First Steps into Outside-In Thinking Part 4c) - A Methodology we can all apply & Aligned Success Measures

Sustained change is best effected if it can be articulated in a way the whole organisation can understand and be part of. Make the tools and approaches complex using terminology you need significant training to understand means and they will be sidelined a department with the ability to handle that specialisation. Such departments maintain credibility if they are seen to be consistently performing but as soon as underperformance or failure is perceived they can be disenfranchised, or worse disappear.

The thinking, tools and techniques within Outside-In can be applied directly to our own organisations after less than a week of training. The terminology used can be adopted if necessary across an enterprise although in reality many will apply the tools and making changes without ever having to be too specific as to the techniques used. This may range from the individual improving performance from the context of the remit where they have influence to sustained change programmes at an organisation level. Change which the whole organisation can relate to and understand is more likely to succeed than change prescribed by specialists using language we only partly understand.

The world’s most successful organisations are often characterised as those where the staff are seen to be driving and feel part of the business. Giving staff a practical understanding of the techniques that enable change will turn change into an opportunity rather than a perceived threat.

Success Measures aligned to business success measures
Ultimately any change has to be judged under the measures that directly relate to the business – revenue, cost base, shareholder value, market penetration as well as softer but still important qualitative measures e.g. customer satisfaction, market reaction, analyst appraisal.

Outside-In can impact all of these measures and moreover simultaneously – this is referred to as the Triple Crown.