The SHIFTPOINTS Blog

If your company is massively misaligned, you may need a One-Company Campaign.

Before you decide, remember that many people are jaded, cynical, skeptical, and distrustful of these kinds of initiatives.

And that is on a good day.

Nonetheless, should you decide to implement a One-Company campaign, your company should employ several best practices, including:

• Inspire results with relentless, unwavering leadership. Alignment does not just happen. It takes lots of hard work and an intentional focus on the issue.
• Manage alignment with a high-powered A-Team. The Alignment Team will manage the alignment process. (Some companies call this a program management office, or PMO.) They must have the organizational credibility and political capital to build coalitions and break down barriers.
• Create excitement with a high-energy launch. One way to accelerate results is to launch the change with town hall meetings, e-mail blasts, videos, web content, posters, banners, and the obligatory T-shirts. While these elements can be fun, their impact is short-term. So, launch with fanfare, but sustain the effort. And remember, many people are cynical about these kinds of things. Don’t be lame.
• Accelerate alignment by leveraging key influencers. It is essential to have key influencers, both internal and external, on board with the program. Find and empower your early adopters. These people “get it” right away, and incorporating their suggestions is critical to accelerating success.
• Visualize progress with a war room that dramatizes the change. This is a fantastic tool for highlighting misalignment. This can be especially helpful when your company has lots of “old versions” of things. Use a progress wall so everyone can see the before and after.
• Build endurance with a steady stream of wins and validations. Delivering early wins is a must. Celebrating them publicly will generate momentum, but avoid declaring victory too early. Many programs start out well but hit the wall. Easy issues are resolved first; difficult ones are procrastinated. Success requires endurance.
• Drive progress with a clear project timeline, roadmap, and deadlines. Often, this means going faster than most think is possible or prudent. Some may worry about the timeline being too aggressive, but our experience is that organizations can change a lot faster than they think they can.
• Run the transformation in 90-Day SPRINTS. SHIFTPOINTS has had tremendous success with the 90-day SPRINT model. Start by breaking the transformation into specific initiatives that can be accomplished within 90 days. Meet at the start of every quarter to review progress. Color-code each initiative with red, yellow, or green to indicate whether it has been accomplished.

These best practices will improve the probability of success. 

NOTE: This is an excerpt from my latest book, Drive One Direction.