Execution – Where the Rubber Hits the Road!

 

By the time you are ready for the Execution stage of the turnaround you have already laid the ground work for success.

• You have delivered a clear and measurable vision from the top
• You have built a rock solid, credible plan and
• You have engaged your senior leaders to live and breathe the process

It’s now time for the rubber to hit the road!  To get real results fast, make sure you ask yourself a few important questions up front.

Do I Have the Right People and are they Doing the Right Things?

Adapting to change is similar to adapting to new technology, there are always early adopters or leaders that ‘get it’ quickly and jump in to lead the change movement.   At the other end of the spectrum you have the ‘resistors’ or the employees that refuse to change no matter what you do to convince them.  In the middle are the majority, the folks that need processing time, convincing or actual proof that this change will work for them.   

Of course, the trick here is to work with the early adopters to gain the success and momentum required to move the middle towards the change goal.  Recognize the early leaders, put them in charge, invest in their success and shout it from the rooftops.  You will quickly notice which employees are standing on the sideline waiting for direction. Reach out, take them by the hand and get them engaged in the process. It is critical at this point to make sure that managers and supervisors roll up their sleeves to set the example and live the change.

Finally, you need to work with the ‘resistors’.  If this group becomes too influential they will destroy the momentum and the positive change that is happening around them.   They need to be addressed directly and respectfully.  Do your best to get them on board, but be clear – if they are not willing to get involved in the process and they are a negative influence to a positive outcome they will need to be removed.

What Tools do People Need to be Successful?

Companies fail at change because they don’t provide the time or resources to train and develop the change leaders.  Imagine letting your teenager take your car out on a Friday night without spending time to train him how to drive it.  Have you ever sent a new supervisor out to the night shift after a two hour training course on frontline leadership?  Make sure your process leaders have the soft skills required to work with teams of employees to make change.  These managers and supervisors represent the success or failure of the overall effort!

How do employees know if they had a productive day?  Making sure that a solid measurement system is in place is critical to the outcome of your turnaround. Measuring the change will motivate the team and convince the undecided to get on board.  There is nothing better than crystal clear baseline measurements, well communicated goals and visible daily progress reports.  Everyone needs to be part of the process and making the goals visible will encourage everyone to move in the same direction.  Almost like magic, the team will rally around the common goal. 

 To inspire confidence and to continue the positive team momentum make sure that successes are recognized, celebrated and communicated far and wide.  The achievement could be meeting the weekly goal for the first time or it could be breaking an efficiency record on a piece of equipment.  Take the time to smell the roses.  The turnaround process is difficult and happens over many months or possibly years.  To keep people motivated, and interested they need to know that their efforts are appreciated and are critical to the overall success of the change.

As you may have noticed, the Business Turnaround is a combination of both Art and  Science.  As I  write each installment of Embrace, Execute & Evolve it  becomes clear that ‘The Art of the Business Turnaround’ is very focused around the human side of change.  Stay tuned to celebrate as we progress towards  Evolution as the final phase of the turnaround process.

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