Driving Change when your staff don't want to

Surprising fact #1: We want Change

We often say we want Change when it suits our needs. But when actually forced to change, many of us actually resist changing.

Well that is unless you happen to be a wet baby - but they're probably not reading this blog.

Surprising fact #2: But none of us want to

So if we all want Change, why do we resist so much?


FEAR!
Losing our security blanket. 

UNCERTAINTY
Moving us out of our comfort zone.

DOUBT
Choosing not to see the big picture.

So what should we do?

Communicate! To overcome the FUD that is undoubtedly impairing your Change effort you need to over communicate with your team and customers what the big deal is. 

Communicate this in terms that they understand. 

You need to communicate openly about why this Change is so important. Get into the details of the What (potentially bad thing) happens if we don't change?

It's also essential that you actively listen. First to ensure that you earn their trust. And second to ensure that you haven't missed any critical details in the planned Change.

Led by communicators they trust.

Hint: in the case of Change that may not be you.

Search amongst your team for those that others look to for advice and improvement. They can be your best advocates of Change.

Watch out for those that actively resist - make sure they're not in a critical role for your planned Change.

Be a role model for your planned Change. 

Your team is watching you so YOU need to change as much as they do.

Your team doesn't know how to implement the change being asked of them. Develop maps highlighting descriptions of the new patterns of behavior. <Link to post on gamification>

Reinforce with realistic goals and objectives. <Link to post on measurement>

You need to Drive

Change is inevitable. Pace of change is increasing.

To maximize our impact we need to support the business in developing services that customers value.

This requires us to to increase our team's ability to Change, and make sure we're serving and supporting the right customers.

Was this useful?

If you found this post useful, please help me share it with others and encourage them to subscribe to the blog.

Losing your suitcase.

The risk of travel

My wife tells me I travel a lot.

757,337 lifetime with United.
105,896 miles last year.
Oh, and 1 lightning strike on Monday in Houston.

Don't lose your suitcase

The last major trip I went on was to Europe. My boss last saw his suitcase in NY en route to Denmark through Spain (don't ask!).

We had a customer meeting first thing Monday morning.

In Denmark on Sunday night he was lucky to find a tailor in the hotel - hopefully he got paid back by the airline because it wasn't what I would call cheap.

How to manage the risk

Here's an interesting travel tip: when traveling as a group share essentials between different suitcases.

That way if one suitcase is lost - it's not all or nothing for the lucky traveler.

There is a lesson here for mitigating risk in Change

1. Ensure that you have a backout plan. If you don't you are sure to need it. If you do need it, it will waste time and resource to develop, unless you can quickly backup and recover.
2. Architecturally share risk - manage how data / workloads are shared between storage and servers. That way a minor modification to a tier 4 app doesn't risk a tier 1 business service.
3. Manage the payload of Changes. If you group a lot of changes together, you're more likely to want to proceed for a major win - but one small error for a "minor" change could risk success. 

Keep up with change by aligning your IT Agenda

A New IT Agenda

In it's recent research, The New IT Agenda, Booz and company advocates that IT teams focus on capabilities the business needs the most, aligned with the core of how the business creates value. 

Their recommended approach has 3 steps

1. Analyze current value that IT provides to the business
2. Better understand the business' strategic direction
3. Develop agenda to maintain strengths AND enhance new areas

Do you really know Your business?

Does your company have a clear purpose and mission? As an example, Tom's Shoes does. After visiting Argentina the founder, Blake Mycoskie, realized that availability of shoes was a real problem. For kids, having shoes affected their ability to get  to school, getting foot infections and being able to work.

Their mission is simple. One for One. To provide one item for free, for every item purchased. This started out with shoes, and is now expanding into glasses.

Has your IT got an agenda?

After understanding your core capabilities in IT, that the business relies on, develop an approach that retains he core and enhances areas that would enable the business to implement it's vision faster and better.

To keep it simple, Booz has identified 5 types of agenda

1. Value driver - simple, basic, cost effective services
2. Operator - high quality, scalable, and risk free
3. Technology leader - leading edge support for innovation and differentiation
4. Service broker - consistent integrated services at scale
5. Capability builder - strategic partner to CEO and business team

What are you playing at - Get Aligned!

Based on Tom's strategy, an aligned IT function could well be a "Value Player".

• Service standardization at lower cost and minimize risk.
• Basic enabling services for efficient business function.

Driving Change through Measurement

Team cycling vs Service Management?

Photo: Casey B. Gibson | www.cbgphoto.com

After my epic trip back from Houston last week (thanks #United) I had the privilege of sitting next to Timmy Duggan (beaming on the right). He was polite enough to open the conversation and I soon learned he was a pro cyclist for Cannondale Liquigas on the way out to California to ride in the Amgen Tour of California.

Well after a discussion about the finer points of cycling, I soon learned that there are a lot of similarities in pro cycling to Service Management.

Optimizing outcomes with Team roles

There are multiple roles in the team. We've all seen the stars at the front of a race. There are the Sporting directors who ride in the team cars and guide the team to success. And then there are the various riders on the team who do the hard work. Sprinters. Climbers. All rounders. And of course the mechanics who keep the bikes ready, the chefs who keep the team at their optimum, even sports psychologists.

Consistency under pressure with Processes and Procedures

They have an overall game plan - a strategy for race day. And as the event unfolds they watch teams differently depending on who's leading and attacking. At different stages of the day they have plans - when to be on the attack, when to be watching, and when to be resting.

There are procedures for major incidents - such as a crash or flat tire.

And templates for standard activities - drafting in the team trial or leading the peloton in a side wind.

Measuring performance with KPIs

How do they keep themselves at the top and ready for elite competition? Training. Now their training is as technical as any sport. High altitude to improve blood handling of low oxygen. High oxygen sprints to exercise at high work outputs. Training behind a moped to familiarize pace while drafting.

With watt meters to measure power output, cadence meters to track the pedal turns and heart rate monitors to stay in the zone all tracked on bluetooth cycle computers - a modern cyclist looks more like a server being monitored.

Results speak volumes

And if you're not sure about the results - take a look at this.

• Cannondale Liquigas rider Peter Sagan has won all 4 of the stages so far.
• How did he get there? The planned, coordinated, hard work of Timmy Duggan.

If cyclists are this organized then so should we be in IT Service Management.

• Achieve consistent service delivery use processes to "Just Go Harder" on the straights
• Align with business needs use governance to slow down for the bends. 

Was this useful?

If you found this post useful, please help me share it with others and encourage them to subscribe to the blog.