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This article follows on from my previous article which questioned why people had a habit of labelling (all) Change Programmes ‘transformational’ when most, at best were about business improvement. Since true Business Transformation projects are few and far between and hard to execute I was recently asked, what can one do to ensure the success of such an effort?
There are essentially two parts to this question:
1. What must be in place before you even start a Business Transformation?
2. How do you then carry out a successful Business Transformation?
I will answer the first of these underlying questions in this article and answer the second, either in another article or in one of my upcoming webinars.
DO NOT undertake a Business Transformation unless you have the following in place because, almost certainly, you will fail miserably! As one of my former colleagues once said to a client about to undertake a major change programme, “order and lay down your initial track before you start your locomotive then the locomotive will stay on track”!
These are my key pre-requisites for success:
1. Have a compelling Reason for undertaking the programme and define the Results you expect from implementing it
2. Have a Vision of how you will be operating at the end of the programme
3. Have an initial Implementation Plan showing key Milestones along the way. Build some flexibility into the plan because nothing goes according to plan
4. Make sure the programme has been fully Budgeted with key Resources allocated
5. Make sure the programme is Sponsored by the Head of the Business Unit that is undergoing the programme
6. Choose a Programme Lead with Experience of leading Business Transformations and support this person with a fully staffed Programme Management Office
7. Prepare a comprehensive Risk Analysis and risk mitigation plan
8. Make sure the Reason, Vision and Implementation Plan are properly Communicated to all affected and involved parties
PS I tried to make it 10 pre-requisites but I ran out after 8 😉)
If I were to write a separate piece on each of these pre-requisites it would make this a VERY long article indeed so here’s what I will suggest instead. Tell me which 3 of the above pre-requisites you would like to me write about and once I’ve heard back from enough people I’ll create a combined top three list and do just that.
