think about change, sometimes we overcomplicate things.
That is where the concept of continuous improvement works well. What is the key changes an organisation, department or team need to make to improve the customer experience, product, operational efficiency or to stay ahead of the market.
Having a funding model that is aligned with your planning, ensures that small, incremental changes (continuous improvement) can get done in an organisation.
Not all projects need to be large big bang, sometimes small incremental changes will have the biggest impact. See articles and documents written by Whiteark around Continuous improvement and Simplification that you might find interesting / helpful / inspiring.
If you have some other ingredients for secret sauce, please post a comment, DM me or reach out, I would be interested to chat further.
Article by Jo Hands, Whiteark Founder
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Have you got head in sand?
Have you got head in sand?
No seriously, have you?
Whether you like it or not, the world has changed. Priorities have changed, life has changed, the way we work has changed and we are never going back to ‘normal’. There is no going back, we need to create the new.
Have you got head in sand?
No seriously, have you?
Whether you like it or not, the world has changed. Priorities have changed, life has changed, the way we work has changed and we are never going back to ‘normal’. There is no going back, we need to create the new.
In 2020 when COVID landed, I was as shocked as anyone that I would see something in this in my lifetime (makes me sound old, I know). But it came into our lives (and hasn’t left) and has changed the way we used to know the world.
COVID has impacted everyone differently and there is always a bittersweet story to tell. I can’t complain; I haven’t had anyone I know die of COVID, and I might be a minority.
COVID has created perspective:
I wrote an article last year around perspective. Check article here. I note that perspective normally comes from a bad situation. So how has COVID created perspective, let’s see:
The concept of working in office 5 days a week, has changed
The concept or reality of flexible working, has changed..
The normalisation of having children in zoom/teams. calls or home while you are working has changed.
People are rethinking their careers/jobs and what is important (i.e. the great resignation, war on talent)
Employees are demanding more, and with the war on talent they are getting what they are asking for and more.
Employers that have a clear EVP are well ahead of the companies that haven’t invested in the people experience side of things. It’s not a piece of paper or words – it’s reality.
Amount of people moving out of the city; to the country or more regional. This includes people moving out of Melbourne and Sydney to Queensland etc.
People got a taste of different life, slower life, easy lifestyle and more time spent with their families.
People are looking for a change in lifestyle
Perspective and change creates opportunity. So many new jobs, roles, life changes ….how have you created your new. If you don’t take this opportunity to create your ‘new’ you, you will have missed an opportunity.
What is your reflection from COVID? How has it changed your life, work or other?
Employers who are pretending the world hasn’t changed, are in for a significant amount of pain! Employers need to ensure they pivot to ensure they can attract and retain great talent in this very tight market.
Proactive approach to culture and employee engagement including flexibility is becoming really critical.
Article by Jo Hands, Whiteark Founder
Have you got your head in the sand? If yes, this might be the time to sit up and work out what you want/need to do different for personal and work!
At Whiteark, we have been helping our clients with new ways of working, employee engagement activities including role clarities etc. We have watched our clients embrace the new normal and helped them through the transition.
If we can help you, reach out for a no obligation chat to Jo Hands on 0459826221, or jo.hands@whiteark.com.au
Read more articles written by Jo Hands
Effective hybrid working starts with company culture
Colin D Ellis, an award-winning speaker, facilitator, and best-selling author has recently released his new book – ‘The Hybrid Handbook’. Colin covers the 6 Considerations your organisation needs to address to implement a successful Hybrid Working Model.
Colin D Ellis, an award-winning speaker, facilitator, and best-selling author has recently released his new book – ‘The Hybrid Handbook’. Colin covers the 6 Considerations your organisation needs to address to implement a successful Hybrid Working Model.
To secure your talent pool for future success, you need to move quickly on implementing your Hybrid Working Model to be considered an employer of choice. It’s time to start working through your checklist.
It’s been an area of conversation at the moment. Many of my friends don’t like their jobs, however they are not leaving
They don’t want to change, risk in changing jobs and what would they do – unsure what would make them happy.