CHANGE QUICKSCAN

Clear strategic direction

This is the source of intellectual energy. It's the choice for the direction the organization wants to take, based on analyses, insights, reflections and syntheses. It is the energy you generate by understanding your internal and external environment, looking ahead and making the resulting strategic decisions. A good strategy leads to coherent action. 

Interpreting the quickscan result:

0-25%: Your strategy battery is leaking energy. The organisation has no clear priorities and  seems directionless and uncertain about what's next.

25-50%: Your strategy battery is weak. Even though your organiation carries out a number of strategic activities, the direction is not well defined or clearly formulated. You are probably not ready for changes driven by your competitors through strategic disruptors.

50-75%:  Your strategy battery generates positive energy for your change process, even though you may need to take some extra actions to charge it further. This can be done, for example, by systematically collecting information about your needs of your customers, the actions of competitors, and what's going on in the periphery of your market. Set up experiments to test new business models in your market and ensure you are ready for disruption.

75-100%:  Your strategy battery is well charged. Your strategy is based on reality and is well defined. You have strong antennas built to scan what's going on in your market and you are ready to actively create the future. 

How do you go from an empty to a fully charged strategy battery that delivers strategic focus and attention?

• Make clear choices for your competitive playing field and focus.
• Allow the necessary time for a sound strategy development process. Involve the different levels at different times.
• Complement strategy formulation sessions with strategy analysis sessions. Get input on customers, competitors and your internal situation.
• Be aware that the future is not simply an extrapolation of the past. If your company experiences setbacks, set up experiments to develop new business models.

Powerful management infrastructure

This battery contributes to the systemic energy of the organisation. It flows from the systems, organisational structures and procedures that prioritize and support change efforts through continuous improvement. It's about figuring out how to get more out of the whole than from the different parts.

Interpreting the quickscan result:

0-25%: Your management infrastructure battery is an energy guzzler for your change project. Your organisation lacks the most critical processes and structures to successfully complete your change process.

25-50%: Your management infrastructure battery is weak.  Your organisation is either missing critical resource allocation or governance processes, or is failing to measure progress. The result is that your projects lack direction, people and budgets.

50-75%: Your management infrastructure helps drive change. You may have established a program management office to monitor the progress of your strategic projects. But do you provide sufficient resources for each project? And do you ensure that you learn from the successes and failures of each project?

75-100%: Your management infrastructure is a powerful engine for change. You have an exceptionally strong infrastructure that is clearly linked to your strategy and is an anchor point for individual projects. Your infrastructure is also a powerful instrument to recharge your cultural battery.

How do you recharge your management battery to generate systemic energy that helps you manage both daily performance and breakthrough improvements?

It all starts with recognizing the importance of a well-functioning, powerful management infrastructure. Pay special attention to four activity sets:

• 'Manage the whole' by creating a strategy map that explains the logic of how value is created for customers and shareholders.
• Practice strict time management through solid capacity and priority management swimming.
• Develop an appropriate reporting and meeting infrastructure. Don't just focus on the 'control' function, but ask what your employees and colleagues have learned so that they are encouraged to take ownership of future projects.
• Build a knowledge management system that helps you continuously improve.

Action planning and implementation

This battery provides physical energy. It's the engine that makes things happen, thanks to sound data analysis and thoughtful experimentation that identifies the best path forward. It's also about making progress visible and the vitality this creates. This contains the kinetic force for change. 

Interpreting the quickscan result:

0-25%: The action planning battery is an energy guzzler. Your organisation migt not be able to translate strategic projects into benefits for the customer. Your organisation lacks the project and process management skills to deliver quality projects on time and on budget.

25-50%: The action planning battery is weak. Your organisation may have formulated the scope of your projects well, but you also need to prepare them appropriately, manage the change well and create commitment and ownership among your team members to sustain the success. Unfortunately, you probably won't score well on most of these items.

50-75%: Your action planning battery generates energy for the change project. You succeed in finishing projects and implementing them in the organisation. However, there is still room for improvement. Do you use prototypes when you come up with a solution for a problem? Do you screen the projects regularly? Do you include the results of your change projects in your standard operating procedures?

75-100%: Your action planning battery is well charged. Your organisation systematically delivers projects that benefit customers or generate capacity for a more strategy-oriented organization.

How do you charge your fysical energy to efficiently transfer to efficiently convert actions into benefits and capabilities?

• Start with the 'why'. Encouraging your employees to take action is not enough - care for relevant initiatives while keeping the ultimate goal in mind.
• Develop a project plan. This creates clarity between  who is accountable for the results and the sponsor who ensures the availability of time and resources.
• Organise team events. Provide a place where the team can focus on the project together for several days in a row without interruption. Encourage teamwork, not heroism.
• Invest in a flexible methodology. Stable solutions are the result of data analysis, creativity and experimentation, but also of coaching and ownership.
• Embed the results in an environment of self-managing teams. Sustainable initiatives evaluate their own performance to identify the next challenge.

Ambitious topteam

This battery forms the seed for spiritual energy. It's about the commitment of company leaders to develop a common vision and create confidence in an irresistible and meaningful ambition.

Interpreting the quickscan result:

0-25%:  Your top team battery is an energy guzzler. There is insufficient energy to inspire the rest of the organisation because employees do not believe in the change story. Either because the members of the top team are not role models for change or because the message is not inspiring and ambitious enough. There may also be a lack of mutual trust among top team members, possibly because they follow their own agenda.

25-50%: The top team battery is weak. Your top team does not yet act like a real team or it does not have sufficient budget and resources to support the change ambition. You must provide extra energy to develop and communicate a credible and inspiring ambition.

50-75%: Your top team generates energy for the change project. To take full advantage of the power of this battery, you should work on one or two targeted criteria. The organisation should periodically evaluate the gap between the current and the desired change environment activities. 

75-100%: The top team battery is fully charged. You have a great team that supports an inspiring vision for change. It has received a clear mandate from the most important stakeholders and you have the resources and energy to change the organisation.

How do you forge an ambitious top team that radiates spiritual energy and generates purpose and meaning? 

• First, managers of successful reformers realize that change starts with them. Top executives are role models for change. If they don't exhibit the expected behavior, there's a good chance your change won't go anywhere. 
• Second, executives from successful teams spend sufficient time building a real team, not a pseudo team.
• Third, winning top teams create a sense of divine discontent that drives the organization into action. At the same time, they formulate an inspiring aspiration that stimulates and motivates the rest of the organisation to change course.

Healthy culture

This battery provides social energy. It's the energy that people get from positive relationships with others, their sense of us instead of I and their shared search for victory.

Interpreting the quickscan result:

0-25%: Your culture battery is (almost) empty. Your culture is  weakened and might be  unhealthy. This has a significant negative effect on the progress of your change process. 

25-50%: Your culture battery is weak and needs additional charging. In all likelihood, your culture is defensive, uncollaborative, toxic, and risk-averse. These cultural traits limit change success.

50-75%: Your culture battery contains strong elements that generate energy for your change process. Your organisation realizes that culture is important and you have actively worked on a healthy culture: a performance-driven organization, a culture where collaboration and/or the search for opportunities are paramount. Consider which specific element of your culture can still be improved.

75-100%: Your culture battery is well charged and helping to drive change. Your culture is a source of competitive advantage that few companies have.

How do you create a healthy culture that increases social energy through cohesion and drive?

• You don't change your company culture overnight. It takes time to work through all the physical artifacts and daily behaviors to ultimately change the basic assumptions that shape your organization's culture. Have patience.
• Measuring is knowing. What's the current culture? How does this become clear in your organization? And what should she look like in the future?
• As you change your culture, start working on your cultural strengths. Define where and with whom you want to start your cultural initiatives. Then identify some critical behaviors that will help change an unhealthy culture into a healthy one.
• Reduce the distance between people, between leaders and employees, among colleagues, between insiders and outsiders. A healthy culture generates social energy.
• Finally, anchor the new behavior in your management infrastructure. Recruit and train employees and managers who reflect the desired values. 

Strong connection with employees

This battery generates psychological energy or confidence among employees and managers, and the courage to embrace the change. It provides a sense of security and support in bringing about changes that ultimately translate into a belief in the power of 'themselves', the 'team' and the 'organization.

Interpreting the quickscan result:

0-25%: Your connection battery is empty, you might ignore the psychological aspects of change. Your employees must be supported in the global change program, but your organization is neglecting a number of basic processes in mobilizing its employees for change. As a result, your employees might resist the change initiatives rather than welcome them with open arms.

25-50%: Your connection battery is weak. It's great that you view your employees as more than just 'resources', but what are you actually doing to engage and support them in their change journey? 

50-75%: Your connection battery generates psychological energy; the trust between managers and employees is sufficient and your people are encouraged to embrace the change. Pay sufficient attention to supporting your people during their individual change journey and don't forget to praise and recognize them for their change efforts.

75-100%: Your connection battery is a strong lever for the change program. Your organization has paid a lot of attention to developing a committed workforce. You communicate well, you provide support through training and you recognize and reward well. 

What is the key to generating that psychological energy that increases employee safety and engagement?

• Communicate to connect. Communication is more than just transferring information, it's about discovering what people think and feel about the change.
• Win the hearts and minds of all employees by supporting them in their individual transition.
• Build trusting relationships by being present and actively participating pears. Encourage your people to explore. This lays the foundation for self-reliance.
• Manage resistance by making it easy for people to change but also by setting clear Non-Negotiable Rules (NORs).
• Reinforce the change by providing support and ongoing feedback and by sharing and celebrating successes.