How to build organisational muscle

Today, I walked seven miles in the cold, and I sweated during my 60-minute bike training class. It is my seventh day of cross-training, and I am tired. I have overtrained. My Polar v800 watch says that I am strained. I feel it. There is no energy in the mitochondria in my legs.

My goal of the cross-training is health and I use small triathlon sprint events as milestones. I push for an event. Physical training is new for me. I am 60. I feel my age.

As a Type A individual, historically, I have either been on or off. When I am on, I push muscles hard. In contrast, when I am off, I am lazy. What I have learned is that smart training is planned. Activities are rotated across muscle groups, and cross-training helps to balance strength-building, flexibility and cardio. I have learned that smart training is not on or off: instead, it is continuous. It is a way of life, and rest is a planned part of the training. On rest days, I feel guilty. Managing my emotions on these days is an ongoing challenge; however, I know that my muscles need to rest to recover.

I see parallels in business. Today, I met with a client to discuss how to build organizational muscle and define the right organizational DNA. The client I met with today is recovering from the implementation of a multi-billion dollar technology project. It was all-consuming. The project is implemented, and the consultants are packing their bags; but, the organization has not created the muscle to use the new technology. I urged the leaders to think about the evolution of the project to drive technology self-sufficiency by the organization.

It is a common mistake to view a project as a set of discrete events versus as a chain of planned activities to build organizational muscle. Currently, the organization is trying to rationalize what to do with the implementation resources that are currently deployed in a ‘help center.’ There is a strong belief that now the project is over, that these resources are now surplus. My client’s questions focused on what point can you shift the resources away from the project. My answer was, “When you build the organizational muscle to maximize the value from the technology. How have you defined value?” They shook their heads. For them, these were new concepts.

This does not happen overnight. It is a journey. The in-house resources cannot pack their bags in concert with the external consultants. In parallel, it is not a set of discrete events. This client needs a short rest period to center themselves and plan how to build organizational muscle. If you have ever trained for a physical event, I hope you see the analogy.

The client asked, “How do you measure muscle? I answered, “It is the ability to deliver on the business results and do so reliably. When the muscle is created, the system is used, and the focus moves from best use of the technology to continuity and evolution. This should be planned.”

They struggled in the conversation. This was not how they laid out the road map for the project. It was pitched to management as a discrete event: a nice neat project plan. The management expectations were not calibrated. Their leadership team today wants to cut costs.

I laughed and said, ” Project success is less about the technology implementation and more about building organizational muscle and the ability to use the new technology.” In my work as an analyst I see many failed implementations. They may not make the front page of the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times, but the dirty little secret in the supply chain area, where I focus, is that very few companies are truly using their technologies. When they do, it is because they have built organizational muscle. This is when the magic happens.

When they do not, the project languishes. Employees deploy workaround processes and no one can get to data. Here are some steps to consider:

1) Embrace the Super User. In every project implementation, there are people in the business that rise to the new challenge. Encourage each business unit to create a role for the super-user. Use this internal network to actively train and evolve.

2) Build a Relationship with your Technology Vendor. It is more important to build a strategic relationship with your technology provider than your consultant-service provider. Select someone on the team to work with the technology provider on evolution. If this is SAP or Oracle, actively participate in the customer advisory boards and share your voice on what should be in the next evolution of code. Attend the vendor’s customer events and listen carefully to understand new enhancements and how other customers are using the software. Set up a resource center/system for sharing information with your business leadership teams. Consider internal podcasts and webcasts to share information internally.

3) Network and Reuse Content. Build a network of people doing similar work with the technology vendor. Understand how they built organizational muscle post implementation. Ask if there are training materials that you can see, and if they are open to sharing and reusing content. <Sometimes, reuse is the greatest compliment to the original creator.> Learn from their mistakes and gain from their insights. Avoid recreating the wheel. Actively cultivate your networks.

4) Put HR on Your Team. As you build your evolution plan, craft transition plans to return the implementation resources back to the business. Openly communicate the need to move from post start-up support to business continuity. Define what this means for the organization, and ask for the support of business leaders. Ask your HR resources to craft job transition plans, and training to support the evolution. Expect to have to retrain employees–even those that got the training the first time–every two years. To make it meaningful, use business-specific scripts and case studies and focus on the automation of the day-in-the-life exercises.

5) Train Your Leadership Team. Use system statistics to communicate the current state on technology adoption. Define the “as-is” and the “to-be” states. Do so with great detail. Don’t assume that they understand what you think is the “obvious.” They need training too! Get them involved. Ask for their help. (You will need to define it. Don’t assume that they have done this before.) Too much talking in a conference room can spell danger. Invite them to participate in the super-user networking calls.

6) Actively Track and Communicate Goals. A project needs to deliver on the business promise. Measure it. Communicate it. Build a marketing campaign so that everyone in the company understands the importance of the project and where you are on your plan. Most teams fail here. Don’t assume that everyone knows why you are working on this project and why it is mission critical. Spend time marketing your project.

7) Celebrate the Wins! Annually hold internal conferences to allow business users to share stories with business users. Sprinkle lots of HOOPLA on the event and celebrate. (There is a reason why everyone that runs a marathon–despite finish time– gets a medal.) Everyone wants to be on a winning team!

This article is published in collaboration with LinkedIn. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: Lora Cecere is Founder and CEO of Supply Chain Insights.

Image: Ndeye Astou Fall, 22, works at a call centre in Senegal’s capital Dakar. REUTERS/Finbarr O’Reilly