In our work with client companies, we are trying to create a new habit for their organization; a habit of being able to clearly identify a growth/change objective, of aligning the responsible executive team around that goal, and then driving the company forward to that goal in a disciplined, ongoing, measurable fashion. We know that creating new personal habits take time and repetition — approximately 21 successive cycles of taking action and sticking with the new habit — before we are able to really make a new habit part of our make-up, and make it stick. It is the same way with organizations, and we have designed this appreciation of “how change really happens” into our transform/21methodology:
What: a disciplined approach to driving transformation in a business — by integrating strategy setting, team alignment, and week-by-week operational execution — to meet stated business objectives. You’re basically renting a Chief Transformation Officer to help you push things forward and quickly get to a “new normal” in your operations.
Why: because “business as usual” isn’t getting the job done anymore. Maybe you’re falling behind in your financial performance (Case Study 8); spending too much time working without getting anywhere; perhaps your executive team isn’t aligned (Case Study 5) and seems to be working at cross-purposes. Maybe you want to leverage your annual planning exercise (Case Study 3) to kick things into a higher gear. Bottom line: you feel you are spinning your wheels and the business is in a rut. For planning purposes, a typical project should deliver a minimum of a 10:1 ROI (return on investment), measured over the 18 to 24 months following project completion. Thus, engagements are most effective and meaningful to the business when they are mission-critical high impact projects.
Who: client sponsor is typically CEO, CFO or COO. Overall engagement includes full executive team and can be extended as appropriate to their teams.
Where: At your executive team table. At your offices. In your day-to-day reality. Don’t let this become just a planning and documentation exercise — your opportunity is to make sure this is real, rubber-hitting-the-road stuff.
When: The sooner the better. As the saying goes, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The next best time is today”. Unless of course you think the situation is going to improve by itself (and how long have you been wishing for that outcome..?).
How: Here are the specific steps and approach that makes up a transform/21engagement.