Business-Centric Change #2 – The Solution

Let me begin by offering my apologies to those of you who may have been thinking that this post would contain the solution to a particular business-centric change problem.

This post is not so much about “the” solution to a particular business change problem as it is criteria for the solution.

From BCC-1, we have a crisply and clearly articulated business problem and constraints around the solution that have been bought into by executive leadership. Now all of our efforts will focus on development of potential solutions, so it is important to understand what characteristics a solution must have to be brought forward for successful approval.

Before we begin that effort, given the number of folks involved in developing “The Problem,” we have expectations to manage and stakeholder needs to consider. The solution will not be developed in a vacuum. As the effort will most likely result in a significant change program, a communications plan (as a part of a larger Organizational Change Management workstream) needs to be developed and implemented.

Executive stakeholders will want to have some knowledge of what solutions are being considered. Take the time to set up a formal or informal method to keep them informed at a level that makes each one comfortable with the solution process (having a few sounding boards will be invaluable in the socialization of the eventual solution).

Once that is done, our objective is now to develop and present a solution that executive leadership can understand, support and commit to (approve), and will be successful.

First, in the same way that we approached the development of the problem holistically, the solution must also be approached in the same comprehensive manner. Everything that has to change and what actions those changes will require must be identified and well understood. Every aspect of the solution must have a corresponding implementation plan. This will make executive leadership aware of the full scope of the change and give them the necessary information to make a decision to go forward with the strategy.

My suggestion is to use the Transformation Triangle to frame this information, with particular focus on the “Management Systems” changes that will need to take place outside of IT. Each executive stakeholder needs to understand what is happening and what he or she is signing up for within their own respective group.

Next, taking a page from Lesson 5 of Colin Powell’s Leadership Primer, the solution must be able to be implemented. A brilliantly conceived solution isn’t worth much if it cannot be implemented within the constraints discovered in the problem definition process or subsequently in the development of solution alternatives.

As solution component options are considered and modified, be sure to explore any potential secondary impacts on the other components and the overall solution to ensure that you remain within your solution boundaries (and the laws of physics). This will enable you to confidently check off against both the aligned objectives and constraints.

Finally, the solution must include an executive commitment to empowered leadership. An empowered change leader has responsibility for the end result and accountability for the outcome. They will have or have access to the skills, tools and resources needed for implementation and have the authority to do what is necessary to get the job done. This request for commitment must be made explicit in the presentation of the solution and made a part of the communications plan.

With those three criteria in place:

•    Full Disclosure of Scope (everything that needs to change and what those changes will require)
•    Ability to Implement (positive check off on both objectives and constraints)
•    Empowered Change Leadership (explicitly agreed to and communicated from executive leadership)

Our solution should be able to go forward with executive leadership support and stand a very high probability of successfully solving our problem.

But, as they say in the military, “The map is not the territory.” We now have a map that shows our destination and we have a plan to get there. Our success now depends on execution – on actually getting from here to there.

And that will be the subject of my next post.

Business-Centric Change #3 – Counsel