“Starting things is easy, getting things completed is less so.”
The best lessons come from human, personal experiences.
In driving change, that means not just the headline grabbing, exciting initial “visionary” bits that boost the ego, but the moments of doubt, loss of self-belief and exhaustion from the “marathon”.
As in any endurance activity, you may find that your mind can play tricks on you in the long game of transformation and change. We need to recognise this and prepare for it.
Asko Vainio, Head of Finance Operations Development at Cargotec, wrote a thought provoking blog post recently on this very topic, which I recommend and share below.
You may not have heard of Cargotec, a global leader in cargo-handling machinery for ships, ports, terminals and local distribution. Quite a hot topic especially during the recent supply chain challenges!
Asko shares his thoughts on major change programs, specifically a recent, major Finance Operating Model transformation.
He discusses some critical themes, not least “what good (and rough) looks like”, the WHY/WHAT/HOW balance, measuring progress, maintaining consistency, effective communication, delivering quick wins whilst sustaining the strategic path and the critical need for perseverance and stamina . . . .
The excitement of starting something new must be balanced with the ‘stamina’ to persevere and complete. These are the hard yards!
Additionally, measuring both WHAT we accomplish and HOW we accomplish it is essential. Whilst the ‘what’ side is a relatively easy one, the ‘how’ component is largely about the “Voice of the Customer” (or maybe we should call it “Voice of the Colleague”).
Asko’s post is a short read but makes you think. You can read it here . . .
Thanks for reading . . .