process management blog posts

Process Resistance

I often wonder why it should be in any way difficult to sell our software. It ought to fly off the shelves. The business case is slam dunk rock solid. Who doesn’t want a common language and a framework for effective collaboration in designing and managing change across the enterprise? Who wouldn’t be more agile with a clear line of sight between operating model and operational reality? Who doesn’t need to deploy processes in a way that is intuitive and engaging for people doing real work – and nurtures their feedback and ideas for continuous improvement? Who doesn't need a single source of the truth?

Most often, there’s two kinds of resistance. Sometimes it’s just a failure of imagination. People who can’t imagine that things could be significantly better. A mindset that’s the opposite of visionary.

More often though, there is understanding of the potential – but a wilful decision not to embrace it. Resistance may be justified in some circumstances. But far too often it’s just an aversion to rigor, accountability and a long-term perspective.

I was in a GBS leadership team discussion recently at a prospective client, a Fortune 500 company. The HR Head heard the pitch, and the mixed responses from around the table, then summed it up perfectly for her colleagues:

“We may not like it necessarily - but this discipline is exactly what we need.”

Moving an entire GBS organization to a new way of working requires significant and sustained effort, and continuing executive sponsorship.

But without this new way of working, this GBS organization cannot safely deliver its ambitious growth targets. It reconciles the tension between its twin objectives: to expand at pace, delivering substantial savings and sustained service innovations over the next five years, and to ensure compliance in a highly regulated environment.

11 Dec 2012 Process Management and Google Maps