As we wrap up 2021, we want to say thank you for your continued engagement with us at TSI. We feel so fortunate that we had the opportunity to partner with many organizations and help them with some of their most important organizational change, technology strategy, process improvement, and training-related projects and programs.

We also want to say thanks to many of you who have spread the good word of TSI’s work and the positive impact that our team has had. Thank YOU! This has led to other projects and useful contacts allowing us to help them. In 2021, TSI received more referrals than the last 3-4 years combined. Thank you – you are awesome!

So, let’s kick off the celebration of 2021 with YOUR top 21 “trends” from this year.

Top Blogs on TSI Insights from 2021

Thank you for joining us for #TransformationTuesday on TSI Insights all year long! We are so thankful for all of the amazing authors we got to hear from this past year, including guest contributors and our very own consultants.

Here were your favorite blog posts from this past year:

1. Change Management Trends: The Top 5 Trends of 2021
2. What is a Project Management Office (PMO)? And Why You Need One
3. A Moment of Silence for the Death of Office Space…or Maybe Not
4. Current State vs. Future State: How to Embrace Change

Interested to see what else our authors wrote? Visit TSI Insights.

Top 5 Change Management Trends of 2021

When this year started, we reflected on change management trends from 2011. Kyle Glick was blown away by how relevant these trends still were in 2021, although the projects have changed. We saw these top 5 trends remain consistent throughout 2021. Will these trends remain consistent in 2022?

1. Rapid, Process, and Quality Improvement Events
2. Need for More Performance from Technology (Results Relative to Cost)
3. Developing a Shared Services Model
4. Driving Customer Service and Service Excellence
5. Training

Top Guest Contributor Pieces from 2021

This year, we introduced Guest Contributors – professionals like you who wrote about their passions and expertise.

We heard from Jim Gallo, Managing Partner of Gallo Associates, as well as Alyssa Moy. Alyssa Moy is Senior Director, Product Strategy, Adoption & Integration at Option Care Health.

Dive deeper into their passions + expertise:

1. Jim Gallo: A Moment of Silence for the Death of Office Space…or Maybe Not
2. Alyssa Moy: The Reality of Applying Robotic Process Automation in an Enterprise

We would love for you to share your expertise with our networks and community! Contact us to learn more.

Top Staff Picks from TSI Insights

Our team is committed to sharing relevant and helpful information from knowledgeable sources. This is why most of our content is produced by TSI’s Founder and Senior Consultants.

1. Carl Manello: The Truth About Status Reports and Product Delivery Teams
2. Dan Feely: What Making Pizza has Taught Me about Process Transformation (and OCM)
3. Kyle Glick: 3 Reasons an NGO Needs a Consultant

Interested in learning more about one of these topics from an expert in the field? Meet our team.

Top Engaged With Posts on LinkedIn

Thank you for joining our online community over on LinkedIn this past year. We shared #MotivationMonday, #TransformationTuesday, and a few #ThrowbackThursdays. We laughed at GIFs, read insightful articles, and connected with new professionals.

Here were some of your favorites from our LinkedIn:

1. Create Value Within Your Organization with Project Managers
2. The Value in a Niche Service Provider
3. Carl Manello: Value of Project Management Principles
4. Let’s Talk Project Management

If you aren’t already part of our online community, be sure to follow us over on LinkedIn to stay in the know about all things TSI in 2022!

Top Taken Quizzes

1. Change Readiness Assessment
2. Delivery Effectiveness Assessment

Cheers to 2021!

This Top 21 was only a glimpse at what happened this year at TSI. We are looking forward to continuing to partner with amazing organizations in 2022!

The post Trending – Wrapping Up With The Top Trends of 2021 appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

Benefits should be conferred gradually; and in that way they will taste better.

While Agile has grown in acceptance over the last twenty years and is currently influencing organizational design and operations, a company taking on this change might consider moving slowly. In his recent book Sooner, Safer, Happier: Antipatterns and Patterns for Business Agility, Jonathan Smart coaches that moving too quickly for the sake of changing will not be effective. “Agile for Agile’s sake…does not necessarily lead to agility, to better outcomes.”

By adopting an incremental approach to change, an organization will realize a larger stream of benefits. In the real world, where institutions have legacy methodologies and people have an aversion to change, implementing agile methods can be challenging. TSI believes this is where an incremental approach can guarantee success.

Here are some challenges we see in making the move to Agile:

Product Owner

A product owner is ‘the voice of the customer’, the evangelist, and the decision-maker for the product. It is critical to have the right person in this role, to champion the effort within the organization. Additionally, they also provide the balance of skills between the operational and technical requirements of the project. To effectively guide the work of the development team, a product owner needs to be willing and able to commit the time to provide clear direction on priorities and requirements.

Projects that have multiple product owners introduce additional organizational complexity that can limit the effectiveness of Agile methods. Multiple owners blur the clear roles and responsibilities that Agile methods advocate. If there are multiple product owners, then a formal steering committee and prioritization process will need to be established. These will allow for the creation of release goals and provide the development team with the requirements to move forward.

“Do Agile Now!”

Agile is an approach that may require a new set of behaviors across an organization, from management and project sponsors, down to individual contributors. Most organizations have an established way that things get done; this relies on formal processes and tacit practices. Agile will change the project processes, roles, and responsibilities. It changes how work is measured and assessed. While some organizations want to move to Agile immediately, there is concern about speed. Creating Agile teams and launching projects without planning for the change, as well as the impacts on team members, is an organizational change management oversight. Simply put, it is a clear recipe for failure. Moving too quickly may result in a lack of clarity or insufficient time to educate and train.

In situations where a company wants to move urgently to Agile methods, it may be helpful to remember the sage wisdom of Machiavelli:

“And it ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things.”

–The Prince, Chapter 4

Make no mistake, adopting Agile is a new order of things for any team. It will require focus, a clear vision, organizational change management, and resource development. Without addressing the organizational and process changes needed to move to Agile, an organization prematurely puts its overall effectiveness at risk. If a company wants to start its transition to Agile quickly, it should identify a pilot project. Then, they can build a team around that effort to limit both the necessary investment, as well as increase the likelihood of success. Simple, incremental, value add.

Team Skills

Agile focuses on the ability to rapidly develop components of a solution with quality and to adapt dynamically to new requirements. It requires a highly skilled and experienced team. On an Agile project, the development team will need to be able to work quickly with the product owner. They will identify the type of solution to address the business need. This solution will focus on understanding what needs to be done and roughly how long it will take. This forward-looking ability requires experience and an understanding of the problem that is in scope.

Organizational Commitment

Agile requires a high level of commitment by everyone participating in the process. This is because the method exposes gaps, inefficiencies, and weaknesses very quickly. If an organization cannot dedicate resources, rapidly prioritize, elaborate requirements, define estimates, produce products, and expose their status and results comfortably, then they could have problems adopting Agile approaches. 

Borrowing from Machiavelli again, “He who neglects what is done for what ought to be done, sooner effects his ruin than his preservation.”

To best avoid ruin, a company should tread lightly into Agile. Assessing a company’s readiness (both technical and cultural) for Agile methods is ideally the first step taken. It is much less expensive – and more effective – to define what needs to be done. Then, assess the organization’s readiness and adapt a launch plan.

Conversely, if a company tries to fully transition to Agile all at once and fails, they risk losing long-term support for Agile approaches. If you find your company isn’t ready to fully embrace Agile, then it’s wise to start with a pilot project. Be sure to start with the right team of experienced and interested business and technical people. Success with the pilot project should lead to support for delivering additional projects using Agile approaches. In addition, this success will generate interest (and excitement) within the organization!

The post 4 Challenges to Moving (Too Quickly) to Agile (Project Management) appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

The Simple Answer: Organizational Change Models

Now that you’ve invested a lot into your projects, you are ready to recognize the return on investment as quickly and as fully as possible. We get it. Throughout our process improvement engagement, we planned for organizational change management. Our approach is anchored in Kotter’s Theory and ADKAR, resulting in added value and success from the individual to the macro level.

Organizational Management Planning

At the high level, these approaches offer you a checklist for your organizational change management planning. This gives you a tangible place to start in enabling your organization towards lasting change.

Your plan should include:

• Create and share a vision
• Create momentum for change
• Develop, grow, and sustain the momentum
• Maintain the results of the change

Model #1: Kotter’s Theory

Kotter’s Theory is an 8-step process that was developed through Dr. Kotter’s observations of 100 organizations engaged in a process of change. This step-by-step approach assures that there is buy-in from your team, organization, subject matter experts, and stakeholders.

So what are the 8 steps?

1. Create a sense of urgency – evaluate and share the benefits, as well as the need for change with your organization
2. Build a guiding coalition – utilize trusted, enthusiastic, individuals of your organization to champion the change
3. Form a strategic vision and initiatives – developing a vision through a collaborative effort will ensure direction while promoting buy-in
4. Enlist a volunteer army – massive, impactful change takes an army working together, pulling hard to get the ship moving.
5. Enable action by removing barriers – remove restrictions on creativity or process that are slow or inefficient.
6. Generate short-term wins – identify opportunities for immediate improvement that can help create momentum for change. This will encourage movement and future buy-in.
7. Sustain accelerations – regular check-ins, evaluations, and adjustments are a must. Movement is hard to continue once it has stopped, so keep the momentum going!
8. Institute change – demonstrate how the urgency and buy-in accomplished the goals of change. Consider things like how the organization improved and how are you positioned to succeed in the future.

Strengths

Kotter’s Theory is intuitive to follow, backed by observational research, and it is a clear guide to utilizing strengths within your organization to assure ensure is successful.

Weaknesses

Although change takes time, the step-by-step nature of this process may extend that time. Extensive planning must be done to ensure these steps are done in sequential order, as well as to ensure success. This limits the agility of the model and the ability to adjust quickly at any stage of the process.

Model #2: ADKAR

The founder of a global leader in change management, Prosci, created the ADKAR organizational model. In this model, Jeff Hiatt outlines 5 outcomes needed to ensure that your changes last and are successful. The overall theme of the ADKAR model is that true change occurs when the individuals of your organization change.

The 5 Outcomes of the ADKAR Model:

1. Awareness of the need for change – Inform your employees and stakeholders of the change and action, and ask for input
2. Desire to support the change – You must develop the desire to support, as a failure in individual support will impact further efforts
3. Knowledge of how to change – This is about knowing the what, as well as the how. Inform employees and stakeholders on the how and ask for their input. Out of this, create an action plan and enable execution.
4. Ability to demonstrate skills & behaviors – Gauge your employees’ ability to execute the proper actions of the change, identify any gaps, and provide support where needed.
5. Reinforcement to make the change stick – Ensure that the change is stable on the individual level through setting defined processes and incentives to keep the change moving.

Strengths

This model is agile, flexible, and outcome-oriented. Along with this, it allows for adjustments in-process and focuses on success at the individual level. This focus creates improved chances for success. Also, this method clearly states desired outcomes and shifts actions towards those outcomes.

Weaknesses

If you have large change management needs, ADKAR may not be the best fit for your organization, as it is so focused on that individual level. Also, the inputs are less defined, which means this model should only be used if the desired change is known and well defined.

Adapt These Models For Your Organization

Agile + Smaller Change? Start Here

If you are working on smaller change initiatives, the flexibility of the ADKAR model may fit your needs the best. This approach is outcome-oriented, as well as thrives on individual adoption to ultimately foster change.

However, this approach may lack the structure that is needed for a larger organization or initiative.

Complex + Large Initiative? Start Here

If your organization is embarking on a larger, more complicated effort, Kotter’s Theory is for you! This step-by-step approach provides a clear path to ensuring success in your long-term efforts towards change, as long as appropriate resources are available.

Somewhere in the Middle? Start Here

Of course, there is always a middle ground! A hybrid approach of ADKAR and Kotter’s Theory is often the route we choose here at TSI.

Highlights of this approach are as follows:

• Begin by understanding your organization’s Readiness for Change
• Start a movement through building a vision and involving stakeholders
• Grow this movement through empowerment and communication
• Sustain this movement through enablement and removing current barriers
• Maintain movement results with reinforcement and short-term success as the change becomes institutionalized

What You Can Expect From Us

Although this was a lot of information, this does not even begin to demonstrate all of the organizational change models out there. However, these are two that we believe in and have seen proven in creating lasting change. This is especially true when key portions of each method work together with our proven methodology.

1. We begin with an organizational context discussion, setting the basis for the design of your ideal future state.
2. Next, we analyze current state processes, identifying any gaps in ability or knowledge.
3. From there, we work with you to develop and implement a plan to fill those gaps.
4. Finally, determine the best way to sustain, institute, and reinforce change.

BONUS: We also involve those responsible for the workflows in the design process to encourage buy-in.

Whether you are feeling ready to dive in or overwhelmed with where to start, reach out to us to set up an initial call. We would love to walk through these processes in more detail, as well as help you determine which approach may be best for your organization.

The post How to Make Change Stick Through Organizational Change Models appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

Non-profit organizations have always operated in challenging environments where mission and donor expectations directly impact the outcome of their work. In a post-pandemic environment, needs are high and competition for charitable giving is even higher. In response, effective and efficient operation is key. The most successful non-profits will recognize this and incorporate a solution into their strategic plan. Some organizations require outside help in this planning. But how do you know you need NGO consulting? Below are 3 reasons an NGO might choose to work with a consultant. Including a preview of future thoughts on how to ensure you’re selecting a consultant that is right for you.

NGO Consultants Provide an Outside Perspective

There are several reasons why a consultant’s outside perspective will benefit an NGO. Their ability to provide a non-partisan, non-political, straightforward view and recommendations is only the start.

Consultants provide value by leveraging their ability to perform business analysis at a variety of levels. Internal staff is often much too close to the process and environment to be able to take a step back. They need to examine the organizational elements from a 30,000-foot level. This is necessary to see the whole picture, as well as what the upstream and downstream impacts are of various processes and experiences. Starting at this level of analysis ensures that the new design and implementation considers these changes’ impact, beyond the micro-level

In addition to the above, consider that part of any strategic planning is the insights gained from discussions with staff. A consultant brings a unique ability to gain these insights in an unbiased and unobstructed manner. Staff is often apprehensive about sharing details with peers or superiors that may adversely affect the culture or generate backlash. A consultant, however, can provide anonymity in these discussions, allowing the true value to arise.

Optimize New Technology and Ditch the Dated

You don’t have to be an expert in Moore’s Law to know how quickly technology can become obsolete or dated. With the doubling of computing power, even technology that is 5 years old will have shortcomings. Some NGOs are operating on technology that is 20 years old, significantly impacting the success of operations.

Over the past decade, we have seen technology move from on-premise to cloud. We have also seen many vendors move from integrations and middleware, solutions to modules, to increasing native technology to provide a complete solution.

These moves impact functional requirements, technical requirements, user experience, cost of hardware and software, and the need for ongoing maintenance. Additionally, organizations that continue to grow and leverage technology operate more efficiently and effectively, maximizing the use of their fundraising dollars. Consultants’ familiarity with the advancements in technology and their experience with vendors gives the NGOs they work with a serious advantage in ensuring proper use of their technology.

Increased Competition Leads to Higher Demand for Dollars

As the economy has experienced significant fluctuations, the need and competition for philanthropic dollars have become more intense. So much so, that even Facebook is targeting faith-based organizations and experiences on their platform as a major area of growth. While I’d like to believe that is out of the goodness of their hearts, I’d imagine they recognize the financial impact as well.

What does this competition mean for organizations? How does our consulting help organizations overcome this competition? The need for an updated strategic vision and a focus on customer experience is amplified. And just as an internal employee may be hesitant to share information with a superior, a customer or donor may feel the same, or may not share productively. Working with a consultant that focuses on strategy and customer experience ensures that information needed to drive this planning is collected in a valuable and unclouded way. Then, this information can be used to drive strategy and success.

Selecting the Right Partner is Crucial to Organizational Success

So you’ve decided your NGO will benefit from a partnership with a consultant. But how do you know you’re selecting the right one? Rather than selecting based on a brand name, you want to be sure that whoever you invite into work with you meshes well with your team, culture, and organization. Stay tuned for part II of this article, as we dive deeper into this topic.

It is important, especially for a mission-based organization, to select a partner with similar values. You want someone who aligns with your mission and culture. This allows you to understand who will be on your project team and the background of the firm. Will they come in and tell you what to do and claim to be the experts on all things? Or will the consulting group be a true PARTNER, working with you collaboratively to create a strategic plan that fits your needs? Consider these things when making a selection and you’ll find the one that is the best fit for your organization.

If you’re looking to learn more or would like to chat more with us about the work we do with non-profits, head over to transforming.com, check out our NGO offering, or contact us to set up some time to chat.

The post 3 Reasons an NGO Needs a Consultant appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

Digital transformation is a popular phrase not only in business but in the world today. Pushed by customer demand, rapid advances in technology, a proliferation of data availability and value, and the covid-19 pandemic, those looking to survive and thrive in today’s world are focused on becoming more digital. We all know the benefits of digital transformation. But do we know the key elements that will help this transformation be successful and sustainable? At TSI, we value all the elements of transformation (our name is Transforming Solutions after all!) but 3 elements are key to ensuring the success of your transformation efforts.

1. Don’t Forget the Processes
2. Consider the Customer Experience
3. Ensure sustainability with OCM

Don’t Forget the Processes

Digital transformation takes on many forms and brings with it the opportunity for cost reduction, service excellence, and quality improvement. Maximizing the realization of these gains requires more than just installing a new technology and expecting to start living the high life! A failure to examine processes for opportunities to leverage the new technology will likely result in a true “lift and shift” where the organization is operating the same process, just in a new and more expensive technology. The ultimate loss here, in addition to risking the success of the transformation, is a decrease in the ROI for the new technology, effectively wasting the investment.

Well designed future state processes will strengthen the digital transformation by resolving past areas of waste, bottlenecks, and inefficiencies. Handoffs will be clean, workflows will improve speed and effectiveness, and metrics will be collected to drive continuous improvement. The outcome? A future state that maximizes ROI and is truly transformative.

Consider the Customer Experience

Great, so you’ve taken a look at your processes, resolved your pain points, and have a solid picture of how your operation will work post digital transformation. But did you look at these improvements through the lens of those that will stand to benefit or lose the most? That group being customers, both internal and external. Adoption is all but guaranteed if the users help design and understand the new technology as internal and external customers. The interface must be intuitive, easy to use, and provide maximum value to customers. Otherwise, repeat use and repeat business will struggle to grow.

Successfully considering and incorporating Customer Experience ensures all of the hard work to design and implement is fruitful. This successful design will consider and incorporate a robust set of requirements for the transformation. As a result, these provide a comprehensive picture of the need.

Ensure sustainability with OCM

With digital transformation, process improvement, and technology implementation, a failure to consider organizational change management (OCM) and the impact on company culture is very difficult to overcome in the success of the implementation. We often see organizations neglect this consideration or do a ‘light’ version of OCM. Often the outcome is increased implementation cost, lower adoption rates, delays in implementation, and damage to company culture. 

However, utilizing a strong and comprehensive OCM plan instantly improves the chances of success for the digital transformation. For our engagements, this includes a change readiness assessment, clear communication plan, messaging from top down, providing the opportunity for organizational involvement and feedback, evaluation of the ongoing success, and the agility to adjust elements for continued success.

So What Does It All Mean For Digital Transformation?

Digital transformation can mean a lot of different things. Whether it is a modern system implementation (ERP, CRM, SIS), installing a customer portal, automating your operations, boosting supply chain management with technology, or optimizing your digital footprint, there are several elements to consider for success. We’ve touched on 3 key elements here: process, customer experience, and OCM. Others include the organization’s strategic plan, selection of the ideal software partner based on requirements, and implementation management. If you’d like to discuss how any of these may impact your digital transformation, reach out to Transforming Solutions.

The post Digital Transformation: 3 Key Elements for Successful and Sustainable Implementation appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

Transforming Solutions has had the privilege to work with some of the fastest-growing and progressive organizations in both the corporate and higher education sectors. Throughout these experiences, we have taken a deep dive into efficiency, quality, customer satisfaction, and profitability. While the fundamentals have not changed, process improvement principles continue to adapt to the times.

Our Top 5 Process Improvement Principles

1. Incorporate User Experience (UX), Customer Experience (CX), and Organizational Change Management

As you define and analyze your processes, we encourage you to consider the experience as a whole. There are countless examples of organizations that did not do this and failed as a result. One thing that comes to mind is a leadership group inadvertently creating an opportunity for a competitor through neglecting a more holistic approach. However, for those who take the holistic approach, topics such as people, culture, technology, and strategy are considered in addition to operations.

2. Don’t Assume Technology Will Automatically Change Your Processes

Many organizations assume that a change in their CRM or ERP will inherently fix their processes. However, there are two shortcomings in this thinking that organizations do not consider:

1. Technology is generally not built to drive processes – Technology has a built-in process (best practices) that may not align with your organization’s current state. Adapting to the technologies processes will yield incredible benefits as you can take advantage of all the features your new tool/platform has to offer. This is why it’s important to pick the right tool.
2. The ‘Lift and Shift’ Mindset – Organizations who exchange a legacy system for a new system, and apply the same processes to the new technology, will not properly extract the value of the investment. You will switch the systems out, but miss out on all of the benefits.

3. Improve and Renovate

In addition to a holistic approach and the integration of technology, you need to continuously renovate your processes. You renovate your processes through monitoring, evaluating, adjusting, and improving on a regular basis. However, neglecting these adaptations will result in a similar effect as the ‘lift and shift’ mindset. As a result, there will be a reduction in the value gained from your investment. Process improvement principles and processes are only strengthened by their supporting considerations.

4. Employ Continuous Improvement From End-to-End

As you keep an eye on your organization’s consistently changing environment and focus on process improvement, be sure to apply the first principle – Incorporate User Experience (UX), Customer Experience (CX), and Organizational Change Management. In addition, organizations must remember that their customer is consistently changing as well, not just their organization’s environment. Your customers are becoming smarter, more discerning, and are constantly offered other alternative solutions. With this in mind, you must consider these factors from end to end.

5. It’s Never Too Late to Act

Many Individuals in functioning organizations say something along the lines of ‘we’ve always done it this way and it works. They also believe their highly customized processes mean that there cannot be a better solution for them. Both of these scenarios neglect the potential for technology to greatly improve processes, highly configured systems, and consider software selection efforts. You may be functioning with your current processes; however, process improvement principles enable organizations to thrive.

So What?

Overall, these five principles are key to a successful organizational strategy. To learn more about how our process improvement consultants transform businesses, check out our services. Visit our industry offerings to determine how our methodology could benefit your industry and organization.

Don’t know where to go from here? Contact us! We would love to set up a brief call to further understand your organization’s needs and walk you through how our processes work.

The post Our Top Five Secrets to Doing Process Improvement Right appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

“All the News That’s Fit to Print”: slogan for The New York Times

Status reports and meetings are killing our project teams. Whether it is a ‘crazy Tuesday’ – an entire day consumed by status reports and review updates – or an on-the-spot visit from parent company management, which drives the operational team into a half-day meeting to prepare status, we seem to have lost the meaning inherent in “status”.

The Reality of a Status Report

A status update cannot take the place of day-to-day management. Do not use reports to fill in the holes of missed information. For those who cannot run a project, but want to steer it, status is no substitute. When those who ‘need to know’ want an update of activities, they should not simply ask for a status report.

Okay, let me back off that a wee bit. Management is management. They can ask for whatever they want. However, they should understand the impact of their ask on the delivery teams.

Status, like the New York Times motto, is about printing the news that is fit to print. It is not about printing all the news that fits (herein I could site an example of a 160(!) page ‘status update’ created for the US Department of Defense). I understand that management cannot be in each project’s operational meetings. Leaders have a business to run. I believe that management must find a way to become more engaged (if that is what they want) rather than to ask for multiple status reports or review sessions per month.

For example, it seems a bit taxing on those delivering initiatives to be required to prepare and speak to four weekly status updates, one monthly update, and one quarterly status update all in the same month. That is six status reports in four weeks! If management understood that it took multiple days of effort from several people to create those reports, they might loosen the requirement to save time.

So, you say, how could it possibly take multiple days to create a status deck?

Well, here are some reasons:

1. The requested information is so detailed that it requires creating new methods to share data, that otherwise would not be needed by the operational delivery team.
2. Systems for generating status updates are either incomplete, held together by baling wire, or include multiple manual workarounds. What appears to be a simple management request (for example, “show me your burndown chart”), ends up being a ‘make work’ exercise…each week!
3. Formats and requested content change week-by-week and month-by-month. When a new management player is added to the mix, they may request a new view of the data (see #2 and repeat)
4. The concept of ‘as of date’ is lost. So, the report ‘as of’ Friday is reviewed, edited, and commented on Tuesday. It is believed that for status to be routed through the organization it needs to be made current. Tuesday then becomes the update day for the deck created on Friday, and so on…

When there is a lack of trust between those doing the work and those receiving the information, status updates become way too detailed and way too time-consuming (and that means extra money being spent on non-value-added work). In some cases, the project team must engage extra resources just to keep up with the reporting requests. If management can learn to trust their team, status reporting can return to summary-level information.

The Devil is in Too Much Detail

Furthermore, when status decks include an overabundance of detail (crammed into tiny fonts to meet the one-page requirement) one might begin to worry. Have we lost the forest for the trees? We see each tree, branch, and leaf in such detail. As a result, we may lose sight of the forest (the overall initiative). Be cautious of preparing status that seeks to represent everything that everyone is doing all the time. It is okay to provide a summary or overview. (Note: some projects may be so far in the red that they require remedial help. Multiple status reviews, however, are NOT the answer.)

Status should provide a point-in-time view of where an initiative is at. It should not be used to replace the operational delivery of the initiative. If the status is used for the latter, it would be more time and cost-effective to replace the project team with one that is trusted.

If you are looking for more operationally effective ways to deliver status, we’d love to connect!

The post The Truth About Status Reports and Product Delivery Teams appeared first on Transforming Solutions Inc..

A few years ago, I noticed something interesting with our clients who hired TSI to train them on process improvement and organizational change management skills and subsequently lead them in their own process improvement journey. Don’t tell anyone…but their culture actually began to change as a result of what they learned and started to apply in their own organizations.

This post is not about the work that we did. Not at all. It’s about the initiative that these teams took, the space that their leadership gave them, and the progress they made.

I discovered that by starting with more tactical needs like improving operating efficiency without any intentional ‘culture change’ initiative, culture change was happening. Starting with learning new skills, these organizations developed an individual and organizational sense of “self-awareness” and they paid attention to some interesting fundamentals of the process, such as:

• Who is currently involved in getting the work done versus who actually needs to be?
• What steps are being performed?
• Are most of these steps manual or automated?
• What do we do that adds little to no value to our organization?
• How do our handoffs work?
• Where do we fumble?
• Where do we thrive?

These are all critical questions around process improvement. However, the culture shift that occurs through the program of process improvement is most notable. Individuals and teams learned useful tools that equipped them to look at their world, and in turn their organization, differently.

When employees are empowered to make a change, this can build momentum within the organization and begin to change its DNA. You move from an organization that is operated, to a degree, in the dark, to one that has cast a spotlight on key opportunities for improvement.

The 4 E’s of the Teams That Get It

Through working with a variety of organizations, it is worth noting that the teams who embrace their new mindset and try to ‘move the needle’ on the culture scale, typically possess a combination of these four characteristics:

1. Energized – The process improvement pilot team members – some may be subject experts – who stand out simply radiate positivity. They learn with ‘fresh eyes’ and are willing to try, refine, and improve on new skills.
2. Empowered – This one is mostly the responsibility of senior leadership to allow the team to make changes absent of bureaucracy. In conjunction, the team needs to take that responsibility and do something useful with it. That does not mean that the process team has carte blanch authority, but they need some latitude to initiate change. How frustrating that must be for those in organizations who are given a chance to learn new skills but have no authority to make any changes.
3. Lack of Ego – Prima Donna ego’s kill culture change. The teams that I see thrive are typically diverse and absent of large egos that kill the culture. Process improvement team member selection is so critical, as they need both Attitude and Aptitude to be successful.
4. Engaged – This is no different than the person who ‘goes through the motions’ during their workouts and then gets frustrated they aren’t seeing any results; the engaged team, comprised of team members that challenge themselves and each other, is in a class by themselves.

The Quick Fix Mindset: Just Buy New Software

An alternative approach that we have also experienced is an interesting one. And, not surprisingly, it is an approach that we see far too often. The approach looks something like this – a group (a growing corporation, university or non-profit organization) has an aging technology platform and surrounding it, inefficient processes, and some degree of dysfunction in the organization structure. They aim to fix it by buying a new (and expensive) software product. Then, when it comes time to implement the new software product (an ERP, CRM, or other significant new enterprise application) the expectation is that this new shiny piece of software is a lever to transform their culture.

My software implementation friends – I feel your pain 🙂

This is an interesting approach. I’m sure it has worked somewhere along the line, but it is akin to purchasing that shiny new piece of workout equipment, thinking that it is going to turn you into a workout enthusiast.

This is exactly where tools and techniques pertaining to organizational change management collide with the needs and levers for culture change. Just like the workout equipment metaphor once you are clear on “your why” – doing some mental and emotional preparatory work – you will make gains.

How You Can Initiate Culture Change

1. Does your team or organization have any “bright spots” or isolated examples of wins that we can use to build some culture change momentum on?
2. What tensions and blind spots does your organization have that prevent it from moving to the culture that will allow it to thrive?
3. When you think about the key characteristics that are part of your organization’s DNA, consider which ones you want to build on and which you hope to move away from.
4. How can you illustrate the impact that those organizational ‘toxins’ have on your organization?

If you are a corporate or higher education practitioner (sorry consultant friends), consider attending our upcoming webinar on utilizing process improvement for cultural change within your organization.

Do you have other things that you and your organization consider when looking at characteristics and culture? We would love to hear them! Let us know what has worked or failed within your organization in the comments below.

For other related articles on culture, check out these posts on TSI Insights:

Why Culture Change is so Elusive (and What You Can Do)

Change Culture by Not Changing Culture

How Does a Culture of Change Turn Resistance into Growth?

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