From
Here to There: Defining the Future
Takeaways
“The
change leader’s job is to create advocates for the change at every level of the
organization.” Jack Welch
From Here to There: Defining the
Future
What it Means
Creating a
compelling vision, crafting a clear roadmap and executing an effective
communications strategy are key ingredients of managing change. Great leaders
can paint a picture of the future state that not only captures the mind, but
also the heart allowing participants in the change process to see how much
better things will be after the change efforts have been completed.
Why it Matters
·
A
change initiative rarely gains great momentum without a tangible, passionate
cry for change.
·
It
creates unity and common ground among all the people touched by the change.
·
People
engaged in the project need to understand where they are heading, how to get
there and what’s in it for them.
“Change
has few cheerleaders in its early days, but when the change process works and
brings great results, everyone is the father of the change.” Jack Welch
Action Plan
From Here to There: Defining the
Future
Whether
you are managing a smaller project in your department or leading a massive
integration between corporations, creating a compelling vision and a roadmap,
and having a clear plan to communicate them are fundamental criteria for
successful implementation of any change initiative. The activities that follow
will:
·
Summarize
the key components necessary to create your own vision for change
·
Outline
the elements necessary to build your roadmap
·
Review
key steps to develop your communication plan
Your Starting Point
1.
Do
I already have a concise version of the Shared Need (refer to What’s in it for
Me?)?
2.
Do
I have some high level talking points of what the Vision could be?
3.
What
informal input have I already collected about the Vision from key leaders?
4.
What
are the key stepping stones (aka milestones) that will be a part of the
roadmap?
5.
Do
I have a good understanding of which communication tools are available in my
organization?
6.
Which
parts of the organization will require the most communication and why?
Quick Wins for Managing Change
Depending
on what your responses were in the What’s in it for Me? Activity, the four
simple activities can be a great support as you begin to create the foundation
of your Vision, Roadmap, and Communication Plan. The purpose here is not to formalize
the entire change initiative at this stage, but rather to begin to get people
talking, imagining the possibilities and to identify areas of consensus and
divergence.
·
Gather
key leaders in the organization to brainstorm ideas about the Vision.
1.
How
do they envision it?
2.
Which
points seem to be common across multiple leaders?
3.
Where
do you see differences?
·
Following
the brainstorming session, review your notes and start consolidating the
different points of view, until you are able to summarize the issues in a handful
of bullet points.
·
Write
down the key items that will need to change in order to reach the Vision: this
will be the foundation of your Roadmap.
·
Finally,
write down the stakeholders that will be negatively affected by the changes.
You will need to spend extra time on your Communication Plan for these groups.
Key Questions for Developing a Vision
As you
develop your vision, it is essential to think about (and answer) several
questions in order to craft the right message and secure early buy-in from a
few key leaders in the organization. Review the following questions and write
out your answers.
1.
What
are the key components of the status quo that need to change?
2.
What
will be different in the future?
3.
How
will people behave differently in the vision? What’s in it for them?
4.
Who
are the few key leaders that will need to support this vison and make it their
own? Why did you select each of these leaders?
5.
What
messaging about the vision (or future state) of the organization would most
likely resonate with each of them? Why?
6.
What
will customers experience? How will the vision benefit them?
7.
What
is the immediate next step to move in the right direction?
Remember
to leverage key foundational items from your “Shared Need,” which you developed
earlier in the process. The Vision should leverage the Shared Need as its
foundation and then project a forward looking statement on how the organization
will change for the better.
Creating Your Roadmap
To realize
your vision, you have to be able to measure how far you’ve come and how far you
still have to go—and to do this, it’s critical to have a roadmap.
A roadmap
is a simple summary of the key milestones you need to reach, in order to eventually
realize your Vision. The key ingredient of a powerful Roadmap is simplicity.
Don’t get bogged down in the details and the how (this is where your project team
will be focusing their efforts). For now, focus on identifying the key stepping
stones that mark a significant progress in the right direction.
To define your roadmap, follow this
exercise:
1.
Define
the “Gap” between your current state and the Vision.
2.
List
the key things that will need to change in order to execute the Vision under
the following headings:
Processes
Which
key processes will need to change (or be created) in order to deliver the
Vision?
Capabilities
What
type of capabilities will the organization need to develop to accomplish the Vision?
Structure
Does
the organizational structure need to change to support the Vision? If yes,
write down what types of changes need to be made.
Infrastructure
Does
the Vision require any major infrastructure changes, such as IT systems
overhaul or new systems?
3.
Collect
these thoughts from #2 on sticky notes and aim to narrow down your key
milestone list to 6 or 8 maximum. The sticky notes make it easy to line them up
on a wall and play around with their order. Make note of which items need to precede
other milestones (e.g., make the acquisition prior to changing IT systems,
etc.).
4.
The
simpler and cleaner you keep the roadmap picture, the easier it will be to
communicate and remind the organization where they are in the process.
5.
Require
that the change initiative teams use this roadmap as part of their detailed
project plan. The Vision, Roadmap, Project Plan and Communication Plan need to
go hand-in-hand.
Communication Plan
The
Communication Plan is one of the most important tools for the success of your initiative.
Change Leaders who successfully implement initiatives know that this document
is not just something that is used at the beginning of the project, but gets
used throughout the entire life of the project.
Remember
that the communication Plan only provides a framework for the regular
communication of the project and its key milestones. There should also be plenty
of informal an ad hoc communications to supplement this plan. In particular,
think about those who will be most negatively impacted and whether you need to
provide some additional communication mechanisms for them. You may want keep
them informed more frequently, to help generate buy in.
Many organizations
use a simple Excel sheet to plan their communications and periodically reassess
the communication plan effectiveness. Whatever organization tools your employ,
at a minimum, you will want to identify four key components:
1.
WHO is your target audience for
that specific communication (e.g., major stakeholder groups Sales team,
Manufacturing Plant, etc.)?
For broad communications, such as a Company quarterly newsletter, it could be
all employees. Reference your Stakeholder Map to ensure all your key
constituents are captured.
2.
WHAT is the purpose of your
communication? Are
you communicating the achievement of a major milestone? Is it a status update?
Is it a call to action?
3.
WHEN will you deliver
communications to specific audiences?
It could coincide with existing planned events (Town Hall, Team retreat,
Quarterly Review, Weekly Staff Meeting, etc.) or it could be a separate event.
In some cases, you may not have a specific timing in mind, make sure you list
as a minimum the calendar week or month as a placeholder.
4.
HOW will you actually communicate
and via what channels?
You may be using live events to deliver a speech or a presentation. Or you may
be using indirect channels such as emails, company newsletters, the company
intranet site, etc. Remember that repetition is a key to success, so more is
better. In addition, alternate the type of medium you use; some people
assimilate better through an oral communication, others are more visual and will
be more receptive emails, flyers, etc.
5.
One of the advantages of creating
this in list in Excel, is the ability to sort the columns in different ways. As you complete your list, sort
your list by WHO and then by WHEN. This will enable you to see how often you
will be reaching each key audience.
6.
Communication should be frequent
and use at least a couple of different mediums for each stakeholder. As a rule of thumb, if your
initiative spans the course of a year, you will want to reach each audience at
least on a biweekly basis throughout the life of the project.
Below is
an example of a Communication Plan.
|
Target Audience
|
Communication Date
|
Channel
|
Communication Topic
|
|
Sales
Team
|
2/2/19
|
Sales
Team Meeting
|
Vision,
Q&A
|
|
All
Employees
|
2/17/19
|
Town
Hall
|
Vision,
Status Update
|
|
Operations
Team
|
2/24/19
|
Email
|
Status
Update, Next Steps
|
Game Pages
From Here to There:
Your Starting Point
Developing a Vision
Communication Plan
Creating a Roadmap
For each section, summarize the
following items:
1.
Name
of the milestone
2.
Brief
description. Remember to include measureable goals, since this will eventually
drive your measurement system.
3.
Estimated
timeframe.
|
Current
Status
|
Starting
Point
|
Today’s
Organization
|
Today’s
Date
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Milestone
|
Name
of Milestone
|
Brief
Description
|
Estimated
Date
|
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
3
|
|
|
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|
4
|
|
|
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|
5
|
|
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|
6
|
|
|
|
|
Future
State
|
Name
of Milestone
|
Brief
Description
|
Estimated
Date
|
|
|
|
|
|