Art & Science
A Holistic Approach to Transformation Success
Transform Successfully
The Art & Science of Transformation
With an increasingly fast-paced and innovative world, transformation within an organization is the new norm. Transformation projects affect many parts of an organization and not only require astute industry and functional knowledge, but also the correct balance of “art & science” to achieve optimal results.
Most projects often focus too highly on the “science” component – the tools and processes – and ignore the “art” aspect – the soft skills such as negotiation, leadership, and political acumen. These elements are often the most critical to transformation success – and especially important in achieving sustainable business results.
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Simple Multi-Stakeholder Project or Program
This initiative requires significant involvement of stakeholders in decision making, using fairly straightforward methodologies and procedures.
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Enterprise Wide Program
This initiative requires high levels of customization, creativity, and innovation coupled with a high degree of stakeholder interaction during execution in order to fully achieve the benefits of transformation.
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Single Stakeholder Simple Project
This initiative is a relative familiar one and does not require much stakeholder consultation or contact.
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Single Stakeholder Highly Complex Project
This initiative requires innovative project management approaches and thinking in order to bear on a unique or complex transformation project; but little stakeholder interaction is required.
Simple Multi-Stakeholder Project or Program
This initiative requires significant involvement of stakeholders in decision making, using fairly straightforward methodologies and procedures.
Why this needs art:
- Strong negotiation skills and political acumen will ensure that the project goals reconcile the needs and expectations of multiple stakeholders, and that their contributions to the project can be secured.
- Excellent strategic awareness and business acumen will be crucial to ensure the project is well aligned with core business goals and takes into account the organization’s operating environment.
- Effective stakeholder communications throughout the planning and implementation of the project will help maintain interests and commitment to the project, and reduce stakeholder-related risks to successful completion.
Why this needs science:
- Depending on the level of complexity, these types of projects require the application of at least semi-formal project management tools to ensure that everything remains on time and on budget.
- Stakeholder mapping and analysis is important in ensuring that key stakeholders are effectively engaged in the project and that their needs and interests are reflected in the project goals.
- The project should make good use of existing organizational systems and processes, with additions or modifications as necessary to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of project management.
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Enterprise Wide Program
This initiative requires high levels of customization, creativity, and innovation coupled with a high degree of stakeholder interaction during execution in order to fully achieve the benefits of transformation.
Why this needs art:
- Negotiation and trust-building expertise as well as high levels of political acumen will be required to build the support of stakeholders and reconcile conflicting interests and objectives; this often requires the realignment of organizational culture with project goals.
- Strong leadership is crucial when direct control over all aspects of project planning and management cannot be achieved; project managers must motivate and inspire others, build effective project teams, and drive progress towards project goals.
- High-stake transformational projects often lack precedents and require high levels of creativity and innovation to identify and implement effective value-adding solutions to major organizational challenges.
Why this needs science:
- Expert knowledge and application of leading edge project management methods and tools is essential to ensure the project is planned and implemented in ways that reduce costs and risks while maximizing the value of project outcomes.
- These types of projects require the development of customized systems and processes for project performance monitoring and measurement, and for evaluating and reporting on project outcomes and impacts.
- High levels of risk management expertise are crucial for identifying and evaluating the wide range of reputational, operational and transformational risks to these types of projects, and for developing strategies for managing these.
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Single Stakeholder Simple Project
This initiative is a relative familiar one and does not require much stakeholder consultation or contact.
Why this needs art:
- Though relatively little formal consultation is typically required in this type of project, strategic awareness and good business acumen will promote an intuitive understanding of requirements to underpin project design and planning.
- The use of interpersonal and communications skills will enable the project manager to develop a collaborative, trust-based working relationship with the project stakeholder, thereby reducing the requirement and costs for formal processes and tools.
- These types of projects often allow for a flexible and adaptable approach in which detailed project goals can be readily realigned with changing stakeholder needs.
Why this needs science:
- Although these projects often only require minimal use of formal project management tools and methodologies, it is important to retain a systematic and methodical approach to ensure they remain on track and on budget.
- The project should make good use of existing organizational tools and processes, including IT software and infrastructure.
- When budgets for single-stakeholder projects are constrained, the ability to identify and apply cost-effective approaches to their implementation, as well as skillful budget management will be crucial ingredients of success.
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Single Stakeholder Highly Complex Project
This initiative requires innovative project management approaches and thinking in order to bear on a unique or complex transformation project; but little stakeholder interaction is required.
Why this needs art:
- High levels of creativity and innovation are important to meet complex needs in ways that generate greatest value to stakeholders.
- Good strategic awareness and business acumen are essential to enable project managers to grasp complex project requirements and understand their significance to the business.
- Flexibility and adaptability are important in rapidly shifting operating environments, to ensure the project remains on track to deliver the intended value.
Why this needs science:
- Expert knowledge of leading edge project management tools and techniques will ensure that the complex project is efficiently and cost-effectively planned and implemented, and that project risks are identified and addressed.
- Performance monitoring and measurement systems will be essential to ensure the project stays on time and within budget, and that its ROI and impact on stakeholder goals can be demonstrated.
- Skillful risk management knowledge and expertise are crucial to identify and address the wide range of potential threats to achieving a successful outcome in a complex project environment.
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Key Considerations
Strategy
Organizational Purpose & Transformation
In today’s rapidly changing business environment, organizations must continually review and redefine their business strategies and operating models, undergoing frequent organizational transformations in order to remain relevant and “competitive”.
However, a consistent strategic focus on aligning the organization with its’ fundamental purpose, pursued differently over time is the key to an effective transformation.
Organizational purpose contributes to effective organizational transformation over time by driving innovation and change, while reducing risk, guiding business decisions and strategy, facilitating relationship formation with customers and other stakeholders, and providing a focus on internal identity and stability.
The effective definition, communication, and use of organizational purpose to promote successful transformation requires an art & science approach focused on the people-related aspects of change, coupled with best practice tools and techniques in transformation management.
Culture
Transforming from the Inside Out
One of the main barriers to successful change is organizational culture. The need for cultural transformation is often neglected in strategic and operational change initiatives. This missing link is one of the main factors that contributes to the high rates of transformational failure. As Peter Drucker famously remarked, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast!”
One of the reasons that so many organizations struggle with the idea of changing their culture is because they confuse an organization’s “core values” – the more abstract and fundamental concepts that should not generally be modified – with the norms and behaviour that must be aligned and re-aligned with business strategy.
Attempts to influence culture must be directed primarily at behaviour and underlying cultural norms, while remaining consistent with the organization’s core values.
Reduce Risk with the Right Balance
Schroeder & Schroeder’s Art & Science of Transformation® approach is based on the understanding that successful transformation requires both the correct application of “science” (specialized tools, methods, and techniques) and “art” (political acumen, business acumen, people acumen, and leadership).
In any given initiative and culture, the correct balance will vary depending on the nature and complexity of the initiative. For example, a highly complex, multi-organizational project involving many stakeholders over a large geography and cultures would require high levels of both “art” and “science” compared to a simpler project.
Create Long-Lasting Value
When strategy, culture, and the correct balance of “art & science” are all considered in a transformation initiative, it results in the achievement of business objectives that add immense and often immeasurable value to the organization.
Our Art & Science of Transformation® approach provides a systematic and holistic model for addressing both the people-related and organizational aspects of transformation. This will definitely offer you and your organization long-lasting and enduring value.
See Art and Science in Action
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