Transformation: The Art of the Start

Starting a transformation with frantic activity is tempting but a focused approach in the spirit of Agile is more effective. Knowing where to start is key. 

Strategic Speed vs Operational Speed

As any track athlete or racing swimmer will tell you, the right start is critical to achieving speed. When starting a transformational change program, especially one that requires a performance turnaround, there is always a lot that needs changing - and the changes usually need to be implemented quickly. A key question is, therefore, how to start right by prioritising and pacing the change.

In a May 2010 article in the Harvard Business Review, Need Speed? Slow Down, Jocelyn Davis and Tom Atkinson referred to their study of the performance of 343 businesses, which found that companies that chose to rush with implementation in a “go, go, go” fashion, ended up with worse results than those that paused at key moments to focus on alignment. Successful companies, they found, made a distinction between “strategic speed” – speed to deliver value (or achieve strategic outcomes) – and “operational speed” – moving quickly.

The distinction between fast activity and fast outcomes is also a key principle behind Agile methods, in limiting the number of things being worked on at any given time, so that outcomes can be delivered quickly.

Real world lessons learned

In my own experience, I have found that many leaders err on the side of trying to do too many things at once and responding to issues as they arise – in the style of the arcade “whack-a-mole” game. This may be great for day-to-day operations management but when driving transformation, it is nearly always detrimental to achieving outcomes quickly, and causes burnout. As with many things in life, it turns out that “less is more”, and planning and pausing can pay dividends.

I recall a top priority program which was perceived to be underperforming and therefore already under pressure before I was brought in. The governance group met every second week because this gave them a feeling of control. The unfortunate side effect was that, given the lead times required to submit and review papers, the team had to have completed the numerous actions assigned at the meeting just a day or two after the meeting – which was impossible, made the program completely reactive, and only further reinforced the impression of the program’s inability to deliver. When I first joined, I too was asked to get into delivery mode in an attempt to run faster on the treadmill. The breakthrough only came when I was able to seize upon one of the assigned actions as licence to pause and establish a proper plan and align key stakeholders, which elevated the program out of being reactive and set the course for the program’s ultimate success.

I recall conducting a review of a deteriorating managed service provider relationship. The service provider’s account executive was flummoxed by the persistently poor perceptions even though there had been many service improvement initiatives implemented by the provider, and there was significant investment in building executive relationships. The answer turned out to be obvious from the client executives I interviewed: “if they cannot get the basics right, I don’t want to know what their strategic capabilities are.” “The basics” turned out to be what the service provider perceived to be a low-value commodity service but affected the frontline. The tide turned when the provider focused on fixing this pain point.

I recall a transformational cost saving program which identified dozens of initiatives to be implemented across the organisation, based on a series of opportunity identification workshops run by an external consultancy. I was brought in to oversee this consultancy group’s implementation of these initiatives, only to find that the program had ground to a halt soon after my arrival, to the surprise and frustration of the C-level sponsor and the consultancy group. Only after I proposed a complete change to the program governance and delivery structure (based on extensive stakeholder consultation), and focus on a small number of initiatives, did the program start up again, eventually delivering targeted savings ahead of schedule.

Pareto and the 4 P’s

If starting small is a key to transformation success, then the challenge for a transformation leader, faced with a multitude of things that need changing, is this: how does one identify the 20% that makes the 80% impact?

The precise answer for each situation will be different based on the circumstances driving the need for change, and the culture and capabilities of each organisation. However, I have found that there are four things that make the biggest impact in the early days of a transformation: finding Pain Points, Planning, People, and Progress.

1.      Pain. The first task is to identify some quick wins because transformation is a big journey, and it won't go far while there are obvious pain points. Are there areas that are bleeding – bleeding cash, “bleeding” credibility? Are there big risks that can be quickly addressed? Things that could worsen significantly and quickly should always be addressed first. By listening to your customers or your staff, you will identify the other pain points. When you know the pain points and focus on fixing these, it sends a clear signal to your team and your stakeholders that you are serious about the change, and that the changes are geared to solving real problems. As with the managed service provider, the fix may be relatively simple.

2.      Planning. This is a double-edged sword. I have seen executives ask for a plan, on Day 1, as if a plan had magical powers. General Eisenhower is credited with saying, “A plan is nothing; planning is everything”. The purpose of planning is not the plan, but an opportunity to surface and test constraints and assumptions, and align the teams’ activities and stakeholders’ expectations. It is also an opportunity to establish how success will be measured. A plan done quickly, with the right stakeholder involvement is much better than the ‘perfect’ detailed plan.

3.      People. People are at the heart of change and managing this aspect is a discipline unto itself. At the start of a transformation, the key task is to get and secure the right sponsorship for the change from the top, and to make sure you have the right coalition and team with you on the change journey. A priority is also to communicate the vision and to understand the key concerns of the people who would be affected by the change.

4.      Progress. Progress is the fuel for any transformation journey. Reporting is ultimately about establishing the right metrics, and to make performance and progress transparent. This provides feedback to those in the team doing the work, so that they can see how their efforts contribute to the big picture. It also makes progress visible to stakeholders outside the immediate team to silence critics and encourage supporters. Having the right metrics and reporting progress against them helps identify the course-correcting (or course reinforcing) actions that come out of this feedback loop that build credibility for the transformation and for the team.

In the early days of transformational change, when many things need changing and quick wins are required, many leaders focus on doing too many things at once. This is understandable, not least because activity is visible and comforting. Counterintuitively, yet supported by research and experience, the success of Agile methods, and the wisdom of Pareto’s rule, less is more. My own reflection based on 25 years of transformation experience suggests that the art of the start is about focusing on four areas: planning, people, and progress, focused around pain points. By starting with these areas as building blocks, it is possible to create maximum impact in the shortest possible time in leading transformational change.

? 2020 Strategy2Life. Stephanie Owen is the Principal and Director of Strategy2Life, a consultancy offering interim executive, strategy development and program management services to help leaders drive change and bring strategies to life. Based in Sydney, Australia, Stephanie has 25 years’ experience as an executive and consultant in health, aged care, medical research, education, banking and wealth management, professional services, and the public and non-profit sectors. You can follow Stephanie on LinkedIn – https://linkedin.com/in/stephanieowen/