Theory of Constraints Handbook - James Cox Iii [90]
Tip: Do the research and find the urgency. The research usually requires interviews, with the questions targeted toward understanding the individuals’ personal sense of urgency.
Expectations
People commonly communicate expectations through a vision. The vision is important, but it is seldom enough. Given that different people will have different roles and expectations, we have found that a Communication Plan is usually needed. The Communication Plan is typically a spreadsheet that helps keep track of who is communicating what to whom, including:
Expectations of different stakeholders and how expectations have been set.
Marketing to groups not directly involved with the implementation.
Feedback between the PMO, Steering Team, Implementation Team, and others.
Tip: Maintain a communication plan.
Commitment
Who should be involved with the planning? I have already mentioned the Steering Team and Implementation Team concepts. These groups need to leave their stamp on the plan. In a complex implementation involving many people, there will be many levels of planning to coordinate. Always remember that an important purpose for planning is to allow people to develop ownership.
Tip: Use planning to build ownership.
Value
It seems obvious that any change initiative should create value. However, strangely, we often find that people have not fully thought through answers to questions like, “What value?” and “For whom?” Companies invest millions in Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and Enterprise Project Management (EPM) systems without a clear idea of how those systems will benefit the organization or the individuals in them. Mismatched expectations among buyers and sellers can cause EPM implementations to drag on for years.
Tip: Identify the expected value and how it will be achieved and measured. Start collecting data early; there is no reason to wait.
Validation
Often we find that people assume an implementation will continue to thrive and produce benefits once it is well begun. It is true that benefits gained early can help to justify and give momentum to the implementation. Unfortunately, because the benefits of Critical Chain start well before the organizational DNA has changed, an associated “silver bullet” effect can lead to the negative branches shown in Fig. 5-3.
Tip: Continue to collect and analyze implementation measurements, such as those in Table 5-2, so that your implementation will continue to adapt and improve.
Traps
A number of conceptual traps lay waiting in implementations, traps that people fall into without thinking. You should review these traps periodically, just to make sure you have not fallen into one of them.
It’s Not about You
We have a tendency to believe that our own opinions and actions are more important than those of others. We look at what we need to do and what we need to get other people to do, without considering what they need to get themselves to do. We sometimes forget that others may have valid ideas as well.
Instead, think of an implementation as moving from “I” to “They.” This might be a progression, for example, from a world in which you as a facilitator take maximum responsibility for the implementation, to a world in which it would proceed even if you were run over by a bus. It goes like this:
I: Where we have to start
We: Better
They: Best
We make ourselves obsolete, bridging the gap between “I” and “They,” by using CORE concepts: setting expectations, building ownership and commitment, and creating and communicating value. That way we build ownership in the people who will eventually have to take responsibility.
Tip: Ask yourself: am I taking on too much? Am I delegating enough? Are the right people taking ownership?
Broken Trust
Have you ever heard a management team say, “If we implement the following technology, we’ll get the following incredible benefits,”