Wednesday 9 September 2009

Don't Let The Size Of The Mountain Scare You

When we want to implement large-scale change, we need to ensure that the scale of the journey doesn't overwhelm us before we begin.

I was talking recently to some people in a manufacturing company who, quite rightly, want to reshape their business around the customer experience. This is something I happen to know quite a lot about, so we had some excellent discussions as we worked up a plan to deliver the outcomes they wanted in the timeframes that they needed.

And then they chose not to proceed - in part, it seems, because it was too much, too fast. Instead they came back and asked if we might omit some of the activities and maybe take a little longer.

They didn't see that doing that would be worse than doing nothing - leaving them (if we might stretch our analogy) stranded halfway up the mountain having taken a long time to get there.

The scale of the plan reflected the scale of the challenge, and the timeframe was the one which they had understood and agreed was essential. But still they did not want to proceed.

They, like most people who recognise the need for genuine change, had not been able to work out how to do it but when we showed them how, all they could see was the scale of the climb - they had lost sight of the summit.

So we've gone back and confirmed that yes, they really do need to do this thing, and yes, they need to do it quickly - and, yes, everything in the plan is needed to deliver the outcomes they are seeking. So while they are still somewhat apprehensive, they have started to take the first steps.

I sometimes wonder if more of us don't suffer from this problem - shying away from the task because it all seems too big, too quick. But the more I work in the business of change, the more I realise that success comes from a willingness to think bigger, bolder and faster.

After all, can you think of any human achievement of note - any building, enterprise or social movement - which does not have, at its heart, someone's desire to achieve something great and the willingness to turn this desire into reality?

We can be too timid, too self-editing. Think big, and then worry only about getting to the summit, not the scale of the climb.

-Mike

(Photo Credit: Malta333 / sxc.hu)

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