Most people don't try to create breakthroughs because they
don't believe such important improvements are possible.
With the right preparations you'll be more likely to
succeed and your confidence in your future success will
soar.
How can we use the right preparations to replace our
skepticism about breakthroughs with success?
Let me put this subject in context: It's an important
lesson for those who want to make lots of 2,000 percent
solutions (ways of accomplishing 20 times more with the
same time, effort, and resources).
The steps for creating a 2,000 percent solution are listed
here:
1. Understand the importance of measuring performance.
2. Decide what to measure.
3. Identify the future best practice and measure it.
4. Implement beyond the future best practice.
5. Identify the ideal best practice.
6. Pursue the ideal best practice.
7. Select the right people and provide the right motivation.
8. Repeat the first seven steps.
This article looks at preparations for accomplishing step
seven, select the right people and provide the right
motivation.
Don't Ask Permission, Ask Forgiveness Later (If Necessary)
Sometimes the need for change is so daunting that the
organization's leaders won’t be able to cope. When
that circumstance occurs, consider saving the organization
by using what I call "stealth" change. Rather than
beginning by selling the people at the top and making great
promises and proclamations, keep it all hush-hush. Recruit
a few highly admired people who have the talent to lead the
change by creating models of the new ways on the quiet.
After setting the standard, loan talented teams who can
install the better ways to a few more highly admired people
who are in trouble with making their budgets. Ask your
bailed-out leaders to visit the rest of the organization to
explain the successful change and to welcome visitors who
want to learn more. Within six months, such stealthy
projects can often run circles around formally authorized
teams with tons of resources.
Launch Your Team into Escape Orbit
Before finalizing your choice of team members and leader,
let those you are considering know that there's risk
involved. Team members will be betting their careers with
this assignment. Team members and leaders who perform well
will likely be asked to solve another problem or pursue a
different opportunity — that's their career reward.
If they don't execute the changes, they won't have jobs to
go back to … but you will help them locate a new
position in another organization.
As you can imagine, knowing that you cannot retreat to your
old job is unsettling, even demoralizing, information.
People who have routinely exceeded the future best
practices to approach the ideal best practice report that
this up-or-out approach is necessary. Team members who like
a challenge will thrive in this environment. But it's not
for everyone. You are creating personal burning platforms
that will make team members realize that the project's
success is essential. Take on only those who are willing to
accept the personal danger from this risk.
What about financial rewards? Incentives for a special
project should in no way mirror the organization's existing
financial incentives. Success should result in far larger
than normal bonuses for team members at their given levels.
Pick incentive levels that will excite exceptional and
appropriate excellence. Many organizations choose
incentives that are too high. Larger financial incentives
quickly fail to add greater excitement. Instead, financial
incentives that are too large encourage people to play it
safe to be sure to get a minimum reward of the overwhelming
largesse.
STALLBUSTERS
You need to change some of the ways you manage your
organization now, locate your change leaders, prepare
leaders for the change tasks, and encourage change leaders
to be effective and enthusiastic.
What to Stop Doing
You have some ineffective methods. Those have to stop. You
also need to stop doing things that take up time you need
for the change projects. Consider your answers to the
following questions:
• What are the habits that will push your
organization in the wrong direction as you pursue the
desired changes?
• How can you encourage people to abandon those
habits?
• What incentives do you provide now for those habits
that need to be removed?
• What messages need to stop being sent?
Find the Best Change Leaders
The following questions will help you identify change
leaders:
• Who has the best track record in your organization
for leading the types of changes you desire?
• Who else could be an effective contributor to the
change process through new ideas, communicating the change,
or organizing the change effort?
• Who are the people in your organization who are
most excited about the potential to make these changes?
• How well do the candidates' values match the
organization's values?
Prepare the Change Leaders
Use these questions to enhance the effectiveness of your
change leaders:
• What information do the change leaders lack that
can be readily provided?
• How can that information be shared quickly and
accurately?
• What skills or training will they need to be
effective?
• How can this training be timed to help them when it
will be most relevant to the tasks at hand?
• What resources will they need?
• How can those resources be provided in a timely way?
Activate the Change Leaders
It's not enough to have the talent and desire. You also
need to be properly focused. Each of us responds
differently to rewards and recognition. For each of your
team members and leaders consider the answers to this
question:
• What combination of fulfilling desires for
recognition, reward, and feedback is right for each person
to help him or her reach the highest level of performance?
In answering this question, remember that creativity
researchers have found that rewards for being creative
often backfire, while rewards for accomplishing a
predefined implementation task usually work well. The best
way to begin is by talking with each person about what
motivates her or him for the tasks that need doing.
Copyright 2007 Donald W. Mitchell, All Rights Reserved
----------------------------------------------------
Donald Mitchell is chairman of Mitchell and Company, a
strategy and financial consulting firm in Weston, MA. He is
coauthor of six books including The 2,000 Percent Squared
Solution, The 2,000 Percent Solution, and The 2,000 Percent
Solution Workbook. You can find free tips for accomplishing
20 times more by registering at:
====> http://www.2000percentsolution.com .
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