Urban legend says that 70% of our business transformations will fail to meet their objectives. This deck for #HQNFlight gives an overview of the Bromford transformation journey , the successes, the failures, and what they will be doing differently going forward. Additionally it suggests a practical framework for how to combine ‘safe to fail’ experimentation within the context of your transformation programme, balancing low cost innovation with implementation.
7. A startup is a temporary organization designed to
search for a repeatable and scalable business
model.
A company is a permanent organization designed
to execute a repeatable and scalable business
model.
- Steve Blank
8. 1. Openness
2. Diversity
3. Serendipity
4. Fairness
5. Experimentation
6. Play
7. Giving
1. Excellence
2. Loyalty
3. Dependability
4. Success
5. Quality
6. Precision
7. Reciprocity
Values of
Innovation
Values of
Production
10. Experimentation is confusing – it offers no certainty
Experimentation means shutting down failures – and
killing people’s ‘brilliant ideas’
Experimentation means being comfortable not fully
knowing what you are doing or where you are going
11. Avoiding Silver Bullet Solutions
The best way to combat uncertainty is to spread your bets
with small experiments
12. HOW WE LIKE TO THINK
CHANGE WORKS
HOW IT WORKS IN
REALITY
13. The ‘iceberg of ignorance’ – that most problems in organisations are invisible to
leaders, and therefore unsolvable – was popularised by Sidney Yoshida
18. Is about starting with a blank sheet
of paper
What would we do if we genuinely
started again?
19.
20. Where’s the data that shows that?
What’s the problem we were trying
to fix?
What’s the impact been?
What do your customers say about
this?
What’s the return on investment?
FIVE QUESTIONS
TO SLAY ZOMBIE PROJECTS
21.
22. The evidence that
technology makes us
more productive is
weak at best.
There’s an ever
increasing gap
between
technological
sophistication and
work actually being
performed.
23. t
Thinking you are different is the first
step towards complexity.
It’s easier to make a simple thing
more complex than it is to make a
complex thing more simple.
24.
25. Some people seem to be more prone to creating
complexity than others
26.
27.
28. Our approach to solving the right problems
Problem Definition Design Test Pilot
Project
delivery
Transition to
Business as
Usual
2.0 DELIVERING CHANGE AT BROMFORD
Strategic Insight - objectively evaluating and informing Evaluation in
line with
business case
29. tEsT
PilOt
outCOMes
“Right, that’s
sort of OK”
“Needs more
work”
Usually Crap
iDEA
Kill It,
sHelVE It,
Release It.
‘Cursory
Design’
Actual Design
Evidencing
Completing
A strategy based on small losses takes most of
the risk out of innovation
30. Continually talking up transformation
actually makes it harder to implement
Telling people they are in for big changes
invokes their status quo bias
“A problem well-stated is half-solved.” - Charles Franklin Kettering, Head of Research at General Motors (1920 to 1947)
In times of scarce resources it’s tempting when we spot something that isn't quite right to jump to conclusions and start thinking about potential solutions.
In our enthusiasm to get things done we can often miss the most important thing - a real understanding of the problem. Unsurprisingly this often leads to the implementation of solutions which fail to hit the mark.
A better approach is to step back and look a little deeper into the issue. One way to do this is with the use of problem statements. Problem statements are questions which encourage creative thinking during idea generation and all the way through to implementing a solution. They provide clear, concise descriptions of the issues that need to be addressed and provide a clear design challenge.
Source: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2017/7/13/defining-the-problem
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Like it or not we mostly default to ideas and plans. As organisations we get wrapped up in solutions.
Great performance at work is usually defined as creating and implementing solutions rather than finding the best problems to tackle.
There’s a lack of penetration into the root causes of problems as most of our organisations have a cultural bias for execution over thorough problem definition.
Our giveaway tool of the day is this template to help you define the problem through a series of deep questions before moving on to the more creative 'how might we' visioning.
Innovation is all about getting better at being wrong. However it must be founded in a deep understanding of the problem we are seeking to solve.
To have the most impact, it’s simple. Just ask the right questions.
Source: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2017/7/20/how-to-avoid-solving-the-wrong-problems
Risk is life. We accept this. We teach our children to ride a bike on grass so that when they fall off they don't hurt themselves. Slowly, but surely they keep getting back up and trying again. Through this ‘iteration’ they learn how to ride, and all of a sudden they balance themselves. In our personal lives we learn how to manage risk. Innovation is all about managing risk. If we refuse to embrace failure as part of an iterative process, we can’t innovate. The risk isn't that we will fail, it is that we will not learn from our failures. At Bromford we embrace failure and recognise that it is an integral part of innovation.
“75% of what we work on will fail. You’re funding failure. But 25% will be cool stuff we’ve never done or realised we could do” - Paul Taylor & Vicky Green pitch for Bromford Lab
Source: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2015/4/2/target-practice-how-to-measure-an-innovation-lab
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A quick fail beats a slow steady death
Nobody wants things to fail, but the reality is that many projects fail to meet their intended objectives. Bromford want to avoid this by failing things as soon as possible, building early evidence that what we are trying out stands a good chance of success.
Fast failure is good risk management
The biggest barrier in most organisations is risk aversion – so anticipate this in advance. Show that you acknowledge risk and have put as much cotton wool around your idea as possible. Governance teams can be your greatest enemies or biggest friends.
Be ruthless pulling the plug
Not every idea or project is destined for success. Stopping a project is a difficult decision but in certain cases, it’s inevitable. Making things work artificially is not always in the interests of the customer or the company. You need to know when to pull the plug early to avoid spending more money on well-intentioned vanity projects.
Surce: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2016/6/6/10-innovation-lessons-from-two-years-in-bromford-lab
Build Trust . . .
With colleagues and customers. Relationships not transactions
Joined up Bromford . . .
Knock down walls. Break down silos. Transcend organisational functions.
Automate Bravely . . .
But remembering that technology is a tool that supports relationships, not removes them.
Build for needs not wants . . . .
Understanding customer needs is central to our purpose. Gathering local insight form a connected network of community coaches is our aim. (we have an almost unique opportunity to gather insight this way)
Simplification at the heart . . . .
Keep it simple.
Design for everyone . . .
Take a world view of a problem not a micro view. Keep customers at the centre of everything we do.
Meet standards . . . .
As a minimum.
Abandon activities that don’t add value . . .
If it doesn't add value why do it?
Challenge assumptions . . .
People are individuals, not homogeneous groups. We don’t start by making assumptions based on things like age or genda.
This is now the agreed 2.0 approach to managing change at Bromford. Keeping it simple means everyone can be clear on who is responsible for what and at which stage.
As well as having this agreed approach, we would also recommend answering these six questions to any ideas that have been recommended to enter the change pipeline in order for us to prioritise them, as obviously, those with the most significant positive impact on our customers are the ones we will want to look at first!
Would this concept have a significant impact on customers? Would it make their lives easier? Y/N
Is there a strong financial incentive for prioritising this concept? Are we talking £ or ££££££? Y/N
Is this genuinely treading fresh ground for us? Y/N
Is the implementation of our digital transformation dependant on this being explored sooner rather than later? Y/N
Is this an area of high promise that still requires better problem definition or more detailed design? Y/N
Would this require a significant change in customer or colleague behaviour to be successful? Y/N
Answering these questions also helps us to effectively diagnose the ‘problem’, which is the first key stage in our change journey.
Source: Bromford Lab Blog - http://www.bromfordlab.com/labblogcontent/2017/7/26/h0jegxsmhw8hsyxb32rfmhstjcardh