To illustrate, an automotive client had to increase production dramatically. They faced significant management inertia and a legal barrier limiting the solution.
The resulting success of this six month Pyramid ODI assignment triggered legislative change, increased revenue by $20m and added $4m to the bottom line.
Success came from attributes “stolen” from the business planners’ manual:
- detailed market analysis principles were used by three shop-floor facilitated groups to find solutions from way beyond their current business sector;
- risk mitigation principles were used to identify “new entrants” and “substitution” that were not impacting the current business but could influence the future;
- segmentation was used to identify the unique needs of all those currently influenced and those identified in risk mitigation - leading to multiple action and communication strategies.
In seven weeks, the teams picked up ideas, modified them and designed their preferred solution, within a framework that included a “no increase in operating costs” framework set by management.
Management were initially sceptical and then amazed. Supervision attended a weekly breakfast briefing. Initially negative, they soon embraced the changes.
These teams had no previous involvement in influencing change; for many, this represented their first visit to another company and their first presentation to anyone above their immediate supervisor.
Key to their success was the identification and inclusion of “new entrants” who played a significant part in influencing a successful outcome. Left unattended, they could have blocked the change. The early inclusion of authority figures from the local community, the country’s Prime Minister and the Group Board were crucial.
We engaged with the workforce in a fundamentally different way. Their solution grabbed the imagination of supervision, management, executives and government.
Views on shop-floor capability changed forever, as self-confidence grew and the capacity for change increased. HQ invested in new capital projects. The future, for a generation at least, seems secure.
The shop-floor even found their own elegant solution to avoid conflict with their trade union at national level.
In conclusion, “Getting to Plan B” works equally well in implementing the resulting change. True culture change can occur rapidly with really effective segmentation and due diligence.
Postscript: The quote from their Finance Director, which he delivered in between pinning me to the wall and then giving me a large bear hug, will stay with me forever, “I have worked here for 35 years. I never realised the potential of our own workers. We have wasted so much in that time!” He was shaking with emotion.
Showing posts with label revenue. Show all posts
Showing posts with label revenue. Show all posts
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
Thursday, 3 February 2011
OD on strategy to increase sales.
Is your organisation failing to achieve its revenue targets? Are prospects not being converted into profitable sales? Is there tension between the sales team and other departments?
Your Strategy has been recently refreshed. The Board have signed-off challenging targets. The vision is clear and cascaded effectively, but where will the new revenue come from?
It is possible to look outside the business for an answer and we will certainly talk more about converting market analysis in future blogs. Today, I want to focus on facilitating internal behavioural change - the role that you should take to “OD the Strategy”.
As an example, Pyramid recently worked with a well established precision engineering company – an international, specialist player. They felt they might be missing out on “easier” sales opportunities arising from cross-selling between product divisions and from after-sales to existing clients.
The psychological barriers to change were significant. Managers and Executive Board Directors had built their careers on the company’s strong product history – successful silos and inter-departmental competitiveness resulted.
To OD their strategy, all their managers participated in facilitated redesign. They:
- Created an aligned structure and bench-tested changes to core processes;
- Completed potential risk assessment and highlighted mitigating actions;
- Proposed phased implementation towards a market-led business.
Management were re-energised.
You may have done something similar after your last strategic review, but what next?
If your risk assessment has been robust, then your business should still be converting traditional sales from established markets. This is nothing more than your base-line.
As a leader, you should not rely on the illumination arising from the market analysis in the strategic review or the energy generated in facilitated meetings to achieve sustainable change.
Your internal communications will still need to create greater awareness, ownership and concerted multi-functional action, by tapping in to the know-how and latent potential existing across the whole organisation – more on this next time.
But most importantly - your leadership must create “positive anxiety”, where once complacency ruled. Your personal energy level and visibility must go up a notch or three. If you traditionally operate at “high” on any scale, then you now need to be operating at an “11” on a new dial. You should return to management basics with enthusiasm, curiosity and empathy:
- Monitor the prospects database, read every visit report, roam your CRM system and ask lots of positive and supportive questions;
- Give the motivational vision speech, particularly with manufacturing and sales staff physically and “mentally” in the same room. Keep it real for them, by setting challenging targets and actively listening to their feedback;
- Create positive tension on quality and performance for those delivering your core business functions, particularly where finance, sales, marketing, manufacturing and logistics processes interface.
One way of managing this last point constructively is to encourage every member of the management to demonstrate how and where their teams are building stronger relationships and measuring only the things that matter to achieve shared goals. Set about destroying silos and negative inter-departmental beliefs that get in the way. No more moaning and groaning – just one for all and all for one.
I will be talking more about this last point in two weeks, so don’t forget to register here to follow my future blogs. In the meantime, read “Bounce” by Keith McFarland to learn more about “positive anxiety”.
And Happy Chinese New Year!
Michael
Your Strategy has been recently refreshed. The Board have signed-off challenging targets. The vision is clear and cascaded effectively, but where will the new revenue come from?
It is possible to look outside the business for an answer and we will certainly talk more about converting market analysis in future blogs. Today, I want to focus on facilitating internal behavioural change - the role that you should take to “OD the Strategy”.
As an example, Pyramid recently worked with a well established precision engineering company – an international, specialist player. They felt they might be missing out on “easier” sales opportunities arising from cross-selling between product divisions and from after-sales to existing clients.
The psychological barriers to change were significant. Managers and Executive Board Directors had built their careers on the company’s strong product history – successful silos and inter-departmental competitiveness resulted.
To OD their strategy, all their managers participated in facilitated redesign. They:
- Created an aligned structure and bench-tested changes to core processes;
- Completed potential risk assessment and highlighted mitigating actions;
- Proposed phased implementation towards a market-led business.
Management were re-energised.
You may have done something similar after your last strategic review, but what next?
If your risk assessment has been robust, then your business should still be converting traditional sales from established markets. This is nothing more than your base-line.
As a leader, you should not rely on the illumination arising from the market analysis in the strategic review or the energy generated in facilitated meetings to achieve sustainable change.
Your internal communications will still need to create greater awareness, ownership and concerted multi-functional action, by tapping in to the know-how and latent potential existing across the whole organisation – more on this next time.
But most importantly - your leadership must create “positive anxiety”, where once complacency ruled. Your personal energy level and visibility must go up a notch or three. If you traditionally operate at “high” on any scale, then you now need to be operating at an “11” on a new dial. You should return to management basics with enthusiasm, curiosity and empathy:
- Monitor the prospects database, read every visit report, roam your CRM system and ask lots of positive and supportive questions;
- Give the motivational vision speech, particularly with manufacturing and sales staff physically and “mentally” in the same room. Keep it real for them, by setting challenging targets and actively listening to their feedback;
- Create positive tension on quality and performance for those delivering your core business functions, particularly where finance, sales, marketing, manufacturing and logistics processes interface.
One way of managing this last point constructively is to encourage every member of the management to demonstrate how and where their teams are building stronger relationships and measuring only the things that matter to achieve shared goals. Set about destroying silos and negative inter-departmental beliefs that get in the way. No more moaning and groaning – just one for all and all for one.
I will be talking more about this last point in two weeks, so don’t forget to register here to follow my future blogs. In the meantime, read “Bounce” by Keith McFarland to learn more about “positive anxiety”.
And Happy Chinese New Year!
Michael
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