Chapter 10
Leading and Selling the Change (Stage 3)

Before we venture further into the process of implementation, we need first to address selling the change within our organization. As we well know from past experiences, this sales process is not easy and prone to failure. I would argue that more than half the initiatives that are declined by the board or senior management were under sold. In other words, given the right approach, the initiative would have gone ahead.

If you are not prepared to learn the skills to cover the common deficiencies in selling change process, you are better off playing golf or burying yourself in a process. Selling change requires a special set of skills and we all can, and should, get better at it. The people with the natural talent in this area are likely to be found in sales or public relations functions.

Leading Change by John Kotter

In 1996, John Kotter published Leading Change,1 which quickly became the seminal work in the change management space. He pointed out, as we already know, that effecting change—real change—transformative change—is hard: really hard.

In his work he had an eight-stage process of creating major change, a clear map to follow when faced with influencing, at a deep level, an organization to migrate.

The eight-step process is:

  1. Establish a Sense of Urgency. We need to create a burning platform in the minds of the CEO and senior management team. In other words there is no staying put; we have to change. In this step we need to be careful to address both the intellectual and the emotional sides of the reasons why change is necessary. Build an urgent sense of capturing an opportunity.
  2. Create a Guiding Coalition. Find and include the oracles in the organization, the staff whose opinion or advice is frequently sought. Ensure you have a representative cross section of people from all levels of the organization. If you can get these on board you will find that they are invaluable sales agents for the change.
  3. Develop a Vision and Strategy. In order to sell change you need to paint a picture so the journey can be seen by all. Link back to folklore from the past to reference the changes the KPI project is seeking. The documenting of a blueprint, by the oracles, is a very worthwhile exercise and makes for a compelling case.
  4. Communicate the Change Vision. Kotter emphasized that it's not likely that you will under-communicate a little bit; you will probably under-communicate by a factor of 10 to 100 times. The KPI team will need to plan for more communication than has been done in the past, e.g., getting permission from the CEO to get ten minutes at every gathering, so they can push the message and give feedback on progress.
  5. Empower Broad-Based Action. Early on the need for change and the right to change must be handed over to teams within the organization. The “just do it” mantra has to be installed in this project, as discussed in Chapter 9. Once the project has been started, let teams who are motivated tend to the fire of change.
  6. Generate Quick Wins. These are obvious to us all but frequently missed. Always remember that senior management is often inflicted with an attention deficit disorder. Progress in a methodical, introverted way at your peril. We need easy wins that the CEO can celebrated publicly to maintain interest and energy.
  7. Consolidate Gains and Produce More Change. This is the fly-wheel effect so well put by Jim Collins in his books Built to Last and Good to Great. The change, like a giant flywheel, is hard to turn at first, but as it gains momentum it becomes easier and easier to make it go faster. See Chapter 4 for more details.
  8. Anchor New Approaches in the Culture. Make heroes of the change agents; make sure their values are embedded in the corporate values.

Learn to Sell by Appreciating the Emotional Drivers of the Buyer

To sell a product, a service, or a project you need to remember that little was ever sold by logic! You sell through emotional drivers (e.g., remember how the dealer sold you a car). Thus, we need to radically alter the way we pitch this sale to the senior management team (SMT), to the CEO, and to the board. We have to focus on the emotional drivers that matter to these groups and understand the links between them. Start by asking these questions:

Points of pain/emotional drivers for the senior management team Points of pain/emotional drivers for the board
Do we know which of our success factors are critical? Are the measures we report to you giving you a clear view of organization's overall performance?
Does the lack of alignment of daily activities to strategy concern you? Is the organization making enough progress on the good-to-great journey?
Are you overwhelmed by too many performance measures? Would you benefit from a one-page overview of performance?
Do you enjoy sifting through information overload in your precious family time? Are you receiving too much information and thus there is a danger of not seeing the woods for the trees?
Would it be beneficial if all the staff knew the organization's critical success factors? Would it be beneficial if all the staff knew the organization's critical success factors?

Many initiatives fail at this hurdle because we attempt to change the culture through selling logic, writing reports, and issuing commands via e-mail. It does not work. It is important to recognize that maybe the KPI team does not have enough public relations (PR) skills, so PR support will be needed. No presentation, e-mail, memo, or paper should go out unless it has been vetted by your PR expert. All your presentations should be road-tested in front of the PR expert. Your PR strategy should include selling to staff, budget holders, SMT, and the board.

If managed correctly, you will need only four to seven days of PR consultancy time. Once the chosen PR expert has visited the organization and received an adequate brief, keep the PR expert behind the scenes and avoid getting them caught up in lengthy meetings or writing original copy. This expert's role is to rework the output from the KPI team, often advising and amending e-mailed documents. This step should not be underestimated.

Sales Pitches You Will Need to Make to Get the Go-Ahead

The KPI team will need to incorporate the following tasks within the work it performs in order to succeed in selling the KPI project as outlined in this book.

Task 1. Obtain PR Support for the Project

As mentioned, this project needs a PR machine behind it. Where possible, select a PR expert who already knows the organization. Failing that, seek someone who has helped market a project to an organization's staff. Do check references, and ring a couple of their old assignments asking the Jack Welch question, “Would you have them again?”

Please view my webcasts accessed through www.davidparmenter.com, where I have discussed this in more detail and provided you with material to help the sales process.

Task 2. Prepare Your Elevator Speech

Having now understood why prior initiatives have failed through poor selling, let us now look at how we get the SMT motivated. The key is to have a 20-second elevator speech that is designed to capture their attention. It must be ready so that when we next bump into the decision makers we are practiced and poised (see Exhibit 10.1).

c10ex001

Exhibit 10.1 Never Underestimate the Power of a Good, Well-Practiced Elevator Speech

The “elevator speech” term came about in management books describing how you need to be able to get a point across in an elevator ride, around 30 seconds to two minutes, as sometimes these are the only chances you may have to get through to a decision maker. The aim is, as they walk away, that they ask you to come to their office in the next few days to discuss this further.

In answer to the question “What have you been up to?” or any other inroad to a conversation, try something like this:

I have been looking at a new measurement methodology that could accelerate our progress on the good-to-great journey. It raises many issues. “Do we have a clear and common understanding of our critical success factors?” “Do we have far too many measures, some of which are creating dysfunctional behavior?” I would like 20 minutes of your time to outline the methodology and the easy next steps we could take. Do you have a window, I know it will be of interest.”

or like this:

I have been preparing an overview for the SMT on a new measurement methodology that could accelerate our progress on the good-to-great journey. It will address some of the concerns such as _______________ and ____________ which I know are of concern to you. The output of the methodology will be a clear and common ownership of our critical success factors throughout the organization, and a reduction in the number of performance measures as dysfunctional measures will be abandoned. I would welcome the opportunity to have 20 minutes with you. I have 10 slides that I am sure will be of interest to you.

The key is to fine-tune the elevator speech so that it is compelling. I recommend you practice your elevator speech at least 20 times so that it is focused and no longer than 30 seconds. If time permits, you could talk about how late planes in the sky turned around British Airways. As Kotter said, we need to create a sense of urgency and connect both intellectually and emotionally.

Task 3: Selling the Need for a One-Day Focus Group Workshop

Assuming there is a certain level of interest, we now have to prepare a presentation to try to get the SMT to agree to a “tipping point” workshop where all the concepts can be aired and the experts are asked whether the initiative should proceed to the next stage.

This presentation is a game changer and is important to get right. You will not get a second chance. Thus, one needs to embrace the better practices around “winning” presentations. The following are some practices extracted from Appendix C, Delivering Bulletproof PowerPoint Presentations:

  • Focus on the emotional drivers of the audience
  • Presell to a thought leader in the intended audience so they speak first with their support
  • Follow Guy Kawasaki's 10/20/30 rule: 10 slides, 20 minutes, and no font used less than 30 pitch
  • Use Post-its to plan the structure of the presentation. Map the subject area out in a mind map and then do a mind dump on Post-it stickers covering all the points, diagrams, and pictures you want to cover. Have one sticker for each point. Then you place your stickers where they fit best. Using stickers makes it easy to reorganize them. This will lead to a better presentation. See Exhibit 10.2.
  • The shorter the presentation, the more you need to practice—a minimum of 10 live tests with a test audience who take notes and who only provide feedback after your uninterrupted practice. Some practices will be with the thought leader who will be in the meeting. Remember: mumbling to yourself in front of the TV is not a practice session.
  • Prime the thought leader to speak first, after you deliver your presentation covering the points you want emphasized. Read the following books: Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Duarte2 and Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery by Garr Reynolds.3
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Exhibit 10.2 Using Post-it Stickers to Plan the Content of the Presentation

Then, as part of the sale process, go over these points with the SMT:

Broken measures The existing performance measures have not changed anything.
Reducing long days and weekends The focus on the right measures would mean the CEO and SMT would be more effective in less time, saving many long evenings/weekends of work.
Improve alignment The right KPIs will link daily staff activities to the strategic objectives as they have never been linked before.
Reporting focused on the here and now This KPI project would start to transform the reporting into a decision-based tool with a greater focus on daily, weekly, and monthly reporting that is interesting, concise, and prompt.
Cost of current measures The investment of time and money in the current performance measurement system is not generating enough value (estimate on the high side—costs motivate the SMT).
Need the oracles The project team needs to focus on the marketing of this new concept and the organization's oracles are the place to start.

This stage is important as we want to create a guiding coalition in Kotter's words.

Task 4: Hold a Focus Group Workshop

The one-day focus group workshop should be attended by a cross section of 15 to 30 experienced staff covering the business units, teams, area offices, and head office, and covering the different roles from administrators to senior management team members.

At this workshop you discuss the existing issues with performance measures, expose them to the new thinking, outline the intended approach, and seek their advice to decide if the project is viable and, if so, what lessons we should learn from past projects.

As a result of this workshop, the project implementation program will be tailored to cover the main institutional barriers and hot spots, and the SMT should be in a position to select the KPI team and commit to the project.

The aim of this workshop is to be a “tipping point” get the oracles' green light and their full support, which will be important. The next step is to sell the senior management team the project to revitalize performance measurement.

Task 5: Prepare a Comprehensive KPI Project Blueprint

From a recent case study I have learned how imperative it is to invest time in developing a robust blueprint, one that sets out the direction and the requirements. One accredited coach, in the winning KPIs methodology, has recommended it could be called “a measures treasure map.”

In order to achieve this you will need a series of lock-up workshops involving senior management and a cross section of the oracles. The output from these workshops is the final blueprint document.

The Ballance Nutrients approach is ideal for winning KPIs, albeit we can be much quicker as we are not concerned, at this stage, with implementing an expensive software application.

Task 6: Deliver Presentation to the SMT or Board to Seek Project Approval

With a comprehensive blueprint, and with the oracles support, you are now in a position to seek permission to roll out the KPI project. In many organizations this may require board approval because of its significance. Use the checklist in Appendix C, Delivering Bulletproof PowerPoint Presentations, to ensure that nothing is forgotten. Ensure that you remember Kotter's advice: project teams have a tendency to undercommunicate.

You will be able to secure more time with this presentation: 30 to 40 minutes is ideal. It needs to cover a summary of the material in this book. I have included some PowerPoint slides in the attached electronic media.

Preselling to an Influential Member of the Decision Team. You need to ascertain who in the meeting is a wise oracle that the CEO will turn to and who is accessible to you. Visit them and ask for their assistance. Sell the project to them: that this could be a great “tipping point” in the development of the organization. You need them to be committed. Once you have a level of commitment, ask them for their input into the presentation. On a regular basis show them the slides and, at the right moment, ask them whether you could practice in front of them. Their feedback will be most valuable. Use all of their suggestions and lock in their wording. They will begin to fall in love with the presentation by recognizing their contribution.

Before the presentation ask them for their guidance to getting the meeting over the line. You will most likely be told that they will be happy to speak first, offering their support.

Now this is where you subtly suggest some points you would like them to emphasize. Nobody can now say you did not give this your full attention.

Practice, Practice, Practice. As previously mentioned, you will need some proper practices with this presentation. To have the required impact in such presentations, I would recommend attending a “train the trainer session.” You will learn useful tricks to engage the senior management team.

Selling the Winning KPIs to the Organization's Staff

This activity was step five in the first and second editions of this book. I have now realized that I have, in the two earlier editions, undersold this important part of any major project. Employees need to be prepared for change. The project team and the senior management team need to:

  • Convey what the organization's CSFs are and why employees need to focus their daily activities around them
  • Convince employees of the need for change by highlighting the performance gap between the organization and best practice
  • Outline what change is required
  • Show how KPIs contribute to the CSFs and the organization's strategy
  • Attract employees' interest so they want to participate by selling the change through their emotional drivers
  • Address employees' resistance to change and performance measurement

A formal briefing program should be held to outline the changes associated with introducing KPIs into the organization. By its conclusion, all employees should at least believe that they need to do something differently, and a core group should be clear about implementation issues and how performance measures will be used. Those who have shown an aptitude for the new KPI model should become the team coordinators, who will support and help the KPI team to develop and implement KPIs. In Chapter 4: Revitalizing Performance, the second foundation stone was the knowledge of the paradigm shifters (Drucker, Collins, Welch, Hamel, Peters, Waterman, and others). We need to apply this knowledge, as set out in Exhibit 10.3.

Exhibit 10.3 Lessons from the Paradigm Shifters (featured in Chapter 4)

Lesson Implication
Aggregate collective wisdom. Hamel provides compelling evidence that “large groups of people are often smarter than the experts in them.” The KPI team should consult widely and hold sessions during each workshop to ensure adequate chance for all to have their say. This is best done by limiting each workgroup in the workshop to no more than seven members.
Too much hierarchy, too little community. Gary Hamel points out that hierarchies are good at aggregating effort (coordinating activities), but not good at mobilizing effort (inspiring people to go above and beyond). The more you consolidate power in the hands of a few leaders, the less resilient the system will be. The KPI team must promote a community feel to the project, selling the benefits through the emotional drivers and gaining credibility by abandoning process, measures, and reports that are not working.

The KPI team will need to incorporate the following tasks within the work it performs in this stage.

Task 1. Survey a Cross-Section of Staff

A survey is required to find out the current perceptions on existing performance information in the organization, the current concerns about the new project, and what needs to be covered in the employee briefings. This survey should be performed before the staff KPI workshops held in stages four and five.

With the help of the HR team, make a selection of experienced staff covering all regions, levels of staff, and so forth. This cross-section sample should not be greater than 200, or 10 percent of total staff, and not less than 30 staff. With these numbers, you can close off the survey with a 60 percent return rate and still have a valid survey. Too large a sample will make data mining more difficult and seldom raises any new issues. To assist, I have provided an employee questionnaire in PDF format for you to download.

Task 2. Utilizing the Feedback from Employee Survey

The feedback from employee survey must be incorporated in the workshop design. We need to cover all issues in the opening address by the KPI team presenter. To assist with capturing these issues, I have provided a worksheet in PDF format for you to download.

Task 3. Build a Compelling Case for Change

Demonstrate that KPIs are part of an SMT-agreed package of initiatives to respond to the pressures on the organization. Spell out these pressures in terms that people can understand. Use comparative information from preliminary benchmarking to highlight the performance gap between your organization and best practice.

As already stated, in selling the project to the SMT in step one, nothing was ever sold by logic! You sell through emotional drivers. Thus, you need to radically alter the way you pitch this sale to the staff. You have to focus on the emotional drivers that matter to them:

  • The right mix of performance measures will make work more rewarding and enjoyable (e.g., greater staff recognition).
  • The focus on the right measures would mean their work would be more effective (e.g., their day-to-day work would be better linked to the organization's strategic objectives).
  • In the future they would have more empowerment and autonomy (e.g., staff making more decisions).
  • Winning KPIs will enhance profitability and thus offer greater job security and possibly increased remuneration (e.g., through profit-sharing arrangements).

Task 4. Use the Project's Vision Statement to Attract the Staff

Generate interest by painting a picture of how the workplace could look in two to three years once KPIs and other initiatives have taken hold. Over time, empowered staff will begin to generate their own versions of the vision for the workplace. However, in the beginning, it is critical that the KPI project team is passionate about the KPI project vision statement. The PR expert is to ensure that all documentation sells this vision adequately (e.g., memos, presentations, and the KPI team intranet pages).

To assist you with these steps, I have prepared a suggested road-show program in PDF format for you to download.

Task 5: Maintain Ongoing Communication

Whatever you have done in the past, it will not have been enough. Follow Kotter's advice and attempt to over-communicate rather than under-communicate.

Use the mediums that work for your audience. Do not sit behind a vast array of tweets, e-mails, and Facebook entries. You must merge this with “walking the talk.”

Most projects make inroads and have quick wins, albeit few have a project leader that recognizes them, celebrates them, or, worse, communicates them. Make sure you have an elevator speech, updated each week, so you can spread the good news and sow the seeds of success to whomever you meet in your daily travels.

Task 6: Empower Broad-Based Action

If the blueprint was successful, you will already have traction in various parts of the organization. At Ballance Nutrients the project was racing ahead on many fronts simultaneously.

Benefits of This Stage

The KPI team will maximize the likelihood of an approval for the KPI project, as outlined in this book, to go ahead.

Marketing the KPI system to all staff maximizes the commitment from a broad cross-section of employees.

Templates and Checklists

To assist the KPI project team on the journey, templates and checklists have been provided. The reader can access, free of charge, a PDF of the suggested worksheets, checklists, and templates from kpi.davidparmenter.com/thirdedition.

The templates include:

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Notes