Business transformation and process management research shows change agents how to deliver business outcomes from reinvention and transformation initiatives in a highly volatile business environment.

 

The tried and true way to achieve competitive advantage in business operations has been “to go down an experience curve” to standardize and control repetitive work. Resulting efficiency and productivity gains have been a proven path to success for generations of change agents.

 

These days, there often is no experience curve to go down. Forces such as cloud, social, mobile, big data, digital business, smart machines and the Internet of Things (IoT) jeopardize long-held assumptions about operational best practices and how to best engage with value chain partners.

 

A new generation of change agents is needed, one that is capable of delivering “Big Change” — a capability to successfully alter ongoing operations and deliver big outcomes in a complex, high-risk environment fraught with volatility, ambiguity, novelty and diversity. The practical guidance in this Key Initiative shows next-generation change agents and their teams how to successfully apply Big Change to transformation efforts.

 

ComStream Consulting recommends that organizations establish and evolve the initiative using five major organizing principles. This approach may vary depending on the problems you are trying to solve and the decisions you are trying to make:

  • Strategize and Plan: Anchor the transformation or process management program to strategic business results your organization must deliver within 12 to 18 months. For large programs, prioritize projects to deliver optimized business results and communicate a common vision.
  • Develop Governance: Solicit peer input to craft process governance and decision policies. Get executives to hold process owners accountable for business outcomes. Assess process styles and interdependencies to determine the impact of operational change.
  • Drive Change Management: Motivate behavior that accelerates delivery of desired business outcomes. Communicate and socialize ideas via multiple channels. Get buy-in from stakeholders at all levels. Avoid change fatigue and establish a broad capability for Big Change.
  • Execute: Optimally operate the initiative in accordance with business goals, and update it in response to changing business requirements. Use Business Process Management technologies and services to extend existing systems of record and accelerate differentiated and innovation solutions.
  • Measure and Improve: Continuously capture process intelligence from stakeholders, events, social interactions, and structured and unstructured processes to assess in near-real-time. Apply advanced technology to dynamically adjust and optimize processes.