Downloaded 17 times
Uploaded byPaul Taylor
Why Transformation Fails And How To Avoid It
The document discusses the challenges of organizational transformation, emphasizing the importance of addressing failures, fostering open and diverse collaboration, and adopting experimental approaches. It highlights that many transformation efforts fail due to a reluctance to learn from mistakes and fear of failure among leaders. Key principles for successful change include embracing small experiments, redefining problems, and building trust within teams.
More Related Content
Similar to Why Transformation Fails And How To Avoid It
Why Transformation Fails And How To Avoid It
- 1. WHY TRANSFORMATION FAILS AND HOWTO AVOID IT PAUL TAYLOR LAB COACH BROMFORD @PAULBROMFORD
- 2. IF YOU WANTTO SKIP THE NEXT SLIDES OR PLAY WITH YOUR PHONES THESE ARE MY THREE MESSAGES...
- 3. CHANGE IS OFTENIMPEDED BY OUR RELUCTANCE TO TALK ABOUT AND LEARN FROM FAILURE
- 4. SUCCESSFUL CHANGE REQUIRESACTING BOTH LIKE A GROWNUP AND A STARTUP- BEHAVIOURS THAT ARE FUNDAMENTALLY CONTRADICTORY
- 5. TO SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFORM WENEED TO ADOPT PRINCIPLES OF SERVICE DESIGN FORMED THROUGH COLLABORATION ACROSS TEAMS, SILOS AND COMPANIES
- 6.
- 7. A startup isa temporary organization designed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. A company is a permanent organization designed to execute a repeatable and scalable business model. - Steve Blank
- 8. 1. Openness 2. Diversity 3.Serendipity 4. Fairness 5. Experimentation 6. Play 7. Giving 1. Excellence 2. Loyalty 3. Dependability 4. Success 5. Quality 6. Precision 7. Reciprocity Values of Innovation Values of Production
- 9. STABILITY IS THEENEMY OF CHANGE
- 10. Experimentation is confusing– it offers no certainty Experimentation means shutting down failures – and killing people’s ‘brilliant ideas’ Experimentation means being comfortable not fully knowing what you are doing or where you are going
- 11. Avoiding Silver BulletSolutions The best way to combat uncertainty is to spread your bets with small experiments
- 12. HOW WE LIKETO THINK CHANGE WORKS HOW IT WORKS IN REALITY
- 13. The ‘iceberg ofignorance’ – that most problems in organisations are invisible to leaders, and therefore unsolvable – was popularised by Sidney Yoshida
- 15.
- 16. Thinking different isn’t enough,you have to act different
- 17. It’s really importantthat leaders take away the fear of failure
- 18. Is about startingwith a blank sheet of paper What would we do if we genuinely started again?
- 20. Where’s the datathat shows that? What’s the problem we were trying to fix? What’s the impact been? What do your customers say about this? What’s the return on investment? FIVE QUESTIONS TO SLAY ZOMBIE PROJECTS
- 22. The evidence that technologymakes us more productive is weak at best. There’s an ever increasing gap between technological sophistication and work actually being performed.
- 23. t Thinking you aredifferent is the first step towards complexity. It’s easier to make a simple thing more complex than it is to make a complex thing more simple.
- 25. Some people seemto be more prone to creating complexity than others
- 28. Our approach tosolving the right problems Problem Definition Design Test Pilot Project delivery Transition to Business as Usual 2.0 DELIVERING CHANGE AT BROMFORD Strategic Insight - objectively evaluating and informing Evaluation in line with business case
- 29. tEsT PilOt outCOMes “Right, that’s sort ofOK” “Needs more work” Usually Crap iDEA Kill It, sHelVE It, Release It. ‘Cursory Design’ Actual Design Evidencing Completing A strategy based on small losses takes most of the risk out of innovation
- 30. Continually talking uptransformation actually makes it harder to implement Telling people they are in for big changes invokes their status quo bias
- 31.
- 32.
Editor's Notes
- #16 “A problem well-stated is half-solved.” - Charles Franklin Kettering, Head of Research at General Motors (1920 to 1947) In times of scarce resources it’s tempting when we spot something that isn't quite right to jump to conclusions and start thinking about potential solutions. In our enthusiasm to get things done we can often miss the most important thing - a real understanding of the problem. Unsurprisingly this often leads to the implementation of solutions which fail to hit the mark. A better approach is to step back and look a little deeper into the issue. One way to do this is with the use of problem statements. Problem statements are questions which encourage creative thinking during idea generation and all the way through to implementing a solution. They provide clear, concise descriptions of the issues that need to be addressed and provide a clear design challenge. Source: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2017/7/13/defining-the-problem --- Like it or not we mostly default to ideas and plans. As organisations we get wrapped up in solutions. Great performance at work is usually defined as creating and implementing solutions rather than finding the best problems to tackle. There’s a lack of penetration into the root causes of problems as most of our organisations have a cultural bias for execution over thorough problem definition. Our giveaway tool of the day is this template to help you define the problem through a series of deep questions before moving on to the more creative 'how might we' visioning. Innovation is all about getting better at being wrong. However it must be founded in a deep understanding of the problem we are seeking to solve. To have the most impact, it’s simple. Just ask the right questions. Source: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2017/7/20/how-to-avoid-solving-the-wrong-problems
- #18 Risk is life. We accept this. We teach our children to ride a bike on grass so that when they fall off they don't hurt themselves. Slowly, but surely they keep getting back up and trying again. Through this ‘iteration’ they learn how to ride, and all of a sudden they balance themselves. In our personal lives we learn how to manage risk. Innovation is all about managing risk. If we refuse to embrace failure as part of an iterative process, we can’t innovate. The risk isn't that we will fail, it is that we will not learn from our failures. At Bromford we embrace failure and recognise that it is an integral part of innovation. “75% of what we work on will fail. You’re funding failure. But 25% will be cool stuff we’ve never done or realised we could do” - Paul Taylor & Vicky Green pitch for Bromford Lab Source: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2015/4/2/target-practice-how-to-measure-an-innovation-lab --- A quick fail beats a slow steady death Nobody wants things to fail, but the reality is that many projects fail to meet their intended objectives. Bromford want to avoid this by failing things as soon as possible, building early evidence that what we are trying out stands a good chance of success. Fast failure is good risk management The biggest barrier in most organisations is risk aversion – so anticipate this in advance. Show that you acknowledge risk and have put as much cotton wool around your idea as possible. Governance teams can be your greatest enemies or biggest friends. Be ruthless pulling the plug Not every idea or project is destined for success. Stopping a project is a difficult decision but in certain cases, it’s inevitable. Making things work artificially is not always in the interests of the customer or the company. You need to know when to pull the plug early to avoid spending more money on well-intentioned vanity projects. Surce: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2016/6/6/10-innovation-lessons-from-two-years-in-bromford-lab
- #19 Build Trust . . . With colleagues and customers. Relationships not transactions Joined up Bromford . . . Knock down walls. Break down silos. Transcend organisational functions. Automate Bravely . . . But remembering that technology is a tool that supports relationships, not removes them. Build for needs not wants . . . . Understanding customer needs is central to our purpose. Gathering local insight form a connected network of community coaches is our aim. (we have an almost unique opportunity to gather insight this way) Simplification at the heart . . . . Keep it simple. Design for everyone . . . Take a world view of a problem not a micro view. Keep customers at the centre of everything we do. Meet standards . . . . As a minimum. Abandon activities that don’t add value . . . If it doesn't add value why do it? Challenge assumptions . . . People are individuals, not homogeneous groups. We don’t start by making assumptions based on things like age or genda.
- #29 This is now the agreed 2.0 approach to managing change at Bromford. Keeping it simple means everyone can be clear on who is responsible for what and at which stage. As well as having this agreed approach, we would also recommend answering these six questions to any ideas that have been recommended to enter the change pipeline in order for us to prioritise them, as obviously, those with the most significant positive impact on our customers are the ones we will want to look at first! Would this concept have a significant impact on customers? Would it make their lives easier? Y/N Is there a strong financial incentive for prioritising this concept? Are we talking £ or ££££££? Y/N Is this genuinely treading fresh ground for us? Y/N Is the implementation of our digital transformation dependant on this being explored sooner rather than later? Y/N Is this an area of high promise that still requires better problem definition or more detailed design? Y/N Would this require a significant change in customer or colleague behaviour to be successful? Y/N Answering these questions also helps us to effectively diagnose the ‘problem’, which is the first key stage in our change journey. Source: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2017/7/26/h0jegxsmhw8hsyxb32rfmhstjcardh