Professional Scheme
Relevant to Paper 3.4, Paper 3.5

After studying strategy implementation and change management, and reading all those exam questions on organisations failing to implement the correct strategic choices, (or failing to even have a strategy in place at all), it would appear that making strategic choices happen is fraught with difficulty. However, organisations may find the change management process less traumatic if they follow the six golden rules outlined in this article.
Golden rule number 1 - know where you want to get to and why
Many strategies fail this test because they don't define this fundamental parameter, or make the need for change very clear. However, if organisations address the following three questions, they will be well on the way to successful strategy implementation.
1.Where do they want to get to?
This question sets the context for the strategy implementation and change. It has to be clearly stated and communicated.
2.Why do they need to get there?
If they can't answer this question then they will have trouble persuading people in the organisation to go along with the changes proposed. Even if they can answer the 'why' question, the answer has to be compelling and the organisation has to communicate the answer again and again, and keep reminding their people why they are doing this.
3.What's in it for their employees?
The third question is very important, but often ignored. Humans are very self-centred. We need to see and personalise the change and understand what it means to us. We need to see how it will affect us personally. What difference will it make, and what will be the consequences if we don't embrace the change or at least go with the flow? The company has to sell it to the staff as individuals.
Answering these three questions, however, requires a lot of preparation and effort. Poorly thought through responses will soon wear thin.
Golden rule number 2 - address the eight critical success factors
There are at least eight critical success factors to a successful strategy implementation and major change initiative. These are:
1.a powerful business case
2.vision clarity
3.change leadership and accountability
4.change-specific communication
5.increased change capability
6.integrated implementation teams
7.stakeholder commitment
8.aligned performance and culture.
Develop a powerful business case
The case for the strategy and the change has to be made. It has to be powerful and compelling. The organisation will need to marshal its arguments and clearly set out why the change is both necessary and urgent. If people don't see the need for the change, then they are less likely to embrace it. If they see that it threatens them or that there is no positive result for them, they are likely to resist or even sabotage the change initiative. If they see that there is no cost or penalty if they do not change, they are less likely to change or support the change process.
Be clear about the vision underpinning the strategy and/or change initiative
Even if there is a strong case for the strategy, it has to be sold and continue to be sold throughout the implementation process. To sell the strategy or change effectively, it needs a vision, something to help people make the strategy tangible or real. They need to be able to picture it in their mind - to see what the envisioned future might look like. They need to see what will be different. They need to understand how it will affect their current role, how they do things and how they think about things.
Ensure there is clear leadership and accountability for making it happen
Every strategy needs leaders if it is to be successful. It won't happen by committee or by good intentions. Someone has to take public and visible ownership and have the stature to bring others along and persuade them to commit to the strategy. There also needs to be a strong focus on accountability and responsibility. Who will make the tough decisions? Who will take the blame if things don't work out? How will individual and collective responsibility and accountability be measured and tracked?
Effective communication throughout the process is essential
From the very beginning, the organisation has to communicate and sell the strategy implementation process. It must keep reminding people why it needs to be done, and update and inform them of progress using different communication devices. Allow for two-way communication and upward feedback - listen and respond. Make sure they have a specific communication work stream as part of the implementation plan. People tend to think the worst if they are not updated on a regular basis.
Put change capability resources in place
Strategy implementation and change management require special skill sets and competences. The organisation needs to gear itself up for the change process. It needs to put the resources and skills in place to make the change happen. External consultants won't make the change happen in the organisation but their specific skills and experience will help the organisation manage and implement the changes. Organisations can't totally outsource the strategy implementation and the change process, but they can use consultants to support and supplement the process. Each organisation should aim to develop internally as many of the change resources and skills required as is possible, to help and promote a culture of continuous improvement.
Integrate and align implementation teams
Choose the implementation teams carefully. Identify the range of skills and competences that need to be involved or represented in the process. Who will have the skills, the commitment, the energy and the power to make this change happen? Identify who has to be on board, openly supportive of the process. Identify the potential resistors and saboteurs and devise strategies to counter or eliminate them.
Obtain stakeholder commitment
The organisation needs to do a stakeholder analysis to ask:
what is their disposition to the strategy or the change?
what needs to be done to get them on board or to deal with them?
what roles do they need to play?
how can the organisation make or help them perform their roles effectively?
Align organisational performance and culture to support the implementation
The organisation needs to get the performance and rewards system working to encourage the right behaviour and actions. They will need to decide how people's efforts (or lack of effort) will be recognised or addressed, how success will be defined and how it will be measured and rewarded.
Golden rule number 3 - plan and manage the implementation process effectively
In addition to considering these critical success factors, there is still an implementation process to be scoped, mobilised, managed and delivered.This requires good project planning and project management disciplines over the four key stages of the implementation process.
Stage 1 - where does the organisation want to get to?
This phase is all about establishing the strategic context, making the case for change, and putting the leaders and other key change roles in place. It is also about developing an understanding of how ready the organisation is for the change. What things need to be put in place to help the change process? What is needed to help the different stakeholders prepare for and deal with the changes required?
Stage 2 - how does it get there?
At this stage, the organisation needs to think through what is the most effective use of resources. It needs to consider:
the absolute priority areas that will deliver the greatest results
what is needed to make it happen
the early results required to establish momentum and convince people that change is really happening
how to prepare people for the different roles and responsibilities that they need to play.
Stage 3 - how does it deliver it?
This stage of the process is all about how to make it happen. This involves identifying all the tasks, sequences, dependencies etc, that are needed to make up the implementation plan. It also involves identifying what you can use or do to smooth the implementation path, and what you can do to deal with those who are resisting or reluctant to change.
Stage 4 - how does it anchor the change?
Here the organisation needs to consider what measures are needed to prevent people from slipping back into their old ways, and how to make such a reverse as difficult as possible. For example, change the old systems, remove old forms or provide reward mechanisms and incentives to staff to make the necessary changes. In this stage, the organisation should also recognise and reward those who made the change happen.
Golden rule number 4 - don't neglect the people dimension
At the start of this article, we said that effective strategy implementation was simply about being able to answer three key questions. The third, and a very important, question is 'What's in it for me?' This is the 'people', or what some call the 'soft skills', side of the implementation process.
In change management literature, there are two broad views on the importance of the people dimension when implementing major change. One view regards people as the critical component in successful change, whereas the other feels there is too much focus on the people side. For example, Kotter and Schlesinger1 argue in their 'six changes' approach that 'in major change initiatives, the technical side is usually handled properly with the management structures and operational systems devised and agreed with specialists... the people side, however, is usually poorly handled and this is why so many projects fail'.
In contrast, Michael Beer is firmly on the opposite side. He believes that too much attention is often given to worrying about the people issues. He maintains that 'converting individuals does not work and the most effective way to change behaviour is to put people into a new organisational context which imposes new roles, responsibilities and relationships on them'2.
The Beer view of change really relates to the type of change the organisation is trying to bring about. In many cases, where a major transformation is required, a complete new beginning may be needed. This is because the culture, attitudes and style of the organisation is so much at variance with the vision. Trying to convert people to this new way of working will be difficult, if not impossible. For example, a number of years back, when a government department was being moved to a new regional location, a deliberate decision was taken to redesign the work procedures and processes completely, and to recruit a new workforce who were not 'contaminated' with the 'old ways' of doing things.
Even in these situations, the people side cannot be completely ignored and effort and attention is required to properly define the roles, responsibilities, feedback systems and work processes if the change is to be effective.
Golden rule number 5 - be clear about what needs to be changed and use the appropriate change style to deliver it
An organisation needs to be very clear about what it needs to change and hopes to achieve, because the interventions and approaches it adopts will have to be tailored to achieve these specific results. The type and scale of the change required should determine the change approach adopted. It needs to consider, for example, if the proposed change is just a realignment of current behaviours or a major transformation. And over what timescale does it want to achieve this change?
Their answers to these two questions will determine the appropriate change approach or style to effect the change. The change style needs to be appropriate to the nature of the change desired. There are different change styles. For example:
education and communication - works well for incremental changes
collaboration - works well when trying to win hearts and minds
participation - works when you want to get early buy-in and ownership for the changes
direction - works well with strong leaders who can provide a strong vision and guidance on what is required to get there
coercion - works best in times of crisis when there is no alternative and time is critical.
In a major change programme, a combination of these different styles may be required to deal with the range of challenges that must be met if the change is to happen.
Golden rule number 6 - understand why change is resisted and take appropriate measures
Organisations need to recognise that proposed change is often resisted. According to Kotter and Schlesinger (1979)1 there are four main reasons why certain people resist change:
parochial self-interest - some people are more concerned with the implications of the change for themselves and how it may affect their own interests rather than considering the effects on the success of the business
misunderstanding - communication problems, inadequate information etc
low tolerance to change - some employees are very keen on security and stability in their work
different assessments of the situation - some employees may disagree with the reasons for the change, and also on the advantages and disadvantages of the strategy.
It is important to examine and identify the reasons why the change may be resisted, and to develop and implement actions to address the causes of resistance. If the organisation is about to embark on a major strategy implementation or change programme, one of the first things it should do is undertake a stakeholder analysis as described in Golden Rule 2.
Strategies should be developed to make best use of, or to counter, these positions and attitudes. Organisations need to be prepared and organised. It is a campaign, a campaign the organisation should set out to win and, therefore, plan accordingly. It may have to destroy some objections, bypass others, use some people as allies or advocates, and in some cases, after doing their analysis, may have to change its strategy altogether because the numbers are against it.
Lessons from successful change management programmes
Even the adoption of the golden rules does not always bring about a successful strategy implementation. From the experience of Prospectus Strategy Consultants in working with a number of companies, the following lessons have been learned.
Lesson 1 - create a burning platform
When you are on a burning platform you have two choices: remain on the platform and be burnt, or take the risk and jump off the platform, hoping that you will survive the ordeal. Bringing about major change needs the creation of a burning platform, where there is no real alternative but to jump into the change process. The arguments for the change have to be compelling and clear. They can be carrot or stick based arguments, but it has to be made clear that no change is not an option.
The arguments have to be real. There is no point claiming the platform is burning if people can't see the flames or feel the heat.
Lesson 2 - communication, culture and atmosphere
There is a need for continuous communication flows throughout the change process. But the organisation also will need to tap into the culture and atmosphere and tailor its communications accordingly. It needs to think about the values, the rituals, and the working style of the organisation when designing its implementation approach and communication strategy.
Lesson 3 - deliver on the promises
Talk is easy. Strategies are often rightly accused of being highly aspirational with lots of 'nice to haves'. So it is important to get momentum going in the implementation process. The stakeholders will be looking to see action and progress being made. Those early quick wins are important in demonstrating real intent and building morale. Communicate these early wins widely, but don't rest on laurels, as the organisation has to push on and tackle the bigger tasks.
Lesson 4 - window of opportunity
When organisations go through a strategy development process, or when announcing a major change initiative, an important window of opportunity arises. People are expecting something to happen, so organisations must move quickly and use this window to put the change framework in place and start making changes.
Lesson 5 - effective implementation
Effective implementation requires up-front planning, an implementation infrastructure and resources, strong project management, and a robust progress reporting system.
Lesson 6 - make the tough decisions
With any major strategy implementation or change initiative, tough decisions have to be made, and not just only at the start of the process when everybody is geared up and expectant. When an organisation starts to shy away from these hard choices, momentum slows. If you are the implementation manager in the process, you will need to prepare and support senior management in taking those decisions. Let them know why they are necessary and urgent, and communicate the consequences of failing to make them.
Lesson 7 - choose projects that deliver the most value
In any major strategy or change transformation, there are usually six to eight key activities, which have the most impact and deliver the greatest results. Organisations need to identify these important projects and prioritise them in terms of resources, time and spotlight. They need to choose the activities that will have the greatest impact. Good progress on these will make it easier to move on to the others.
Conclusion
Strategy implementation is not easy but it can be achieved successfully. It requires the right context to be established, good planning, strong resolve, hard work and a focus on results. Also, by applying the golden rules and learning from the insights above, the chance of success should improve considerably.