Convincing the Biz.

There are a couple of things to take into account when trying to effect any change:

1. It's not how much you are doing that matters - it's knowing what you are being scored on.

2. Take Baby Steps.

3. Most New Years Resolutions Fail.

Let me be a little less cryptic:

1. Have you ever felt resentful because you feel like you do/contribute  a lot - but it isn't appreciated or recognized? 

Firstly, a personal example:

I worked from home for several years when I first moved to the US. It had it's pro's and con's, but having the time to do chores like washing and cooking during breaks in the day was particularly useful. Despite all the housework I did, my wife still seemed unhappy with me. So I did more. She still seemed unhappy. That just made me resentful. Then I worked out that what she needed from the relationship was for me to take a break from work when she came home was to drop everything, give her a hug, and spend some time paying attention to her. 

I was putting in a lot of effort - but not in the areas I was getting scored on - so they didn't count. Now we eat out a little more, we're a little chubbier, the house is a little less tidy, but we're both happier.

Until she notices that I used this example in a blog post.

Successful relationships are about meeting each others needs and that basic rule holds true in any relationship - including a work one.

So how well are you meeting the needs of your sales and marketing groups?
What about your boss?
Do you really know what their needs are?
Have you asked them - or are you assuming?
Are you putting a lot of effort into the wrong areas?

Maybe you are meeting them too well at the moment and they see no need to rock the boat and change the way things operate? (though you probably wouldn't be reading this if that was the case)...

Or do you need to do a better job of communicating how your proposed changes can help meet their needs?

Do they:

     Want predictable release dates?

     Want to reduce development costs?

     Want to deliver features that meet customer expectations?

     Want to reduce maintenance and customer support costs?

     Want to reduce time to market with a new product?

Work out what it is they want most - and then show them how you can help get them there. Usually - One of these can be enough of a reason to initiate changes. You just need to work out which one has the most leverage in your organization.

2. The phrase comes from a scene in "What about Bob" that has stuck with me for quite a long time. 

This seems really obvious, but - start small.  Find an exec or sponsor that is willing to support it. Identify a Business Rep that wants to change and partner them with a good team. Call it an experiment and promise to go back to old ways if it doesn't show results.

Time-box it.

Celebrate and publish the successes using metrics they understand. You can build from there. I've seen quite a few transformations fail that tried to change too much too soon and it was beyond the organizations comfort level. 

Ironically, they weren't iterative with their agile transformation :)

3. 72.8% of New Years resolutions fail. (Homer Simpson helped me with that statistic).

Good intentions only get you so far. Sometimes the best leverage and driver for positive change is when you get sick and tired of failure. It's the tipping point that forces you into action. If you look closely enough for them - You'll find areas in your business that are struggling and are willing to try something new. They are sometimes the best places to start - because the contrast when you succeed is so much greater.

P.S - I'm currently on a Caribbean Cruise so this post is not real-time. A friend pointed me at Hoot-Suite not too long ago and I've found it very useful for scheduling and tracking your social network posts.