When the rubber hits the road…
Execution is the thing.
Stephen Asbury
Faced with today’s barrage of business issues, executives of large companies
typically respond by launching a series of initiatives; customer relationship
management, ERP, balanced scorecard, ABC, shared services, supply chain
management, leadership development – you name it.
And these do get results, up to a point. Trouble is few of these initiatives are aligned with each other. Some have properly argued business cases, but almost none are actually tracked against their original objectives. Initiatives proliferate. Proliferation overloads middle management and breeds cynicism in the ranks. “Flavour of the week” greets the launch of any new scheme. Project returns are poor. Management gets frustrated.
So the best-intentioned efforts can ultimately engender resistance to change.
What to do then to get real, lasting results? And what to expect of your
consultants if they really are going to help you make sustainable changes,
rather than leave you with beautifully bound plans - and all the hard work to
do yourselves?
First , build a single coherent framework for all project work, right across
the business. Create a single point for co-ordinating all initiatives – and
tracking them. This could be a PMO, a project management office. Have it report
to a first-line executive - or better, the CEO - and ensure that everything
outside of line activity is brought into its purview. Introduce rigorous
project motivation and tracking disciplines. Develop project management and
change management skills. Cut back on work that can’t justify its existence.
Second, recognise that change management is not something that can be bolted
onto a change programme when its gets into a rocky patch. Change management is
inextricably linked to how the project is managed – how activity and resources
are organised to include people and encourage collaborative, cross functional
effort. Yes, successful.
Stephen Asbury is a Vice President of Gemini Consulting.