Be prepared to change!!!

If you are benchmarking, hopefully it’s to find things you need to improve or change, so be prepared to implement changes before you even begin. Use the results from your intelligent benchmarking exercise to develop a strategic plan. Break it into manageable parts and either implement the necessary changes or if necessary, develop compelling business cases to sell your changes within the organization. Your senior management should be aware of your initiative, and expect changes to be recommended to them for approval. Don’t be shy to identify things that need improvement – it’s more a statement on your leadership than trying to sell the status-quo as the best it can get. Standing still is a sure way to fail, and not admitting you can improve your organization is the same as standing still.