Calling time on transformation programmes
Don’t be scared, do it.
Say that you don’t really know what you’re doing — that you don’t know what changes to make, or when to make them.
Name the people, processes and behaviours that make you strategise and strategise and strategise again, without ever executing.
Admit that your plan kept being rewritten to the extreme that it was never implemented and those transformational milestones kept changing before you even got a chance to complete them.
Feeling a bit lighter now? Cathartic, isn’t it? Let’s move on.
“Transformation plans” in the Large Enterprises are written with different intents and outcomes:
- The slideware version — A marketing-based exercise only, only made to impact perceptions and share prices at a time of IPO or other M&A activity
- The minimalist version — More than just fancy words, but only focusses on the most legacy-ridden departments, which is enough to satisfy 50% or fewer employees and makes interesting PR
- The reality version — An acceptance that changes are hard and the future is difficult to predict, so bravery is needed. However, a true transformation plan must take into account the deep-rooted, psychological effects of change on people and inter-team relationships. Change doesn’t happen to people, it’s made by people.
Much of what I talk about here will help those who are starting out or are in the midst of a minimalist or reality version of transformation.
I’ve spent quite a bit of time working with and for companies that have gone through an identity crisis, a slowdown of growth, toxic culture, stagnant product portfolios or an accumulation of technical debt.
Among those that failed to pull themselves out of the spiral, one thing is common – the inability of people to take action. Sure, they “planned” to take action, sometimes even “committed” to it as well, but the act of… well… action was never achieved.
Your digital transformation plan (or whatever better name you think of for it) needs 3 simple things to give it a fighting chance for success:
- Early action – make a change that is achievable in the first 30 days, but you actually do. It doesn’t need to be aligned to strategy or even highly profitable, but it does need to be symbolic. Something that affects people positively and is highly visible. Something that makes people say, ok I didn’t expect us to actually change anything! It’s a rallying cry to bring the troops together for the battles to come.
- Off with their heads – ok, perhaps overdramatic, but you must find those who have been given power in the past and have not used it for positive change and then disempower them. No amount of building “matrix leadership structures” will achieve this. If someone hasn’t made positive changes in the last year, they are unlikely to do so after being marginalised by the latest consultant you’ve brought in. They will become entrenched and will bring others at risk to regime change to their side to build an axis of stagnation. Break the cycle of negativity, cutting away the rot and install empathetic leadership rapidly to reenergise the team and let them plan and execute quickly together. Finally, please don’t fall into the trap of “they’re the only expert on X we have and we can’t survive without them”. The risks are always less than you fear.
- Keep the faith – you’re going faster now - a bit scary. Some people are getting annoyed by the changes, but many are enthused behind the scenes. It’s fight or flight time. Do you accelerate your plan, adding more fuel to keep the engine going, or do you take your foot off the pedal, perhaps mindful of the winding road ahead with its many bumps. You might have noticed the corporate vehicle creek and shudder on the last turn, but does that mean it’s better to put on the brakes? Losing momentum can land you in a ditch or allow your competitors to overtake. Give your highest-performing teams a budget to support their plans, your public support and most importantly, move away those that would protect the status quo.
Shake things up, have some fun, make some changes and most importantly, actually do what you say. Good luck!
