From the personal and professional experiences of other colleagues and myself, one of the more critical success factors for management is implementation. Through my observations, I have discovered that people and organization spend a great deal of resources including time, dollars and the cumulative total of the energy generated from these efforts to create business or strategic plans. Yet, these very same costly plans languish in a managers desk drawer or on an executives shelf. The incredible inspiration power within these plans lay untouched because few individuals understand how to implement the plan. Implementation is multi-faceted. This action requires a combination of consistently applying knowledge and skills including communication, decision-making, delegation, goal setting and goal achievement, prioritization, time management and working with the psychology change. However without steady and demonstrated values by all involved, especially those initiating the plan, implementation will falter and succumb to the inertia of indecision and procrastination. By respecting everyones needs, the management begins to build Whats In It For Me (WIIFM) leading to Whats In It For Us (WiIFU). When working on plans whether strategic or departmental, I have learned to validate current behaviors by asking the following question: What do you need from me so that you can successfully implement this plan? This question builds a bridge between management and the team where all now are the catalysts for change. Successful implementation of change happens when we embrace a clear purpose, attitudes of partnership and steadfast demonstration of core values. Then, everyone can be a "Catalyst Champion" to change. |
