Walking the Walk
Be the change you wish to see in your world.
Hey there. Wow, it was a busy week at Nerd/Noir!
We started working with a new client who is changing their business to use a product model.
The early days of any audacious change initiative are full of hope, energy, and promise—it’s a great feeling! We’re starting a revolution!
Often, this period is the calm before the storm of messy reality rolls in. Let’s face it: things like vision, kick-offs, and planning are way more fun than the hard work of making progress.
One thing I noticed about the people in this group is that they all came from a program and project management background. Good folks, experienced pros, but the bag of tricks they applied came from that world. Yet, they’re trying to adopt a product model.
Do you see the paradox?
I suggested some advice: If you’re going to become a product-centered company, run your change initiative like a product.
This wisdom shifts the way we frame and approach the change:
Focus on outcomes, not outputs. What happens as a result of this change? That’s a much more important question to start with than what deliverables and artifacts we must produce.
What’s the roadmap for change? What outcomes happen now, next, later? What capabilities and changes support those outcomes? What are our horizons for each of those buckets?
Who are our customers, and what is their journey? Knowing who the change affects, their progress, feelings, and experiences along the way will greatly help enrollment and participation.
Change agents and teams should seek to align, organize, and operate using the tools, practices, and mindsets they want others to adopt. This builds experience and empathy in the team. That, in turn, becomes expertise, helping others embrace the proposed change because they’ll see you as knowledgeable and committed.
So whether you’re trying to switch to a product model, architect a new platform or enablement capabilities, or increase your business agility, you should organize yourselves using the tools and techniques you want others to adopt.
Effective change starts with your behaviors and choices.
/ Dave
P.S. We hit 100 subscribers this week! A huge thank you to our early adopters! 🙏