Transformational Change Is Now On Most Board Agendas…
It seems as though the imperatives for change increase by the day. A cocktail of challenges requiring constant review and consequent transformation programmes. Boards of Directors now have to consider not only crucial revenue, profit and cost dimensions together with continuous innovation in products and services to meet consumer preference and demand, but also environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations, legal and, of course, organisational, business and supply chain resilience and renewal.
This inevitably plays out in changing business models and resultant value chains and operating models. No wonder there is now a growing recognition that transformation needs to be a continuous core competence, not a one-off exercise. But, for that to be a reality, organisations need capabilities and methodologies to centralise and control the sheer complexity and integration requirements that such a level of constant change brings. Cause and effect visibility and connection across every aspect of people, process and technology to the smallest detail, effectively controlled, delivered, adopted and sustained, is the name of the game. It's possible and it cannot be ignored, but it is not for the feint hearted!
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Legions Of Reason To Transform
Keeping up with customer demand at optimised cost and profitability clearly remains a primary requirement. But we are now having to consider so many other dimensions, obligations and moving targets. So many lenses through which we must view the planning and delivery of transformational change. To pick a few big hitters:
The values we choose to embed in everything we do and the reputation we therefore wish to achieve. This of course is a key driver of culture.
Shifts in business models, consequent changes to value chains and operating models
How these translate into agile, frictionless customer journeys and experience
Challenges of digital disruption and implications for systems, data and ways of working
Climate change and responsibility for waste, emissions, land and water use
Resilience and risk-reduction in the face of natural disasters
Faster, more agile product and service innovation, including how efficiently NPD is translated into effective NPI and optimised performance
How our organisations are designed and our structures and people enabled to respond to new organisational paradigms to deliver agile, collaborative, data-rich ways of working
How leadership teams respond to change by adapting their capabilities to lead change as well as optimise business performance
Challenges of replicating or adapting operating models across regions and countries - even continents.
And, of course, none of these exist in isolation. Changes delivered in one dimension need to be considered and coordinated with all others in order to avoid creating more confusion and conflict than we resolve. And that is where the issue of complexity lives.
What Keeps You Awake At Night?
The challenges will of course vary, depending on industry sector, the reason for change, and the competitive landscape. But themes such as customer obsession, agility, resilience, ESG, exist for all.
Sometimes, however, they can appear to be in conflict with revenue generation, cost management and profitability. How you respond to those obligations and conflicts, and navigate the resultant transformational change, can be hugely challenging, both at a practical level and an emotional one. Whatever your role in your organisation, the things that keep you awake at night will be clear to you.
The exam question is what you can do to respond in a collaborative, cross-functional manner, and exactly how to do that to ensure successful outcomes. Focusing exclusively on the issues that are most critical at any one point in time is clearly important, but can encourage isolated response which often causes new problems in other areas. The Modus platform helps you to understand the specific change needs within the context of the related landscape and cause and effect connections. This can involve thousands of moving parts which need centralised, inter-connected design and control. And control helps us sleep better at night.
The Challenges Of Successful Transformation
In today's fast-changing environment, doing nothing is simply not an option. Doing a little puts us at the mercy of faster, more engaged and agile competitors. If we simply tinker at the edges we only delay the inevitable, deepen the crisis, and make the journey even more urgent and arduous.
But Transformation programmes are fraught with superhuman challenges. From sheer complexity to inexperience and resistance to change, it is estimated that 70% of transformation programmes fail to deliver full ROI. As many as 50% fail almost entirely. In addition to lost benefits, failure also renders an organisation allergic to future change initiatives. Given that Transformation now needs to be a continuous core competence, the job is not done until 'Transformation as Usual' (TAU) has taken root. In the final analysis, what counts is the level of adoption you achieve as an outcome of effective delivery and the degree to which that is sustained.
It has always been tempting to think that technology alone will ‘save the day’ – a new system to digitise and digitalise content and process is clearly vital, but, time after time, we have seen that only the right emphasis and balance between people, process and systems will deliver in full. This is frankly nothing new, but it is what makes it so hard to achieve truly successful outcomes.
Perhaps the biggest challenge of all is the sheer complexity of coordinating and controlling thousands of moving parts across organisational, process and technology changes. The fact is, if they are not locked to an integrated transformational backbone with centralised frameworks, assets and templates, and with automated workflows and reporting, the root cause of failure is written in from the start.
Establishing Best Practice Structures For Your Transformation
Control can only be achieved when every single element is linked, forming an integrated portfolio structure. The devil is always in the detail and so that is the level at which connections must be identified and made to ensure that the delivery backbone is robust and will not decay or collapse as the transformation journey progresses.
The Modus platform is already pre-designed to help you structure your transformation and setup the detailed links. In addition, this makes it quick and easy to replicate the structure for further deployment in new or additional areas such as territories, SBUs, other functions and so on.
Structuring includes the 'lenses' through which your Transformation must be viewed for planning purposes, the dimensions that must be associated, such as organisational hierarchies, customer segments, products and services, brands, supply network partners, systems and data. It also includes levels of granularity in, for example, your operating models, where all of the lenses and dimensions are visualised and their changes articulated.
The First Big Leap - End To End Visibility
As with pretty-much anything, the first step is to gain true visibility of things as they are relative to how they need to change. Sounds simple, but the challenge is not just in mapping 'as is' and 'to be' process states, but also in overlaying and connecting the customer, organisational, data, systems and financial dimensions such that cause and effect interrelationships become clear and precise at a detailed level. Right down to how roles and ways of working will change, the training that is required to up-skill or re-skill people, the KPIs and rules that will be applied - all in one interconnected 'ecosystem'.
This is the powerhouse of transformation - from the Business Model changes to the resultant Value Chain and Operating Models - the agenda for change is defined here. Of course there are many ways to map processes, but that's the easy part - ensuring that absolutely every one of thousands of moving parts is connected via a change ecosystem is the essence of control.
Modus ETP provides this ecosystem and the methodologies and tools to guide and enable teams to deliver to plan and sustain the methods and benefits over time.
Modus Enterprise Transformation Platform Overview
The Enterprise Transformation Platform for centralising, controlling and embedding
'Transformation As Usual' in organisations.
Any seasoned Transformation professional is likely to agree (at least in private) that transformation is something of a super-human task because of its inherent complexity. Understandably, many resort to programme and project management solutions (PPM) to try to establish and hold all the threads together, including activities, time, cost and risk. But this still does not link and manage the customer, product, market, financial, systems and organisational interdependencies in one multi-faceted masterpiece. It does not visualise, link and express these in value chains and operating models so that the resultant agenda for change defines every input, output and cause-and-effect logic.
The key driver of success is the degree to which you can achieve true centralisation and integration between thousands of moving parts across all initiatives and projects to deliver the required changes to business and operating models.
In other words, ensuring that every aspect of each dimension is connected in terms of impact logic (cause and effect), mapped onto, and linked with, methods, processes, resources, ways of working and capabilities. If this is omitted or poorly executed, failure is written into the transformation from day one. Fail to plan (absolutely every element) – you plan to fail! The risk of everything falling apart progressively is in direct proportion to the quality of that initial integration.
Modus ETP provides a hub that acts as a focal point for transformation delivery and ongoing optimisation and change. A portal to the collective knowledge and change resources that will enable an organisation to build and sustain its transformation ecosystem and competence over time - we call it 'Transformation as Usual - TAU'.
Modus Components…
Transformation Management Office (TMO Hub)
Imagine having access to a single platform that provides robust centralisation and control of your entire Transformation portfolio across every aspect of change, translating strategy into execution, until the benefit is realised. One that:
Provides easy access for both Transformation and Business teams filtered for specific role relevance.
Offers a communication portal and access to tools, methodologies, cross-team and cross-functional collaboration, training, surveys and reporting.
Captures and updates every dimension of delivery and learning to enable 'Transformation as Usual' into the future.
The TMO hub creates the overarching capability for 'Transformation As Usual' with all aspects of Transformation methodology in a single, templated structure. This ensures that all the benefits of 'Transformation as Usual' culture and capability are retained and available for repeated deployments into any team, function, region or business unit.
We create a delivery portfolio linked to the requirements of the 'To Be' Operating Model. We align the activities of projects and programmes with the key outcomes, and with sponsors, transformation and business teams down to role level.
It's all there - in one centralised control and delivery ecosystem.
Transformation Strategy Modeller - Business Model & Value Chains
Major transformation clearly needs to deliver the required dimensions of vision and strategy. Whether the requirement is a complete pivot to respond to changes and challenges in your sector, or a crucial response from a specific function such as supply chain, finance, procurement and so on, the programme needs to lock that change back to the strategy and business model.
Modus ETP provides a strategy and business model canvass in which changes are identified as a basis for defining necessary responses in the end-to-end value chain. This ensures that the strategic need is logically locked to value chain, forming the crucial bridge to the Operating Model. It takes the form of a mapping and planning template available right out of the box that guides you to identify and capture every element that must be linked and embedded in your Transformation Roadmap.
The output of this methodology is a reporting dashboard highlighting planned, transitional and achieved changes.
Target Operating Model (TOM)
This is the foundational future state operating model that links strategic intent with the organisation and allows every aspect of the change portfolio to be defined and expressed as operational cause and effect. As such it provides that crucial visibility of what needs to change, when and how, thereby forming the input agenda to programme planning and management.
The TOM hub provides a defined methodology to both identify and manage changes, ensuring robust and effective delivery against the 'As Is' operating model. Deriving clear visibility of operational process change requirements is a vital capability (keep, change, adapt), and includes the associated system, data, organisational and financial dimensions including interdependencies and KPIs.
This is underpinned by an integral, central structure that sets the foundation assets of the Operating Model (ie Policy, Rules, KPI's, System, Data, Integration, people skills, workload models etc). As such it forms the central metadata container capturing key elements of ways of working and ensuring all interrelationships are aligned and locked in. This ability enables the creation of detailed blue prints for the process, system, product and customer landscape.
Live Operating Model
In Modus ETP, the live operating model is the current operating ways of working living in the organisation in real time. This represents the most up to date version of the operating model and forms the basis for the 'As Is' capture and through which required changes are defined. Related overlays such as organisation design, data, systems, finance and infrastructure are identified and confirmed.
The foundational concepts in the platform functionality are identical to all forms and stages of Operating model - whether Live, As Is snapshot, transitional or To Be.
As a result, the underlying foundational assets (eg KPIs, RACI, Rules, Policy, Training Materials, Governance) can be compared and contributed to the Organisational change, training and communication processes.
In order to ensure sufficient detail to plan and drive change, the operating model is defined at 6 levels (level -1 to level 4) and the foundational assets are aligned with level 3.
IT - Systems And
Many transformations place significant emphasis on digitisation and digitalisation especially where sectors are experiencing digital disruption.
By associating all aspects of Systems and Data with the Business model and Operating model, we bring a robust framework for IT design, build and implementation cycles. Connecting into the Operating Model ensures the business teams understand, put into practice and adopt the Transformation As Usual concepts across both a business and an integrated IT perspective.
The Hub enables capture and sustaining of all the central assets/artefacts driving systems and data Transformational needs. As such it provides a framework to connect the data flow logic with business rules and system rules, with an ability to build, govern and manage ongoing improvements for system design.
Portfolio Management Hub
The Portfolio Management Hub provides an entire suite of integrated PMO planning, management and reporting functionality. It automatically deploys project environments, templates and reporting, thereby creating centralised visibility and the consistent application of your chosen delivery method.
It supports central visibility of transformation requirements and prioritisation and control of projects through various delivery phases and stage gates, and automation of project management tasks and reporting.
Transformation portfolio structure can be derived through a linked cascade and multi-dimensional hierarchy, from for example a Group Initiative Portfolio to dependent portfolios covering regional, functional, system or team specific perspectives. It provides the ability to have centralised templates with specific team views connected to the Business and Operating Models and automates requisite project creation, task management and reporting.
It is designed to allow any combination of methodologies for fluid, agile project management from individual projects to interconnected programmes and entire portfolios. This ensures that every detail of each project is identified, integrated, managed and reported, continuously.
Organisational Change Management
The OCM hub provides the capability to drive the process of change in a robust, coordinated manner across the entire transformation portfolio. It ensures that the requirements for change match the phases and pace through setup, engagement and readiness, delivery and adoption - and of course sustaining for Transformation as Usual (TAU).
Out-of-the-box methods, tools and techniques can be adopted, or your own preferred approach can be digitised and embedded.
The Hub provides all of the change methodology, tools, templates and integrated reporting required to mobilise and deliver change across the portfolios and activities within every project. It unlocks widespread collaboration across the business, enabling best practice delivery, driving the right skills and capability at team, role and user level as robust adoption of change happens at the individual role level.
It also allows the business to map and schedule delivery of Transformation changes in relation to the business capability and resource together with continuous response to pressures and change request decisions over the life of the Transformation.
The included Comms Hub provides a platform to build the method and assets/artefacts, and to manage effective delivery of communication throughout the Transformation journey. It provides the framework to manage stakeholder communication and updates back to the business and transformation teams.
Transformation Elements - Central Asset Bank
Central to the operation of Modus Enterprise Transformation Platform is the 400+ bank of assets or artefacts ranging from methodologies to tools and techniques, to templates and frameworks, all of which can be selected to form the ideal combination to setup and deliver change and to provide repeatable templated combinations for fast multiple deployments.
A few examples of the asset bank include:
Value Chain Analysis
Business Model canvass
Mobilisation framework
Planning methods and templates
Log Management templates
Comms methodology
Operating Model design and capture
System and data Logs
Build and Test Management
Implementation Management
Organisational Change
Training
Reporting dashboards
Optimisation and Governance
Transformation Engagement Portal
Transformation programmes need to be quickly and easily accessible to all involved. Not only those directly involved in delivering change, but also those who need to inform and support the transformation process. In major transformations this could mean hundreds, possibly thousands of people across an organisation and across locations and geographies. It could also include suppliers and service partners, consultants and technology vendors. Having a master portal to a centralised platform is an essential part of delivering and sustaining success.
The Modus Engagement Portal provides a single user interface to a centralised, common view of every facet of the transformation. It enhances productivity, supports programme pace and solution adoption, and allows changes and updates to be communicated immediately, thereby ensuring that everyone is always on the same page.
It also enables cross-team collaboration, provides access to timely reports and keeps users abreast of scheduled commitments such as training and meetings. It is designed to meet the information, communication and activity management needs down to individual level to ensure that every facet is relevant and tailored to the user.
Perhaps most importantly, once embedded, it becomes the natural way of accessing up to date materials such as training, operating models, roles, responsibilities and KPIs - in other words providing the focus for sustained change - 'transformation as usual'.
Optimisation & Governance
This hub provides an ability to Automate an existing process that needs to be repeated with robustness, thus enabling immediate and continuous updating and re-alignment to deliver any optimisation needs across the Operating Model.
The Modus Operating Model design and management feature allows your model to be continuously updated, maintained and communicated to your organisation ensuring that every aspect is ‘lived’ at role level.
Individual & Team Live Reporting Dashboards
Here we link key transformation assets from various hubs and focus them into role based views so that individuals can access their own view, review the transformation roadmap and their own responsibilities, access their own reporting dashboard and track progress. They can even interact and collaborate.
With the benefit of the overlaid touch-points across business model, operating model, programme, projects, process, systems, data and people across all aspects of Transformation, the hub has the ability to slice and dice the dashboards to provide the most productive view for each role, both for business or transformation team members.
The Hub also has the ability to make the role based view unique to roles and teams across multiple functions, geographies, SBUs or Brands.
Mobile & Transformation Chat Bots
Today’s mobile-centric ways of working make constant access to reports, progress and collaboration tools essential. This capability means that the benefits can be consumed any time anywhere to support team and individual productivity needs.
Transformation Intelligence And Virtual Collaboration
Transformation Multiverse / Mixed Reality
Operating Model Process Simulation , Change Impact Simulator and Skill mapper
AI - Transformation Modeller