How to execute Business Transformation Strategy?
Perhaps, everyone agrees that the only constant thing in
life is "change". Majority of
us may also agree that "change" is the single most uncomfortable, if
not irritant factor in our life.
Why? Why should change be so
hard? What makes change such a difficult
thing to accept? Is there any way we can
improve the situation, if not altogether avoid it?
By nature, humans are tuned to consistency. The human brain usually looks for patterns
and means to do things in consistent ways.
That is how we all develop habits, by doing the same things repetitively. To break away from these long acquired habits
and build new patterns is a challenge. The
reason is simple. The "fear of
unknown"! And this is not new
news. When the fear of unknown
dominates, people develop tolerance for the pain of stagnation.
But this is when an interesting thing happens - humans are inquisitive in nature and usually want to explore new avenues of growth. When the pain of stagnation dominates, they slowly, at times unwillingly start accepting change. In the case of a business transformation, change is even more challenging because it demands changes in the behaviors of its most important assets - its people.
This article discusses some ideas specific to the execution methods of business transformation.
Steps leading to transformation
Customers always want better, cheaper solutions. Agile markets usually respond. There is a need to increase (or at times
sustain) the market share through improved customer satisfaction. Cutting costs becomes inevitable and business
transformation suddenly becomes the need-of the-hour. In many cases, it’s a life-or-death
situation, an emergency rather than an elective surgery. The organization brainstorms and comes up
with a clear vision and strategy. What's
left is execution! Boy, that's hard!!
Some strategy execution techniques
1. Communication,
Communication and Communication
It is not possible to emphasize
enough the role communication plays in any transformation. Business leaders should use all tools and
techniques of this digital age to do this job; nevertheless, they should not
forget the “human touch” aspect. A wise
man once said, “People don’t change before a minute they are ready”! The effort here is to make them ready by
clearly communicating the need-of-the-hour.
2. Master
Alliance at all leadership levels
The Grand Master Alliance, which
comprises of all stakeholders and executive sponsors should take full ownership
of the execution. Guiding change is the
ultimate test of leadership. Being the prophets
who can help the business to reinvent itself, the executive leadership should
form a strong alliance across functions.
In turn, leaders at all levels should form similar alliances in their
own sphere of influence to percolate changes to the grass root level. Ultimately, it is the leadership who drives
the execution with their sense of commitment.
3. The
Festive Mood with a sense of urgency
The whole act of business
transformation should be considered as if people are celebrating a
festival. The mood should be happy. The sense of urgency is there because there
are a lot of things to do before the festival ends. People should be incentivized for their
efforts. Teams should celebrate every
tiny success. People should be excited
about their role in reinventing the business.
4. Personalized
Coaching - one size doesn't fit all
Personal attention usually takes
back seat in these situations. Not
everyone perceives the transformation in the same way or understands it as it
should be. People will have questions
and will be hesitant to ask them in public forums, thus developing the “fear of
unknown”, which is likely to spread across pretty fast. Leaders should take time to coach their
people, answer their questions, alleviate their fears and stand by their side. The sense of “we are all in this together”
should prevail and the “One Team” should be the mantra.
5. Feedback
loop - Open environment - continuous improvement
Execute, seek feedback, make
changes, then again execute should be the loop to propel continuous
improvement. Sometimes feedback may not be
liked by the leadership. But since
people are involved in the process from the core level, their opinions must be
heard with an open mind and the concerns must be addressed in a transparent
way. This improves the trust which in
turn results in personal responsibility.
Following the above techniques,
the leadership should strive to create an environment where people “own” the
execution of the business transformation.
Once that is done, the rest is history!
Business transformation is never
easy. But yeah, it’s worth the effort.
