So, how you do you approach your C-suite and walk away with an agreement that change usually comes with the cost of delayed outcomes? Here are some ideas for selling your organization on the time cost of change.
“I never met-a-phor I didn’t like.”
While some organizations are super savvy and are ready to jump into any complex discussion, don’t underestimate the power of a meaningful metaphor. The best example I can think of is trying to change a tire while you’re driving. Not only is it not going to be successful, but someone is going to get hurt in the process.
Talk with your leadership about how timing can be the best defense against unknown risks.
Of particular note with some leadership teams is the idea of the “big finish”. One of the most common mistakes is to align a major change like a system or website launch with an artificial milestone like an event or a membership campaign. These are times of stress already, so adding a complex change is not likely to succeed.
Take your time to have discussions with everyone involved on the best time to make that big adjustment. Not everyone will agree, but you are likely to uncover some thoughts on the very worst times to introduce major change.
When you have identified a couple of good windows, stop and add in some time for being human. Vacations, weddings, graduations, and babies are important to the people who are part of your change. Factor in some time.
To round out that metaphor, you wouldn’t choose to change your tire in the middle of a six-lane interstate. If given the option, you will at the least pull over to the side. At best, you will do it in the comfort of your own driveway.
Emphasize the risks that come with speed. Slow and steady may win the race, but it usually doesn’t convince your board of directors. Everyone who is not involved in a project can usually tell you exactly how long it should take. Pull together stakeholders, people who have been through the change before, and factor in how your organization tends to function.
Speed breeds mistakes and often leads to costly errors that can derail your success. It also tends to encourage leaving out others’ opinions.
A real-world example comes to mind in which a team started to accelerate to meet an artificial deadline that was self imposed. In order to make the deadline, the team convinced themselves that they did not have the luxury of asking for stakeholder feedback. As the launch neared, others in the organization were needed to finalize the change. Afterall, an organizational change is only a change if other people know about it.
The broader team started to wonder about the details they had had the luxury of ignoring. When they started to ask questions, they realized that critical decisions had been made for them and were not working to their advantage.
A hew and cry arose and the project stopped dead in its tracks. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were wasted and lots of work had to be dissected and redone all because the primary team did not feel they had the time to really succeed.
Spend some time modeling scenarios and share why your ultimate recommendations make the most sense. We’ve all seen the highway sign “Speed Kills.” While that’s too grim for most association change management, it definitely speaks to the criticality of a reasonable pace.
Change is an investment in people, not technology.
If you want to see rats jump off a burning ship, try to launch a platform that is not ready in an organization stretched thin from a race to the finish for implementation. Not only do organizations end up overspending - or even fully failing - they also are likely to lose some very valuable human resources. When the project stalls or falters, good people sometimes feel the blame from external and internal stakeholders. Not only is that demoralizing but it also erodes internal credibility.
- Human beings learn from trial and error. Make time for that.
- Hands-on learning requires adequate time. (Ask any Montessori kid.)
- Include time for documenting and refining. (Learn more in our SOP blog posts.)
By pacing change, communicating it, and allowing for human factors, organizations create a climate for adoption, powerful change management, and a scalable basis for future change.