Roanoke – Blacksburg

Technology Council

Welcome, first-time

attendees!

Welcome, first-time

attendees!

New members:Accelerated Ecommerce

Closergeist

Harmonia Holdings Group

I Build IT

Thank you to our Event sponsor:

On the Journey to Sustainable Long Term Change

Success of Change

•A Towers Watson 2013 survey indicated that only 25% of changes are successful in the long term.

•Accenture study of CEO’s ▫50% do not believe their culture is adaptive

enough to respond positively to change. ▫44% aren’t sure their workforces are

prepared to adapt to and manage change through periods of economic uncertainty.

Need for Change - Five W’s

•What are we trying to solve? Aka Problem Statement

•Why is this important? •Who needs to drive the change? •When do we need to do this? Are there

milestones we can measure? •Where does this change need to happen?

Corvesta Operating Companies

Westward Financial

Group

Corvesta’s Story

•Our business strategy changed from focus on a single state single line of business to a national company with multiple product lines, multiple target customer groups

•Problem - ▫Workforce, Leadership and Culture have not

been addressed as key components of this change.

▫IT Systems and Processes have not changed to support the new strategy.

The Speed of Growth

Pathway to Change

•Ensure the leadership understands and will actively support the change

•Assess the current state and identify what needs to change

•Design the change for the right reasons •Communicate, communicate,

communicate•Validate what works and what hasn’t and

adjust

Employee Steps to Change

14

For Change to Work, People Have to Embrace It!

5 Suggestions to Increase Odds •Change Goals Must be Realistic•Rolled-up-Sleeves CEO involvement•Senior management has to walk the talk,

not talk the walk•Middle managers and supervisors need to

know in their bones the reasons for the change

•Organization must be in it for the long haul 

Corvesta’s Lessons Learned

•Change Done Well is (Really) Hard•Pay Attention to People & Culture•Be Prepared to Pivot /Be Adaptable•Listen•Keep Your Eye on the Prize•You Will Make Mistakes

•Be Courageous

Tactical Steps •Provide opportunities for employees to

express their resistance without fear.•Keep the change desired up front

especially in stressful situations. •Hire the change you want.•Command Versus Consensus

▫Build consensus where it’s necessary. ▫Or Loyal Opposition/ Unity of Command.

More Tactical Steps •Reward those who embrace the change. •Don’t tolerate those who will not change.

Question & Answers

"When you're finished changing, you're finished." - Benjamin Franklin

4.17.14

Pivoting – What is it?

Strategy is Choice

Playing to Win

Getting Oriented

Storytelling

Lean Thinking and Testing

Pivoting to win

Pivoting:A big change in direction- for an enterprise- a Service or product line- a product

A pivot is A strategic hypothesis“A special kind of structured change designed to test a new fundamental hypothesis about the product, business model, or engine of growth.”

Lean Startup, pg. 178

Why change?

- You Are losing revenue- You are losing key talent- Your industry has been disrupted- Black Swan Event- Something equally awful

Things have become unsustainably wrong

Listen to your pain - Modea’s “from”

(June 2013)‣Never set a clear vision for the company, instead pursued what the advertising industry told us was great--being a full-service shop‣Attempted far too many strategic plans with countless initiatives failing before they were finished‣Expanded our capabilities / service offering beyond our agency size and experience‣Not purposeful in the projects and client work we pursued, leading us to continually do projects for the first time, every time.' ‣Let our career development process lapse when business conditions grew tough‣Did not structure the business to properly empower the leaders that we put in place

Startup thinking –good for changing grownup companies

A startup:Discovers a customerFinds a business model

A ReStartup: ReDIscovers and reactivates customers

Redefines product, service, and Business models

Strategy is Choice

The real world does not make choosing easy:

VolatileUncertaincomplexAmbiguous

1. Choosing to Play to Win

Apply rigor to your thinkingStrategic choice Cascade‣ Developed by P&G and the Monitor Corporation‣ Quick top level view of the cascade and how it works.

2. Separate the Signal From the Noise

Inside: Ruthless self-inquiry

Outside: Find the Truth with your customers

(not guessing in the comfort of your office)

3. No Vision, No PIvot

Self inquiry+ Customer Discovery+ ideas = vision

4. Use your vision to Think Narratively

Tell the story of your…new productnew serviceNew CompanyWhat Must Be true?

5. Iterate quickly, continuously, relentlessly

The ultimate question:Pivot or persevere?

Where did we wind up?

From: Full Service Advertising agency

To: Digital Consultancy and Product Studio

Genius Steals: The books we Read‣ Lean Startup

‑ The idea of the testable hypothesis, and a cadence for leaning and pivoting‣ Playing To Win

‑ A powerful framework for asking the right questions and getting focused‣ Understanding Michael Porter

‑ Getting to the fundamentals of where value creation comes from‣ Good Strategy, Bad Strategy

‑ One of the most clear-eyed books on what makes a “real” strategy, the key to change

CHANGE CHEAT SHEET:Strategy is Choice

Change requires a “from” and “to.” Get both.

Ruthless self-inquiry is the heart of change

The truth is outside your office, with your customer. Seek it

Fail early, test frequently, iterate continuously

Think narratively – what must be true? Then make it so.

If you are not playing to win, you’re just playing around.

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