Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Successful
strategy
Efficient
operations
Effective
organization
We only achieve impact when the organizations we serve are successful in implementing the
strategies and operational methods we propose.
However, a recent survey of engagements in which clients failed to implement proposed
strategies found, in three cases out of four, that the client organization was not change-ready or
even capable of implementing the strategy we proposed.
To ensure that we have impact, we need to consider organizational issues as we devise
strategies. We must choose strategies the clients are ready and able to implement or
complement our strategy work with investment in building the organizations skills so that the
organization can step up to the challenge the superior strategy poses..
100%=340 responses
Other
McKinsey
recommendations
flawed
Client not
change-ready or
committed
Organization lacked
the capabilities to
execute strategy
Increasing
demand for
help with
organization
issues and
change
management
Crafting the
answer
Helping
implement
change
10 years
ago
Today
The recent evolution in our clients has not been missed by our competitors. Each of our
competitors has recently introduced a branded organizational element to their portfolio. Their
organizational expertise figures prominently in their marketing campaigns.
Product
Client example
BCG
GE
General Systems
Process redesign
UPRR
Booz Allen
Continuous improvement
Exxon
United Research
Mobil
Delta Point
Transformational change
SmithKline Beecham
McKinseys consulting approach must evolve as our clients evolve. These changes provoke a
shift in the nature of our work and an evolution of the role of the associate on engagements.
The increased demand for organizational work impacts associates directly. Associates are
drawn into leadership roles on larger teams at an earlier point in their careers. This places
greater emphasis on the need for associates to develop quite soon after joining McKinseysuperb team leadership skills.
To
The answer
Before we dive into the organization materials, we should announce one critical caveat: the
frameworks you are about to see are only as good as the judgment and insight used to fill them
out. The frameworks are often mere checklists, useful tools to ensure you do not overlook a
key dimension. The OP can provide interview guides and questionnaires that you can use to
flesh out the frameworks, as well as applied examples in a range of settings. However, almost
all organizational issues are situation dependent, and almost all client settings are unique.
Your judgment, insight, creativity, and organizational acumen will determine whether you add
value in the client setting .
A CRITICAL CAVEAT
CONCEPTUAL
Garbage
Organizational
practice frameworks
Garbage
Checklists
Surveys, questionnaires
Good judgment, keen
insight, creativity,
organizational acumen
Applied examples
Client impact
A series of frameworks are available to help clients identify and address organizational limits
on effectiveness or obstacles to change. They also point toward solutions.
These frameworks help teams answer two fundamental questions:
What change is needed?
How should the client implement the change?
The OP has derived a set of six attributes that characterize high-performing
organizations(HPO). By assessing whether your client organization exhibits these six
attributes, you can diagnose whether an organizational performance gap exists as well.
Additionally, the 7-Ss will help you identify strengths and deficiencies in the organization. The
7-Ss focus teams on aligning structure, staff, systems, and style to promote behavioral change
and build skills in pivotal jobholders. By contrasting the required skill set (at both the
organization and the pivotal jobholder level) with the current skill set, you can often clarify the
organizational gap that exists.
You complete the diagnostic by filling out the change board. That exercise helps teams
understand the organizational skill deficits or resistance to change so they can deliberately plan
to build the necessary skills and willingness to change in the organization.
Once the gaps have been identified, the team needs to lay out a change program to close the
gaps. The transformation triangle highlights the three critical dimensions of any effective
change program-top down, bottom up, cross-functional. The proper balance among these
dimensions depends on the gap, the client setting, and the competitive context.
Every change program contains some mix of six fundamental energizing elements. Each must
be considered as we design change programs.
This section of the handbook will discuss each framework in turn.
CORE FRAMEWORKS
What change is needed?
What gaps in organizational
performance exist?
What organizational
challenges exist?
High-performing
7-S framework
organization attributes
CEO
led
Vision
Performance
Winning formula
Strategy
Pivotal jobs
Skills
VISION
Simple
Skills
People
Shared
values
Transformation
triangle
Energizing
elements
Design levers
Organizationa
l structure
Staff
Management
systems
Leadership
style
Change board
Agend
a/platf
orm
Direction setting
Structuring
Bottom-up energizing
Performance
management
Vision and
leadership
Problem
solving process
communication
Organizational
infrastructure
People
development
Driven by leaders
Aligned by simple
structures and core
processes
Organizational Initiatives
challenges
Energizing
elements
Built by relentless
pursuit of beforethe-fact
strategies/vision
Energized by an
extraordinarily
intense,
performance-driven
environment
Rejuvenated by
well-developed
people systems
ATTRIBUTES OF AN HPO
Driven by leader
Demanding, occasionally
punishing, work pace; on call
all the time
Real follow-through on
accountability especially at
the top
Aggressive learning from
things that do not work
good places to work but
not always nice
Performance shortfalls
change careers
Members feel rewarded by
being part of winning
institution
The last three common management attributes focus on structure, skills, and systems:
Aligned by simple structures and core processes. HPOs align authority, accountability,
and performance challenges. Lines of communication and approval are simple and are
mirrored from one division to the next.
Based on world-class skills. HPOs are world class in at least one critical skill of their
industry, e.g., product development in high technology, risk management in wholesale banking,
direct-to-store delivery in consumer goods, best-cost manufacturing. Additionally, HPOs
exhibit superior process management skills that in and of themselves become a source of
competitive advantage.
Rejuvenated by well-developed people systems. The CEO in these companies is the Chief
Personnel Officer. The CEO interacts regularly with the entire leadership group, understands
the individual development needs and goals, and leads staffing reviews.
Based on world-class
company skills
The HPO research found something else common to the HPOs: all 10 were experimenting with
self-governance. Self-governance in these HPOs means empowerment with accountability. The
HPOs share the common characteristic of involving a wide range of or broad cross-section
of employees in driving for improved performance. Their goal is to imbue every employee
with an owners mind-set.
Self governance in these HPOs is different from that practiced in other engaged and
empowered companies. In HPOs the single-minded objective of empowerment is
performance.
In the matrix below, the HPOs we studied were all in the top half of the matrix (high
performance); many were reaching, in addition, for the right-hand side of the matrix(engaged
and empowered).
Performance
High
Performancefocused, topdown-driven
organizations
Performancedriven, empowered,
and accountable
organizations
HPOs
Average
Hierarchical,
command- and
control-oriented,
entitled
organizations
Activity-driven,
engaged and
empowered
organizations
Low
Command and control
Management approach
Most large companies start out in the lower left-hand corner of the matrix (low performance
and command-and-control management approach). We discovered that HPOs that have
successfully transitioned to the upper right-hand corner have first achieved high performance
and then experimented with and adopted empowerment. Empowerment without first
establishing a true performance ethic in the company tends to result in continued low
performance.
If your client falls in the lower left-hand corner of this matrix, it needs to concentrate first on
building a true performance ethic. Empowerment, alone, is unlikely to yield performance
improvement.
TRANSFORMATION PATH
Path followed by highperformance companies
Performance
High
Emerson
Pepsico
Sonoco
Sun Trust
VF
3M
GE
Hallmark
Johnson&Johnson
Many high performers on the journey
Most companies
BP
FP&L
Wallace
Average
Low
Command and control
Management approach
As discussed above, the first phase of the organization diagnostic identifies performance gaps.
The second phase focuses on identifying organizational issues and impediments to change. The
framework most commonly used to identify organizational issues includes seven buckets that
start with S.
Strategy. An integrated set of actions that deliver a superior value to a set of customers with
a cost structure allowing excellent continuing returns.
Institutional skills. End-result activities the company must be really good at in order to
deliver the value proposition.
Shared values. Simple, agreed-upon principles that say what is important around here.
Taken together, the first 3-Ss define the companys vision: an overriding goal that people in the
organization strive to achieve; that is challenging, valuable, and exciting to them; and valuable
and differentiated to the intended customer. To achieve the vision, the company must design
and align levers to guide the behavior of those holding pivotal jobs close to the front line
i.e., those who directly affect delivery of value to the customer.
Organizational structure. An orderly and predictable system to determine who reports to
whom and how tasks are divided up and integrated.
Staff. The people in the organization considered in terms of their capabilities, experience,
and potential.
Management systems. The processes and procedures through which things get done day-today.
Leadership style. The way leaders focus their time and attention and the personal tone they
set.
7-S FRAMEWORK
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
Organizational
Organizational
initiatives
challenges
challenges
Energizing
elements
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
Convenient
Good quality
Consistent
Family-oriented
environment
Fair value
Strategy
Skills
Shared
values
Quality
Service
Cleanliness
price
Unfrozen
Redirected
Discontinuities
External shocks
Strategy
Skills
VISION
Shared
values
New competitors,
economics
New technologies
Deregulation
Internal changes
New aspirations
New leader
New
strategy
New or
stronger
skills
CHANGE VISION
Shared
values
Certain key people in the organization hold positions that determine success or failure in
instituting a new strategy, skill, or shared value. These people fill what we call pivotal jobs.
We will only succeed in implementing the change vision if we succeed in changing the
behavior of pivotal jobholders.
At McDonalds, for example, pivotal jobs include the centralized purchasers of all raw
materials for all stores, the store managers, and the hourly employees who take and assemble
orders.
PIVOTAL JOBS
What people must do
In a recent study at a chain store retailer, the change vision included a significant improvement
in in-store convenience. Two positions were identified as pivotal jobs the store manager and
the area operations manager.
This study employed a contrast analysis in two forms. The first considered each element of
behavior and defined how the new behavior would need to differ from current practices.
A behavior contrast analysis often proves helpful in defining precisely how the pivotal jobholders need to change.
CONTRAST ANALYSIS
Pivotal jobs: store manager, chain retailer
Elements
Old behavior
New behavior
Use of time
Job objective
Critical skills
Conscientious, responsible
Basic math and writing skills
Criteria
Task completion
Financial performance
The second analysis contrasted the percentage of time spent on critical tasks under current
practices and envisioned in the future.
Merchant/
owner
Recruiting SM and
pharmacist
Disciplining
Coach
Balancing inventory
Follow-up on telephone
messages
Inventories
Paperwork
Putting out fires
Player
Monitoring compliance
Policies
Planograms
Answering surveys
Filling out appraisals
District reports
Proposed
The 3-S winning formula sets the standards, goals, and mission of the organization. How do
you get people (particularly pivotal jobholders) to actually follow those goals?
While you can dictate what skills and shared values you want , the organization must
provide guidance, motivation, and monitoring to see that the right decisions are made.
This is provided through the other Ss structure, systems, staff, and style. Collectively known
as the design levers, each of these four should be set by considering the specific skills and
shared values you want to instill in the organizations people and balancing them with other
designs that might be suggested by other specific skills and shared values needed.
Structure. Who reports to whom and how tasks are both divided up and integrated.
Systems. The processes and procedures through which things get done from day to day,
including hiring, compensation, performance evaluation, promotions policy, and training.
Staff. The people in the organization considered in terms of their capabilities, experience,
and potential.
Style. The way managers collectively behave with respect to use of time, attention, and
symbolic actions.
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
Management
systems
Regular inspections
Franchise expansion based on high
grades on prior inspections
Many procedural mechanisms
aimed at building employee
enthusiasm and loyalty
Leadership
style
VISION
Shared
values
The skills and shared values must be used to determine needed changes in organizational design. For
example, McDonalds specific skill of quality control drives many organizational design decisions.
Structure 1. Centralized buying provides more than economics of purchasing. It also helps ensure that
fat content is between 17.0 and 20.5 percent and ensures that burgers are 100 percent beef.
Staff
1. Owner operators have more say on quality of operations than absentee investor-owners.
2. Training at Hamburger University ensures that managers really know how to make the
food right. It is a $40 million facility, with 750-student capacity per 2-week session, and
translation booths for foreign managers. It is the only school in the fast-food industry
accredited by the American Council of Education.
3. Promotion from within builds experience in meeting company standards and reinforces
shared values.
Systems
1. Operating systems, including job descriptions and performance appraisals, ensure that
quality of operations meets standards..
2. All franchises are inspected on a regular basis, including grades( A through F) on QSC.
3. Unlike other franchises that give rights to territories, McDonalds franchises cannot expand
unless they show a history of high quality in operations.
4. McDonalds Personnel Action Manual provides mangers with a wide array of programs to
keep crew members motivated and committed.
Style
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
Management
systems
Regular inspections
Franchise expansion based on high
grades on prior inspections
Many procedural mechanisms
aimed at building employee
enthusiasm and loyalty
Leadership
style
VISION
Shared
values
The design lever clients exercise the most is probably structure. Too often we hope that by
tinkering with boxes in organizational charts, we can solve organizational problems. Structure
is really about how to arrange people and jobs for optimum performance.
A few assertions about structure:
There is no one best structure for any company. Structure choices for a client may change
over a few years, depending on external environment, leaders strengths, and internal
capabilities.
Structural choice should be based on the desired behaviors for the organization, which are
based on strategic direction.
STRUCTURAL OPTIONS
Strategic direction
Desired behavior
Structural options
1. Greater uniformity
across the
organization
Centralization
Small span of control; many layers
Functional structure
2. Rapid adaptation to
quickly changing or
complex
environment, or
greater response to
market
Decentralization
Fewer corporate staff
Flat structures
Business unit structure to match
strategic direction
(geographic/product/market segment)
Temporary teams across products or
functions
3. Rapid technological
innovation
4. Cost reduction
The change board framework can be useful for understanding the commitment and ability to
undertake major change. For each management layer and pivotal job, it asks:
Who among the important players is able to perform is his/her part in providing the new
skill?
What do they have or lack:
Conviction that the new skill is important?
Courage - the guy willingness to do what ever it takes to develop new skills?
Individual ability that is, personal skills or talents?
Organization supports such as the necessary system support?
Investing time in a change board analysis has helped a number of leadership teams
understand the nature of the current gap and gain insight into the most effective skillbuilding program
CHANGE BOARD
Skill to
be built
Chief executive
(or equivalent)
Leadership group of
area to be changed
Down-the-line
staff affected*
External
Constituencies**
* Modified as appropriate for company
** E.g., customers, suppliers, trade unions
Commitment
Conviction
Courage
Organizational
Organizational
initiatives
challenges
challenges
Energizing
elements
Capability to leverage
the commitment
Individual
Organization
ability
supports/obstacle
Specific questions can guide you as you fill out the change board.
Will people have to
Learn new skills?
Learn new behaviors?
Reestablish priorities?
Delegate/assume decision making responsibility?
Build new working relationships?
Compromise other agendas?
Do people have the capacity to make all these changes?
Have people had positive or negative experiences with past change efforts?
Is the change consistent with existing cultural norms?
Beliefs /values
Behaviors
A retail chain provided this example of a completed change board.
Top
management (6)
Commitment
Capability
Individual
Organization
ability
supports/obstacle
Intellectually
Fair to strong Strong, except
Little support
convinced, but
COO lacks field No performance measures
Distant from
experience
on in-store
field realities
HR position
History of top-down
LBO pressures
vacant
customer service programs
Conviction
Courage
Lip service
Weak
Make the field Moderate
Other
do its job
Officers/owners H.O. does not
Home office (15) understand what
it is asking for
Field (8)
Area operations
Managers (125)
Diagnosis
Fair to strong
Fair
Few support
Segmentalist rivalry
among functions
Inadequate operating
systems
Can do style (do not
admit weakness)
Fair to weak
Overloaded: span of
control=60-80
Suspicious, but
eager to believe
Strong
Cynical (yet
A completed change board often suggests the actions that may be necessary to build the
commitment and capability required to implement change within your clients organization. In
the chain retailer case, actions included:
1. Lock in support
COO as champion
Full time change leader (facilitator)
Line accountability
3-year commitment
2. Create shared responsibility for progress
Three skill teams, each headed by a field baron
District entrepreneurship: each district manager to experiment with two to three
initiatives and then share lessons
3. Build a success model from below
Focus on one pilot area (14 stores )
Use full-time task force of high-potential area managers (eight managers, 3-to 9month tours )
Trained area managers return to home districts to lead pilot area process there
4. Force awareness of realities
Quarterly workshops to assess progress on skills
Close observation of pilot area ( If we cant make it work in one area, theres no
point in talking about company wide programs )
5. Restructure field organization
Store staffing standards
AOM span of control, supports
New recruiting/selection
Link to pharmacy strategy/skill gaps
Top
management (6)
Other
Officers/owners
Home office (15)
Field (8)
Area operations
Managers (125)
Store managers
and assistants
(3,200)
Associates
(30,000)
Commitment
Conviction
Courage
Strategy
1.Lock in
support
Organization
supports/obstacle
4. Force
awareness
of realities
2.Create shared
responsibility
for progress
3. Build a success
model from below
5. Restructure
field
organization
To answer the question, How should change happen? , the OP developed the organizational
transformation triangle that summarizes the three basic management tasks when dealing with
change. Their relative emphasis may vary, but all three of them have to be managed to achieve
fundamental behavioral change.
TRANSFORMATION TRIANGLE
Organizational
initiatives
challenges
Energizing
Energizing
elements
elements
3. Cross-functional initiatives
1. Top-down direction setting
Process design, target,
communications, etc.
Top
management
Staffs
Operations
The well-known GE workout! change program included elements from each dimension of
the transformation triangle.
GE WORKOUT!
1. Top-down direction
setting/culture shaping
No.1 or No.2 in every
business
speed, simplicity, selfconfidence
Delayering
The client should seek an appropriate balance across all three dimensions of the transformation
triangle. Overreliance on any dimension will impede change.
Dimension
Energizing vision
Customer/shareholder/emplo
yee triad
Clear performance targets
Lack of commitment
Confusion
Cynicism
Performance wins
Relevant knowledge and
skill building
Expansion expectation
Unfocused efforts
Ignored or undermined by
management
Cross-functional opportunities
missed
Discontinuities addressed
Clearly understood process
installed
Old systems/structure/
processes eliminated
Overly complex
Beyond existing skill and
capabilities
The OP has defined a wide array of change approaches. Each change approach strikes a unique
balance among the dimensions of the transformation triangle. Your challenge is finding the
change approach that strikes the balance appropriate for your client situation.
Structured
process-Driven
problem
solving
(compliance)
Empowered
opportunitydriven
innovation
Values-driven
adaptive
improvement
Crossfunctional
process
redesign
Top-down,
skill-driven
building/
improvement
Example
TOP/AVA
Breakthrough
TQM
CPR
Corporate
skill teams
When
appropriate
Step change
Change-ready, Approaching
needed quickly flexible
theoretical limits;
Entitled culture organization
performance ethic
and capability in
place
Crossfunctional
redesign
needed
Quicker,
cheaper,
better
Lasting
competitive
advantage
Description
Transformation emphasis
Up to each
Continuous
team; typically, improvement
stretch targets
in quality, cost,
etc.
No matter what change program is selected, the following six energizing elements should be
addressed. By addressing each one, the client builds the energy required to make organizations
change.
ENERGIZING ELEMENTS
Ambitious,
measurable objectives
Reinforcing feedback
Consequences
Performance
measurement
Organizational
challenges
Communications
Vision and
leadership
Winning formula
Winning leadership
group
Energizing
elements
Build commitment
Establish 2-way flow
Manage expectations
Inspire action
Organizational
infrastructure
Problem
solving process
Doer-driven
Fact-based
People-intensive
The OP has a wealth of experience and research to support the design of each element of a
change program.
POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES/TOOLS
World benchmarks
Project performance indicators framework
Performance maps
Performance contracts pro forma
Best practice examples
Performance
measurement
Vision and
leadership
Leading for success
CEO time-leverage
manual
Problem
solving process
Communications
Communications coordination
team-job specifications
Communications channels audit
Stakeholder analysis
Communications plan
Communications workshop
Best practice examples
Organizational
infrastructure
Core process redesign
Example role description
People development 7-S checklist
Framework for designing skill-building programs
Discrete training modules management skills (MFS),
leadership skills(LFS), building high-performing teams, project
management guide, designing ongoing improvement
Discrete tools RJDs, time-usage logs, change-readiness
surveys, signaling change tool kit, how to run a training
workshop
Beliefs/behavior-prompt sheet staff activity survey
Best practice examples
A packaging company applied these energizing elements as they built the skill they called
value-based systems selling (VBSS):
With a clear vision and leadership settled, the company decided on a problem solving
process that involved six multinational skill teams, each with a credible leader.
Their performance measures were narrowed to two aspects: in terms of input, they
measured account plans created and number of plans created and number of people
trained; in terms of output, they measured price and market share.
To communicate the message, the president embarked on a road show to manufacturing
and sales locations; the senior managers attended workshops; and a newsletter/bulletin
about VBSS was begun.
The organizational infrastructure was modified to establish account teams, global
account managers, and an account planning function.
On the people development front, an action learning program was begun to teach
people more about account planning.
All these tools and activities were focused on achieving a new level of excellence in the core
skill of VBSS that the company knew was critical to its strategy.
VBSS
Input
Account plans
People trained
Outputs
Price
Share
Performance
measurement
Communications
Vision and
leadership
The leader skill
for becoming $1
billion
President as
sponsor
Organizational
infrastructure
Problem
solving process
Multinational skill
teams with 6 credible
champions
Pilot effort with
leadership to get buyin and advice
People development
Account-based
action learning
program
Account teams
Global account
managers
Account planning
Associates will often step up to manager roles on engagements that address organization issues
and/or implement change. These engagements often involve multiple client teams. Associates
assume responsibility for managing one or more of these client teams. These engagements also
seek the active support of a broader set of client managers. Associates assume responsibility
for developing influential relationships with critical client managers. Engagements which
focus on organization issues therefore provide exceptional opportunities for associates.
ED/DCS
Associate
ED/DCS
Client
EM
Associate
Client
manager
Associate
Client
team
EM
Client
manager
Client
team
Client
team
Sr.
client
exec.
Client
team
Associate
Client
manager
Client
team
MANAGERIAL ROLES
Client
involvement
Problem
solving
Consensus
Chief engineer
Focuser
Structurer
Quality controller
builder
Team
dynamics
Devils advocate
Since effective teams are so fundamental to success in organization work, the OP has invested considerable effort in
understanding how to build high-performance teams. Follow these principles to build high-performance teams.
Definition
Meaningful
purpose
Clear
performance
goals
The best teams translate the purpose into a well-defined set of tangible and measurable goals.
The goals encompass
What will be achieved for the client in terms of performance
What will be achieved for the team and its individual members
Nearer-term goals, as well as completion-related goals
Well-defined
working
approach
The best teams decide up front and throughout the effort how to work together day-by-day, and how
individual team members will apply and develop their skills as they produce collective results above
and beyond what members working as individuals could produce. Their working approach allows
substantive time for unstructured creative team thinking/brainstorming
Complementary The best teams are composed of individuals who provide or are expected to develop the full range and
skills
depth of skill needed to fulfill the purpose. Skill development is seen as a key reward for team
participation. This applies particularly to functional skills, but also to problem solving skills and
interpersonal skills
Mutual
accountability
In the best teams, all team members feel mutually accountable for accomplishing the teams purpose
and performance goals. Individuals do not succeed or fail the team does
Small numbers
Superior team performance can only be achieved by a small number of people who can spend
substantial time working together as a team. A group of more than approximately 15 people has little
chance of becoming a superior team
The principles are described much more thoroughly in The Wisdom of teams, authored by Jon Katzenbach.
Meaningful
purpose
Clear
performance
goals
Small
numbers
TEAM
BASICS
Mutual
accountability
Well-defined
Working
approach
Complementary
skills
A teams potential is defined by the quality of its membership. The associate manager should,
whenever possible, participate actively in the selection of team members. Recent research by
the OP has found that most successful change programs were driven by a few impassioned
leaders. These real change leaders exhibit a common set of characteristics. Look for these
attributes as you consider which client people to include on the team.
.
Once the associate manager has assembled the right team and built an effective team
environment, solving the problem should be easier. The principles of good problem solving do
not change for engagements that address organization issues and/or implement change. The
way the associate participates does change, however. Here are a few recurrent themes taken
from interviews with associates after their first organization engagement
Let the team solve the problem. You wont have time to solve the problem yourself when
you have multiple teams to manage. More importantly, the team will feel more ownership
for the solution if you let them solve the problem.
Teams should be productive. Focus the team on action and work. Define specific end
products.
If you have assembled the right team, every member has an important part of the answer.
Engage the entire team in solving the problem. Every team member should have a
challenge piece of the problem.
Meetings are necessary evil for effective teams. Keep them to a minimum. Prepare
meetings carefully so that they are a constructive use of team time.
Listen. Especially on organization problems, the client often knows the answer but needs
help recognizing it.
Chief engineer
Focuser
Structurer
Quality controller
Devils advocate
If you have the consensus of the team, it should be easier to sustain the support of critical
client managers. A few basic principles merit emphasis:
You need to begin building credibility with client managers early in the study. Talk to them
early and often. Engage then in defining the issues and prioritizing the work. This ensures
that their issues will be addressed.
Managers have specific interests and motivations; these interests explain much of their
behavior. You will be more effective at influencing managers if you spend a few moments
trying to understand their interests. Before each discussion, consider how your
recommendations impact the client managers interests.
When issues or concerns become apparent, address them squarely. There is little value in
avoiding and issue; it will come out eventually. Many issues evaporate when explicitly
discussed. Many others can be resolved by specific analysis. Issues that persist need to be
factored into the teams thinking.
Whenever appropriate, include key team members in important discussions with critical
client managers. Then client manager will get to know the team members better and place
more trust in their advice. When you include team members, the client manager can sense
first-hand the strength of the team consensus. As an added benefit, team members appreciate
the opportunity to interact with managers, and they can help you interpret the client
managers feedback.
Good written materials are always useful in client manager discussions. Preparing them
forces the team to explicitly agree on the content. After presentation they serve as a solid
record of what was said.
The opportunity to interact with client managers in one of the more attractive elements of
organization work. Associates can use this interaction to develop client relationship skills that
will be vital in the years ahead.
BUILDING CONSENSUS
Talk to critical managers early and often
Understand the motivations of the critical managers
Address issues and concerns directly
Include key team members in important discussions
Prepare clear, concise written materials
Consensus
builder
We hope that you take away four major points from this session:
Performance is the point of our consulting work, which involves an integration of strategy
and organization.
Inevitably, at the heart of all our work is change. And at the heart of change is a respect for
and understanding of people.
To understand organization performance and bring about lasting change, it is as important to
problem solve for how ( the engagement process ) as what ( the engagement issues).
Organization work provides associates an opportunity to stretch their people-management
skills early.
Appendix
This appendix contains:
1. HPO bulletins
2. Glossary of 7-S framework
3. Organization transformation triangle
4. Energizing elements
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
Management
systems
Regular inspections
Franchise expansion based on high
grades on prior inspections
Many procedural mechanisms
aimed at building employee
enthusiasm and loyalty
Leadership
style
VISION
Shared
values
Winning formula
STRATEGY
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
What is it
important?
What must I
know about it?
Winning formula
INSTITUTIONAL SKILLS
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
To help people focus on the 2-4 skills critical to delivery of the value
proposition
They drive organization design other organization elements must be
designed to build needed skills
What must I
know about
them?
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
SHARED VALUES
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What must I
know about
them?
Winning formula
VISION
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it? An overriding goal that people in the organization strive to achieve; that is challenging,
valuable, and exciting to them; and valuable and differentiated to the intended customer
Why is it Strategy and tactics are for the battlefield, but the battle must be fought for a purpose of
important? value to society
Genichi Kawakami, Yamaha Corporation
Provides meaning, motivation, and source of pride to attract and retain customers and
able employees
Helps drive long-term strategy formulation and development of needed skills and values
Supplies courage in the face of the unknown by providing sense of stability and enduring
themes
Guides and inspires daily behavior, reducing need for bureaucratic rules and systems
What must Leader must set and live by vision for it to permeate institution
I know
Best visions are simple, easy-to-understand, and demand nothing short of long-term
about it?
excellence
Financial goals (e.g., increase SOM, increase shareholder wealth ) are not visions; they do
not excite the organizations people or provide enough competitive differentiation to
serve as standard for behavior
Vision is extremely difficult to change significantly without creating discontent, reduced
effectiveness, and even abandonment of institution by its best people and customers
However, visions can and must be constantly challenged and changed at the margin to
adjust for the institutions changing environment
Winning formula
PIVOTAL JOBS
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
Positions, close to the front line, that have direct impact on delivery of
value to the customer (e.g., those who design the product, make the
product, and sell the product )
Why is it
important?
What must I
know about it?
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
STRUCTURE
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
Why is it
important?
What must I
know about it?
Winning formula
STAFF
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
Why is it
important?
What must I
know about it?
Winning formula
SYSTEMS
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
The processes and procedures through which things get done from day to
day
Why is it
important?
What must I
know about it?
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
STYLE
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
The way people focus their time and attention. There are tow types
Personal tone (e.g., supportiveness, argumentativeness )
How people spend time, what questions they ask, settings they appear in
Why is it
important?
What must I
know about it?