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Jeff Colvin
Management Consultant & Founder of Link,
a Management Consulting Group
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Wouldn't
it be nice if we could buy the software solution to cure all of
our ills? It is rare to find a plug and play fix to address the
current challenges to your business.
When the question has been asked of over 500 participants in management
training courses I have delivered and of 100's of executives, what
are the biggest challenges you have in your organization… the
answers are most often communication, unclear goals and roles, and
inappropriate measures and controls.
Many of the proposed resolutions to these issues come in a panacea
package called software. An example is the recent Project World
Expo held in L.A. last month where more than 80% of the exhibitors
professed software based solutions to tackle the multiple challenges
of project management. Attendees from companies including Raytheon,
Microsoft, and Unisys would have to be cautioned to realize that
people are still at the root of any business process, and that software
alone would not be enough. Independent of the process changes and
enhancements, people's behaviors and interactions would have to
change. This part of the equation is often left out of the all encompassing
solution. The basic requirement of aligning people affected by a
change with the change still remains.
The purchase of a software package for any business enhancement
may be a smart and appropriate decision. But it may not be a panacea.
At the most basic level, management is just providing a new set
of tools for employees to better perform their work.
The investment therefore must include the training of the users
and the assurance that their selfish motives for process improvement
are met. Along with the training comes the responsibility for follow
up, compliance, and reinforcements of process until, not only are
improvements achieved, but behaviors become standard practice and
habit. The old acronym of WIIFM (what's in it for me) needs to be
tweaked only slightly to support the implementation of new software
based processes in your organization. WWFY, (what works for you)
is more likely to be the strategy for a simple and embraced adoption
of change. Assist others with new process initiation by finding
out what works for them. Then remove the barriers and help them
to consistently do what works. If it works, keep doing it. If not,
change it.
Whether looking at the next generation of process or just trying
to sustain business processes today, the basics have not changed.
Enable & empower the people who own the process to do it right
the first time.
Although many would argue that Clinton's phrase of more than a
decade ago still holds. I contend that an organization's survival
and success are not achieved through software solutions alone. The
common denominator of business success is represented more strongly
by the following quote. "It's the people, stupid."
Get smart, support the people and the process. People + Process
= Profit
Beware the Panacea
There is No Cure-All
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is
- Ask a lot of "what ifs?"
- Learn from others that have been there and done that
Understand Problems/Opportunities
- Investigate the issues from the people perspective
- Learn from past early adopters
- Qualify and quantify the current performance and future targets
Involve the End-Users
- Align early adopters and identify potential detractors
- Determine WIIFM as well as WWFY (what works for you)
- Ask, listen, and respond to simple solutions and blocking
barriers
Check People and Process
- Validate the current reality with those who are in it
- Study the interface and define internal customer requirements
- Establish clear standards of behavior and measures for management
Jeff Colvin (Jcolvin@linkllc.com)
founded Link, a management
consulting group in 1997 whose mission is dedicated to the Systems,
Structures, and Behaviors that make people and companies successful.
Link's bottom line focus on process improvement is achieved through
the facilitation and training of cross-functional teams to address
key strategic goals. Learn more about Jeff
Colvin & Link...
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