Change management has been one of the most challenging tasks for every manager and leader worldwide. Much research has gone into improving the planning and implementation of change management initiatives. Kotter and many other scholars have suggested some interesting models and processes for doing it effectively. Here is my take on developing a strategy and other inputs for planning comprehensive change management using one of the popular tools in startup literature, Business Model Canvas.
Change never happens in isolation and must always be viewed as a systemic change. But how can you define the systemic elements which should be considered for effective change implementation? This is where BMC helps. BMC provides a simple framework covering all the important bases of a system where you want to create a change. The change could be in a market or within an organization. The factors and players remain relevant.
The biggest and most pertinent question all participants ask in any change scenario is, why this change? The associated questions are why now? And why me? This is where the first box of BMC, Value proposition helps. By following the process of the Value Proposition Canvas, we can identify how people are currently doing their jobs and how they can do better, with improved effectiveness. By identifying their pains and possible gains in the current scenario and proposing solutions clearly aligned to reduce those pains and enhance possible gains, it would be easy to help them see the end objectives and how the end state would be better for them. A clear value proposition is a must for any change management program, and when well-articulated, half the battle is won.
The next step is to clearly articulate the stakeholders involved and how they benefit from the proposed change. These are captured in the customer segments, where we can identify different groups of people involved and affected. This will help us fine-tune the value proposition to their specific roles and responsibilities so that each subgroup of stakeholders can see their specific benefits. This is a crucial step, usually missing in OCM (Organisational Change Management) projects where the typical approach is one-size-fits-all. This will also help us eliminate process anomalies and conflicts in delivering the benefits expected after the change.
How will you maintain a constant information exchange with these stakeholders and participants? Identifying the ways in which you are going to maintain communications is captured in customer relationships. This would include the type of communication, frequency, channel of communication, and possibilities of creating engagement and dialogue, a critical success factor for successful change.
Channels for delivering the value proposition intended for change will be identified next. These are the main processes or tools that are being rolled out. These channels govern the way the change manifests into a value. These channels will also help us identify the training and other necessary enablers to ensure things happen as intended.
Now the operational side of change management needs our attention. The first step is to identify Key Activities. We need to execute these things to ensure that change is defined, designed, piloted, tested, improved, and rolled out. Each activity should be aligned to ensure the promised value proposition is delivered to all the stakeholders. This is where the intended outputs and outcomes are operationalized.
Key Resources are then identified, which are required to execute the key activities. These could be human resources, tools, technology, etc. Without these key resources, the activities won’t happen, and the intended value will not be delivered. Identification and budgeting of these key resources is a critical success factor. The key resources can also come from customer relations and channels for value delivery.
It is also critical to identify the key partners who would be helping us to execute the key activities and provide key resources. These partners could come from some of the stakeholders or the vendors or tool providers. Identification, alignment, and enablement of partners become important for successful implementation. The partners could be helping at different stages of the change implementation based on their competency and experience.
What additional ways would the target system improve, along with the core benefit? This is where the revenue streams concept could help. Here the focus is not to add more expenditure but leverage the opportunity to change a few more sub-systems and enhance the overall value proposition for change. These opportunities can be identified from the discussions with diverse stakeholder groups who may need something more or other than the intended change but are closely related to the same. Identification and incorporation of these additional value-delivering activities would ensure the overall satisfaction of all stakeholders and easier alignment and adoption. Any conflicts between stakeholders could also surface during this discussion.
The final element to be considered is the “cost structure” or the “budgeting process”. The things to be budgeted for could emerge from every other box or concept we have discussed; unless all these elements are considered and carefully budgeted for, the project costs will not be realistic and may not be adequate for delivering the whole value proposition. This will also help Cost-Benefit analysis and possible innovation and value engineering for improving the ROI.
This is how BMC can effectively strategize, plan, and implement any change management project in any context.
About the Author
Flt. Lt. Sridhar is a Startup Ecosystem Builder, Keynote Speaker, Author, Researcher, and Entrepreneur. Sridhar’s mission is to help Entrepreneurs and startups achieve incredible success through exponential growth. He brings insights and lessons from three decades of hands-on startup and business leadership experience in various verticals. Sridhar uses six different thinking processes, including systems thinking and design thinking, and helps entrepreneurs create breakthrough solutions through his unique coaching process. Sridhar launched and ran four businesses. He is a certified Startup Mentor from the Confederation of Indian Industries.