Leading in Times of Change, (AKA) Business Disruptions – Part 2

In our part 1 article challenging businesses to properly identify and deal with change/business disruptions, we focused on specific traits business leaders need to possess to be successful in leading their companies through difficult change management.  We also highlighted several key barriers businesses will encounter as they navigate through change and business disruptions.

In part two of this article, we continue to discuss the importance of “Change Leadership” and fundamentals for leading a company through change and business disruptions.

The Landscape of Change: “…I was never the smartest person in the room, and from the first person I hired, I still wasn’t the smartest person in the room. And, that’s a big deal. But right now everybody in the room thinks and behaves like they’re the smartest one there…we can’t agree on anything…I can’t get traction on anything we need to do….now I’ve got real problems…this needs to change…” —CEO Financial Services Company

Sound familiar?  Many businesses have tremendous management talent.  However, when their businesses are suddenly struck with a business disruption which they have never encountered before, are they really capable of rallying all the troops in a coordinated same direction effort?  Do they have the ability to immediately create cross functional teams to not only clearly identify the business disruption challenge, but more importantly, handle that disruption so that it does not “kill” their business?  

So where do company’s start?  Here are some questions businesses must consider:

1. What really happened, are we sure?  
2. Why did it happen; could it happen again?
3. Was it something the company was totally responsible for, or was the disruption generated by circumstances completely outside the business’ control?  
4. How will the company be affected by this change/disruption; are we sure?
5. Does the company fully understand the magnitude of this business disruption?
6. Why is it important for the management team to immediately address the issue(s)?
7. Can the company be successful in handling this disruption with only company resources?
8. If not, who does the company need to hire, or partner with to ensure the business’ survival?

As we see it, there are three key critical components for determining the extent of the disruption and setting the framework for leading change management initiatives to resolve any problems:

1. Gap Analysis:  Where is the company today; what is the current state? Where does the company need to be to ensure the businesses’ survival?
2. Mapping the Journey Forward: Businesses need to have a clear vision of what lies ahead.  What are the challenges the business will face in the short-term as well as the long-term? Are there any constraints now; will there be any constraints in the future; if so, what are they and how does the company navigate through those constraints to ensure success?
3. Create a Compelling Vision for the Future: Businesses need to create a successful path to ensure their short-term and long-term survival; one which is based on analyzing rational business models and performing on-going analysis; creating buy-in from all key stakeholders and building strong coalitions.  The death knell to any change or business disruption initiative is the lack of total buy-in. Companies need to align purpose, mindset, roles, strategies, performance, and, ultimately rewards.

Performing Gap Analyses and Journey Mapping most likely will require businesses to move into uncharted territory, the unknown as it were, and that can be a very scary place to operate in.  It will almost certainly include moving from the company’s comfort zone to a very complex environment. How a company navigates between these diverse zones will determine just how successful the company will be in succeeding in their change/disruption management initiative.

Some of the changes a business might encounter include merging teams or organizations that may be very diverse in nature and culture.  It may include significant downsizing of organizations. It may include the need to immediately outsource key operations. It may include the need to immediately remove or add a new product or products, or services to a company’s offerings.  It may even mean changing a company’s value proposition; one which perhaps guided the company for decades.

In order to successfully and properly map a company’s journey forward in times of change, companies will need to clearly identify and resolve primary and secondary constraints so they can achieve higher performance levels. They need to identify which condition or conditions are the weakest; is it people or the process, or perhaps a combination of both.  They will need to resolve all of these constraints to achieve the highest ROI for the company, but more importantly to ensure the company’s survival.

And finally, the company needs to create a compelling vision for the future.  In order to do this, companies will need to be successful in creating high performance teams that are capable of continually identifying these business disruption threats and have the ability to resolve all constraints each and every time they are encountered.  This requires corporate investments in time, talent and finances, all in a collective effort to ensure a successful future.