Too many organizations have spent fortunes in failed attempts to implement “best practices” and “frameworks”. The reason they are called “best” practices is because that is what many of the best organizations do – but none of them do all of the practices, and if your organization is not prepared for them, they will do more harm than good.
Don’t try to jump into “best practices”:
- If you don’t have a clear strategy, don’t invest in best practices to carry it out. Work on the strategy.
- If your organization has been burned with high investments for “frameworks” with nothing to show for it, don’t be the next one on the list. You’ll have to overcome a lot of skepticism. Learn how to deal with the likely obstacles and prove some small but obvious wins before diving into a long-term effort to implement something the organization is not ready to handle.
- If people do not have the specific skills needed to undertake the work. It often happens that the critical tasks supporting a strategic initiative are new to the organization (that’s why it is strategic). People need to know how to do what you are asking. (They also need to know how to perform the non-critical but necessary tasks. As long as somebody has to do them, they need to know how. After all, you do want your paycheck accurate and on time, right?) Get those basic skills down first.
If your people can do all that is necessary, you’ll be in good shape to take on the more complex work of adopting the best practices in your industry. I want to warn you that this will take a long time (years not months) and a lot of money before your organization has fully adopted all that is relevant out of even one professional framework. But if we agree you are ready for the ride, it may be very rewarding even before you get to the end.
Our staff have certifications in several key areas. Areas where we have proven our ability to help include:
- Project management
- Portfolio management
- Strategic planning
- Scaled Agile Framework (SAFe)
- Business process engineering, mapping, or optimmization
- Lean Six Sigma
- Product and Service Management
- Enterprise Architecture (Business and IT)
- Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution of enterprise finances (PPBES)
- Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC)
- Balanced scorecard management
- Critical Success Factors and Key Performance Indicators
- Technology Business Management (TBM)
If you need help in any of those areas, please contact us.
If we’re not able to support your organization’s specific needs, we may be able to point you towards people who can.