Even a great vision and strategy can fail to deliver the intended benefits if changes are not implemented well. Assuming that the new strategy is sound, why is that implementation seems to be such an issue?
Reasons tend to vary from:
From our experience working on large transformation projects, we have found that implementation effectiveness can be markedly improved by testing whether the stated strategy and vision can be executed through the designed Target Operating Model (TOM) for the 'new' organisation; our strategy implementation planning model is depicted in the schematic:
Confirming the organisation's current ('as is') and future ('to be' - the vision) states enables the identification of the gap between the future and current organisational states leading to a thorough understanding of what needs to change and how. Having confirmed the changes that the vision demands of the organisation, the next step involves the mapping of the intended benefits to necessary organisational changes and to project deliverables, developing the 'value model' of the programmatic change.
During this process questions that should be asked include:
Validating the benefit claims using fundamental parameters (factors in the business and the market environment that underpin the assumptions for benefit statements) is a powerful way to help prioritise the 'right' projects in the change portfolio based, among other things, on the benefit realisation profile.
The outcome of such an approach is the design of the new TOM which describes at a high level, the future structure of the organisation, setting out the relationships between people, culture, skills, processes, technology and products.
Such an approach can add value to the organisation in several ways:
To get in touch feel free to contact Richard Bateman on 01908 283600, email RBateman@citi.co.uk.
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Julie Black is Associate Director at Project Management Group, and kindly provided this article in July 2015.
