Zappos’ Platform for Growth: Brand, Culture, Pipeline

Zappos is a Phenomenon — Going from $0 in 1999 to over $1 Billion in 2008! In “Delivering Happiness: A path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose,” Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO, explores Zappos’ journey. The essence of the journey (via Tony Hseih’s Delivering Happiness, Joseph A. Michelli’s The Zappos Experience, and Round Table Companies’ Delivering Happiness (the comic book)) is best described in Chapter 5, “Platform for Growth: Brand, Culture, Pipeline”!

As many organizations are eager to replicate Zappos’ success (but in their own way), they must venture on their own journey and evolve their own platform for success!

Platform

Zappos is seemingly a natural meaningfully-purposeful enterprise (Purpose & Meaning) powered by or founded on mutual authentic & appreciative engagement (Engagement).

(click figure to enlarge)

Tony explores Zappos’ history and concludes that “Zappos is about delivering happiness to the world” and then briefly shares three frameworks of happiness.

The first happiness framework involves Perceived Control, Perceived Progress, Connectedness (number and depth of your relationships), and Vision/Meaning (being part of something bigger than yourself). Zappos’ notion of Connectedness relates to Engagement and Zappos’ notion of Vision & Meaning relates to Purpose & Meaning.

The second happiness framework involves Chip Conley’s (Peak book) adaptation of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs to business (Customers: Meets Expectations, Meets Desires, and Meets Unrecognized Needs; Employees: Money, Recognition, and Meaning; and Investors: Transaction Alignment, Relationship Alignment, and Legacy). Zappos’ notion of Meets Desires, Recognition, and Relationship Alignment relate to Engagement and Zappos’ notion of Meets Unrecognized Needs, Meaning, and Legacy relate to Purpose & Meaning.

The third happiness framework involves three types of happiness (Pleasure, Passion, and Higher Purpose). Zappos’ notion of Passion relates to Engagement and Zappos’ notion of Higher Purpose and Meaning relates to Purpose & Meaning.

Conclusively, Zappos is seemingly a natural meaningfully-purposeful enterprise powered by or founded on mutual authentic & appreciative engagement.

Journey

Artful Transformation (Context, Foundation, and Evolution) is a means to foster a journey to evolve a platform seemingly similar to Zappos’!

(click figure to enlarge)

Tony emphasizes that “a big reason we hit our goal early was that we decided to invest our time, money, and resources into three key areas: customer service (which would build our brand and drive word of mouth), culture (which would lead to the formation of our core values), and employee training and development (which would eventually lead to the creation of our Pipeline Team)” and “our belief is that our Brand, our Culture, and our Pipeline are the only competitive advantages that we will have in the long run.”

Furthermore, Tony emphasizes that “as we focused more and more on our culture, we ultimately came to the realization that a company’s culture and a company’s brand are really just two sides of the same coin”, “the brand is just a lagging indicator of a company’s culture”, and “if you get the culture right, most of the other stuff — like great customer service, or building a great long-term brand, or passionate employees and customers — will happen naturally on its own.”

Zappos’ notion of Culture is foundational and relates to socialization (Phase I, Context), enactment & elaboration (Phase II, Foundation), and enactment & evolution (Phase III, Evolution).

Edgar Schein, the world-renowned expert on organizational culture, emphasizes that “culture is a pattern of shared tacit and interconnected assumptions that was learned by a group as it solved its problems of external adaptation and internal integration, that has worked well enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems”. Using this definition, we can distill the anatomy of Zappos and Zappos’ journey!

Fundamentally, culture is not simply about identifying or discovering core values, but about living harmoniously with core values (which constitute a worldview via Purpose & Meaning and Engagement) within the context of “external adaptation” and “internal integration”.

Zappos’ notion of Brand is essential and relates to value-creation (Phase II, Foundation). Notice that Brand is the result of value co-creation with customers. Furthermore, it’s this association with brand that allows Zappos to shape its culture based on “external adaptation”. The mere identification of Core Values without the forces of external adaptation does not constitute Culture!

Zappos’ notion of Pipeline is essential and relates to communities (Phase III, Evolution). Notice that pipeline is the result of living communities. Furthermore, it’s this association with pipeline that allows Zappos to shape its culture based on “internal integration”. The mere identification of Core Values without the forces of internal adaptation does not constitute Culture!

While Tony emphasizes that “it was necessary to come up with core values — essentially, a formalized definition of our culture — in order for us to continue to scale and grow”, only appreciating Zappos’ journey more holistically exposes that there is more to Zappos’ culture than merely identifying or discovering core values!

Delivering Happiness Distilled

Corey Blake (@CoreyBlake9000) of Round Table Companies (RTC) gratuitously honored my request for an advance copy of Delivering Happiness, the comic book!

Based on Tony Hseih’s Delivering Happiness, Joseph A. Michelli’s The Zappos Experience, and my experiences working with clients in leveraging Tribal Leadership, I was very intrigued!

The Delivering Happiness comic book elegantly distills the essence of the original Delivering Happiness book.

The CEO and Chief Happiness Officer of Delivering Happiness, Jenn, provides an introduction (emphasis added):

From a scientific sense, research shows that we’re super bad at predicting what will give us long-term happiness (ironic, since it’s one of the most basic human desires).

From a business sense, happier companies prove to be more successful and sustainable in the long-term.

From a common, human sense, we can each make the choice to deliver happiness in the world. Whether it’s to ourselves, our family and friends, or a complete stranger, research shows that if we deliver happiness, we get happier in return.

First it was a book, then it was a bus tour, and now, we’re the Delivering Happiness Movement. We’ve evolved into a company with a cause — to spread and inspire happiness at work, in communities and everyday life.

How are we doing it? With a cool, frosty cup of ICEE:

I — Inspiration
C — Community
E — Education
E — Experience

From a scientific sense, business sense, and human sense, you’ll enjoy how the comic book reflects the original book, bus tour, and movement!

I particularly enjoyed how the comic book builds up to the 3 key areas:

Customer Service [Brand], which build our brand and drives word of mouth.

Culture, which led to the formation of our core values.

Employee Training & Development [Pipeline], which would lead to the creation fo our Pipeline Team.

… and the ultimate conclusion …

In the end, it turns out that we’re all taking different paths in pursuit of the same goal: happiness.

… and Tony Hseih’s three happiness frameworks:

Happiness Framework 1: Happiness is about Four things: Perceived Control, Perceived Progress, Connectedness (number and depth of your relationships), and Vision/Meaning (being part of something bigger than yourself).

Happiness Framework 2: The fundamental premise behind Maslow’s Hierarchy of Human Needs is that once a person’s survival needs are met, then humans are more motivated by other non-materialistic needs such as social status, achieve, and creativity.

Happiness Framework 3: Three Types of Happiness: Pleasure, Passion, and Higher Purpose.

If you enjoyed the original book, you’ll love the comic book!

Jonathan Fields’ Uncertainty

Jonathan Fields (@jonathanfields) (www.jonathanfields.com) kindly honored my request for a copy of his Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance book (Amazon).

Based on my experiences working with clients concerning transformation and how we appreciate and approach Uncertainty as a quintessential / elemental aspect of the transformation journey, I was very intrigued!

The Book

The book is a beautiful exploratory journey through the world of uncertainty.

The Introduction begins with The Three Psychic Horsemen of Creation:

One of the single greatest determinants of high-level success as an innovator or creator in any realm is the ability to manage and at times even seek out sustained high levels of uncertainty, bundled lovingly with risk of lose and exposure to criticism.

The Introduction then declares the purpose of the book:

Uncertainty is about what goes on in your head, your heart, and your gut as you strive to create anything truly extraordinary.

This book will give you a better understanding of your own creative process and a set of concrete daily practices and environmental changes that will allow you to reframe uncertainty, risk, and exposure as allies for creating and innovating on a level you never thought possible.

And with such an inviting Introduction, the book then delves into the heart and soul of uncertainty.

Why Uncertainty Matters

Chapter 1 emphasizes that “every quest to create something bold starts with a question, a hunch, or an idea” and that “creating” versus merely “replicating” “requires us to live with uncertainty”; thus, “we need to develop the ability to tolerate uncertainty”.

Notice the distinction between “creating” and “replicating”, and the expression that its a “quest” wherein “uncertainty” is a given such that we must cultivate the ability to “tolerate” it — if nothing else, this offers a refreshingly realistic perspective!

Far too many people sadly dull their natural ability to “tolerate” uncertainty by neglecting to renew their commitment to a quest and their extraordinary journey, but dwell (if not obsess) on the mundane and ordinary!

What Uncertainty Does to Us

Chapter 2 emphasizes that “uncertainty causes pain” which manifests as “suffering, anxiety, and fear” and fuels us to “do whatever we can to eliminate the bad feeling”; and the “rush to create certainty and eliminate risk and judgment” “unintentionally snuffs out our ability to create genius.”

Notice the whole notion of “creating certainty” versus “discovering” or “finding” it, and notice how “rushing” (versus deliberately acting to) “create certainty” conflict with “creating genius” — again, if nothing else, this offers a refreshingly realistic perspective!

The Myth of the Fearless Creator

Chapter 3 emphasizes that many seemingly “fearless creators” also “experience the same open-ended circumstance that shut most others down”, but they “build these things [situational changes, personal practices, and shifts in mind-set] into their lives, with great deliberation, as scaffolding that allows them to lean more deeply into the [creation] journey.”

Briefly consider the interplay between curiosity, uncertainty, scaffolding, and action.

• If one is curious, recognizes uncertainty, and has the appropriate scaffolding, they may be more inclined to act.
• If one is curious and does not recognize uncertainty, they too may be more inclined to act, perhaps to a fault!
• If one is curious, recognizes uncertainty, and does not have the appropriate scaffolding, they may be less inclined to act.

Perhaps, its the interplay between scaffolding and uncertainty that shapes how we bridge the chasm between curiosity and action!

Find Your Certainty Anchors

Chapter 4 explores “certainty anchors”, particularly rituals and routines, to “help counter the resistance that comes when you lean into the side of the creation process”:

Certainty anchors are experiences — ones that either happen naturally or that you build intentionally into your life — that serve as a source of psychology bedrock. They allow you to take more risks and embrace uncertainty in your work with more confidence in the name of creating better, deeper outcomes.

Essentially, certainty anchors may be considered behavioral aspects of scaffolding.

Build Your Hive

Chapter 5 explores “judgment-leveling creation hives” that are an “incredibly effective vehicle that can open you to the feedback you need to grow your ability and your endeavor as efficiently as possible”.

Essentially, hives may be considered environmental aspects of scaffolding.

Socialize Creation

Chapter 6 explores how to “shorten the time needed to arrive at certainty” by focusing on how to “test your ides, gather information, and build on what works, and eliminate what does not work” using “lean methodology” or “feedback-driven technologies”. Essentially, “adding certainty more often and in smaller chunks and fueling action.”

Essentially, feedback may be considered a workflow aspect of scaffolding.

Also notice the “incremental” (“more often and in small chunks”) approach to additive certainty and how it fuels action. Far too many people seek a “big bang” up-front approach to certainty (or resolving uncertainty) and resist action otherwise!

Train Your Brain

Chapter 7 explores “attentional training (AT)”:

Meditation, mindfulness and many forms of contemplation-driven spiritual practice are examples of something called attentional training (AT), practices that either innately or by will require intense, focused awareness. Through daily repetition, they create both physiological and psychological changes that can profoundly alter the way we experience and handle nearly any challenge or endeavor.

Notice the emphasis on “intense, focused awareness” and how such practices become certainty anchors.

See the Forest

Chapter 8 explores the “bigger question” that emerges “every time a new major hurdle presents itself”: “whether to keep going, to change what you’re doing, or to fold and shut down the endeavor altogether”; and this chapter also explores the “opportunity to lose yourself in the quest” that can be countered when we “establish a set of circuit breakers designed to allow you to come back from a question that has turned into an abyss”.

The ability to recognize, appreciate, and successfully confront the dark side of any quest is crucial!

Own the Story Line

Chapter 9 explores “reframing”, which “allows us to create and associate a different story line around” the “normal fear and anxiety” from “uncertainty and risk that comes with creation” “instead of defaulting to an automatic story that engenders negative emotion”.

Likewise, our ability to feed the dark side of any quest versus starve it is ever-present (and human)!

Bring it Home

Chapter 10 emphasizes that “uncertainty must be present in the quest to create anything deeply meaningful” and that “over time, facts and actual experiences will replace leaps of faith and hunches”.

Ultimately, when considering uncertainty, we should always remember: “Certainty, beyond the fact that you were born and you will one day die, does not exist.”

In Conclusion: The Alchemy of Fear

Jonathan Fields’ (@jonathanfields) (www.jonathanfields.com) Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance book (Amazon) is a masterpiece filled with human wisdom:

Doing all of these things pushed me — a lot. But they’ve also allowed me to lean with greater comfort than ever before into the uncertainty and fear that must be part of the quest to create something brilliant from nothing. I am no longer just an artist, an entrepreneur, or a creator. I’m training, and likely forever will be, in the alchemy of fear.

It’s my greatest hope that this book provides both the inspiration and the foundation needed for you to do the same.

Jonathan, thank you for beautifully sharing how embracing uncertainty may be wonderfully liberating!

Joseph Michelli’s The Zappos Experience

Joseph A. Michelli (@josephmichelli) (The Michelli Experience) kindly honored my request for an advance copy of The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW (@zapposxperience) (Zappified) book (Amazon).

Based on Tony Hseih’s (@zappos) Delivering Happiness (@DHMovement) and my experiences working with clients to leverage Tribal Leadership, I was very intrigued!

The Book

At first glance, The Zappos Experience may seem very similar to Delivering Happiness, however, Tony Hsieh immediately distinguished between the two books in The Zappos Experience‘s Forward:

So how is The Zappos Experience different from Delivering Happiness, and why should you care if you’re not in the business of selling clothing and shoes online?

In all likelihood, what your business does will be very different from what Zappos does. My hope is that Delivering Happiness will help inspire the why of your business, while The Zappos Experience (along with Zappos Insights) can contribute to the how of your business.

What is Zappos and the Zappos Experience?

The book starts with two questions: What is Zappos? What is the Zappos Experience?

The book emphasizes that it “will offer you a chance to learn from a company that is changing the paradigm for how to deliver excellent service by embedding that service into its culture” while quoting Peter Jackson’s Maps of Meaning, “cultures are maps of meaning through which the world is intelligible,” and emphasizing “at Zappos, leadership has offered a ‘map of meaning’ that produces success powered by a culture of service.”

The book then briefly explores Zappos’ history and emphasizes three historical pivot points that “offer insights regarding leadership decisions and staff efforts that kept the orders rolling in and the bankers, employees and customers happy”:

• Forging a Team with Diverse Strengths
• The Courage to Try to Do What You Think is “Right”
• Passion, Determination, and Humility

The book then briefly explores Zappos’ unique value proposition.

By making consistent choices to trust staff members and customers in often small but unexpected ways, the leadership at Zappos has essentially created customer wows, a loving family environment, and an enriched customer experience. Some Zappos customer communiques even sign off, “With love, The Zappos Customer Loyalty Team.” For some, “love” may seem like an odd concept in the context of business, but in the words of Peter Senge, author of the classic business book The Fifth Discipline, love is nothing more nor less than “a commitment to someone else’s growth and development.” Zappos lives that commitment to staff members, customers, and vendors alike.

Because leaders at Zappos demonstrate a commitment to the growth and development (“love”) of their company’s employees and their customers, consumers and staff return their love for Zappos through consistent referrals, positive social media chatter, and repeat business. This loyalty, resulting in 75 percent of orders each day being placed by returning customers, allows Zappos to spend less on marketing and advertising and instead invest more in truly delivering wow through service.

This resonates with my own experience of Love (in Business) and my appreciation of Starbucks.

Joseph Michelli then briefly introduces the Zappos Experience.

Building a vibrant culture, living in accordance with one’s values, and translating service directly into loyal return business are but a few of the many differentiators between Zappos and other well-intentioned companies. I have come to call the totality of these differences the “Zappos Experience.”

From my perspective, the Zappos Experience reflects a culture that is committed to impassioned service delivery, transparent communication, acceptance of differences, and weirdness — a highly playful, highly productive, and innovative business where staff members and customers become fully engaged an emotionally connected.

Then, Joseph Michelli introduces the “five core business principles” around which the book is organized (that offer “a map for your behind-the-scenes exploration of the company”) and emphasizes that “while these principles may seem fairly easy to grasp, applying them consistently may prove challenging” and “it is consistent execution that differentiates a Zappos from other well-meaning yet average businesses or mediocre individual service providers.”

1. Serve a perfect fit.
2. Make it effortlessly swift.
3. Step into the personal.
4. S T R E T C H.
5. Play to win.

The rest of Joseph Michelli’s book explores “how Zappos can help you zap your leadership, your culture, and your service, be it professional or personal, to the next level!”

Serve a Perfect Fit

This section opens with the following quote:

Coming together is a beginning
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.
— Henry Ford

This section, “Serve a Perfect Fit,” focuses on “how Zappos selects and orients for a service culture.” “The leadership at Zappos views culture strength as the foundation for employee engagement and, ultimately, for customer loyalty.” “Zappos has, in essence, made a priority of ways to ‘serve a perfect fit’ between its purpose and its people.” “By building a tight employee community, Zappos has developed a platform for outstanding service.”

• Chapter 2, “It All Comes Back to Culture,” focuses on “how the leaders at Zappos chose and uncovered the core values that underpin their company.”
• Chapter 3, “Culture Should Be a Verb”, focuses on how Zappos approaches “new hire orientation and on-boarding”.

Notices the emphasis on “service culture” versus merely “culture”; that is, a culture that is always in service of something beyond itself. Similar to Greenleaf’s “servant leadership”, this could readily be termed “servant cultureship“.

Notice the notion of culture as a platform wherein an engaged employee community fosters customer loyalty. Tribal Leadership emphasizes that leadership involves synchronizing culture and strategy naturally, which essentially involves fostering fitness between purpose and people.

Notice the emphasis of “core values” and “on-boarding” or culture (verb) or “culturing“.

Far too many so-called leaders are challenged when focusing on culture because their notion of culture is respectfully “self-serving” (internally focused) versus a “service culture” (externally focus), thus is seems far less relevant to their business objectives and goals.

Make it Effortlessly Swift

This section opens with the following quote:

The more effort customers must
put forth in a service interaction,
the less likely they are to be loyal.
— Jeffrey Henning

This section, “Make it Effortlessly Swift,” focuses on “how Zappos delivers wow through service without even having to make customer service personal.” “The leadership at Zappos has aspired to a more potent transformational and emotional service outcome, namely, to deliver happiness.”

• Chapter 4, “Less Effort, More Customers,” focuses on “how Zappos makes all aspects of the customer experience as effortless as possible.”
• Chapter 5, “The Ticket to the Big Service Dance: Velocity, Knowledge, Recovery and Surprise,” focuses on “how Zappos instills a sense of urgency into service delivery.”

Notice the emphasis on “transformational and emotional” outcomes that form effortless customer experiences delivered with urgency.

Step into the Personal

This section opens with the following quote:

The companies that survive
longest are the ones that work out
what they uniquely can give to the
world — not just growth or money
but their excellence, their respect
for others, or their ability to make
people happy. Some call those
things a soul.
— Charles Handy

This section, “Step into the Personal,” focuses on how “legendary and beloved companies seek personal, enriched experiences that are easily remembered and readily shared with others” while other brands “rely on operational excellence in service delivery to garner respect and differentiate themselves from less effective competitors”.

• Chapter 6, “More than a Wallet with Legs,” focuses on how “leaders foster an environment of authentic connections and real relationships with customers.”
• Chapter 7, “Connections at All Levels,” focuses on how leaders “openly and consistently provide feedback that helps staff members deliver personalized service to customers, vendors, and even non-customers.”

Notices the emphasis on “personal, enriched experiences” that are memorable and shareable versus merely “operational excellence”. Notice the emphasis on “connections” & “relationships” that are “authentic” & “real” being fostered by consistent “feedback”.

S T R E T C H

This section opens with the following quote:

If you want to be happy, set a goal
that commands your thoughts,
liberates your energy, and inspires
your hopes.
— Andrew Carnegie

This section, “S T R E T C H.,” focuses on “what businesses can achieve by being discontented, knowledge seeking, and unwilling to fall in love with the way things are or the way things have always been.”

• Chapter 8, “Zappos University,” focuses on “how Zappos stretches staff members to be subject-matter experts, better people, and future organizational leaders.”
• Chapter 9, “Beyond Shoes,” focuses on “how Zappos has stretched its brand elasticity well beyond its original product line into broader merchandising and even corporate leadership training.”

Notice the emphasis on “stretching” both staff members and the brand as fostered by being “unwilling to fall in love with the way things are”.

Far too many organizations fall in love with the way things are and no long seek to stretch.

Play to Win

This section opens with the following quote:

The master in the art of living makes
little distinction between his work and
his play, his labor and his leisure, his
mind and his body, his information and
his recreation. … He simply pursues his
vision of excellence at whatever he does,
leaving others to decide whether he is
working or playing. To him he’s always
doing both.
— James Michener

This section, “Play to win,” focuses on how “leaders see work and play as being intertwined” — “play is a powerful tool for alignment and social cohesion.”

• Chapter 10, “Play Well,” focuses on “how Zappos infuses a spirit of play on daily, monthly, and extended timelines throughout the workplace.”
• Chapter 11, “R.O.F.L.,” focuses on “how Zappos has transformed fun into a culture that is far from frivolous.” R.O.F.L. commonly stands for “rolling on the floor laughing” but in this Chapter it stands for “Return On Fun Lasts”.

Notice the emphasis on joy or enjoyment, that is, “finding joy in”! Mere Work and Play are different but may be intertwined, specifically, it’s the “spirit of play” that makes “work” “fun”.

Fundamentally, if you are not enjoying work, quite simply, stop working and ask “what’s missing”!

In conclusion

The book ends with one question: What’s your leadership legacy?

Zappos is no longer in the shoe business; it is in the happiness business! Its leaders became passionate about a goal that transcended products or processes. Those leaders shifted their attention from business success to transformative objectives and, in the end, elevated their significance and their legacy.

So what’s your leadership legacy statement? Go ahead and write it down — but, more important, live it! If you do, you truly will understand the transformational power of the Zappos Experience.

At the end of my Delivering Happiness blog post, I suggested if you want to understand the “Zappos Experience” — how Zappos has achieved greatness — read and reflect on Tony Hseih’s (@zappos) Delivering Happiness (@DHMovement), however, I now further suggest if you want to delve deeper, read and reflect on Joseph A. Michelli’s (@josephmichelli) The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW (@zapposxperience) — a treasure trove of practical wisdom!

Artful Transformation and John Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change

In Leading Change, John Kotter of Kotter International emphasizes:

30 years of research by leadership guru Dr. John Kotter have proven that 70% of all major change efforts in organizations fail. Why do they fail? Because organizations often do not take the holistic approach required to see the change through.

However, by following the 8 Step Process outlined by Professor Kotter, organizations can avoid failure and become adept at change. By improving their ability to change, organizations can increase their chances of success, both today and in the future. Without this ability to adapt continuously, organizations cannot thrive.

How does The 8-Step Process for Leading Change relate to Artful Transformation?

Step 1: Create/Establishing a Sense of Urgency

This step focuses on “helping others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately”:

Examine market and competitive realities

Identify and discuss crises, potential crises or major opportunities

This step relates to Phase I of Artful Transformation, and specifically fostering awareness of the rationale justifying the transformation.

Kotter’s emphasis that “leaders who know what they are doing will ‘aim for the heart’” and “connect to the deepest values of their people and inspire them to greatness” is crucial.

Step 2: Creating the Guiding Coalition

This step focuses on “putting together a group with enough power to lead the change”:

Assemble a group with enough power to lead the change effort

Encourage the group to work as a team

This step relates to Phase I of Artful Transformation, and specifically establishing a transformation team.

Kotter’s emphasis that “the team should reflect: Position Power; Expertise; Credibility; and Leadership” is crucial.

Step 3: Developing a Change Vision

This step focuses on “clarifying how the future will be different from the past”:

Create a vision to help direct the change effort

Develop strategies for achieving that vision

This step relates to Phase I of Artful Transformation, and specifically deriving a framework. Kotter’s vision is similar to Artful Transformation’s framework and Kotter’s strategies is similar Artful Transformation’s roadmap.

Kotter’s emphasis that a “clear vision [framework] serves three important purposes: simplifies more detailed decisions; motivates people to take action; and helps to coordinate the actions” is crucial.

Kotter’s emphasis “effective visions [frameworks] have six key characteristics: Imaginable; Desirable; Feasible; Focused; Flexible; and Communicable” is crucial.

Step 4: Communicating the Vision for Buy-in

This step focuses on “ensuring that as many people as possible understand and accept the vision”:

Use every vehicle possible to communicate the new vision and strategies

Teach new behaviors by the example of the Guiding Coalition

This step relates to Phase I of Artful Transformation, and specifically socializing and refining the framework and roadmap.

Kotter’s emphasis on “communicating the vision” and “the vision should be: Simple; Vivid; Repeatable; Invitational” is crucial.

Step 5: Empowering Broad-based Action / Empowering People and Removing Barriers

This step focuses on “removing as many barriers as possible and unleashing people to do their best work”:

Remove obstacles to change

Change systems or structures that seriously undermine the vision

Encourage the risk-taking and nontraditional ideas, activities, and actions

This step relates to Phase II and III of Artful Transformation, and specifically enacting & elaborating (Phase II) and further enacting & evolving (Phase III) the framework as well as renewing value-creating capabilities (Phase II) and reviewing oversights capabilities (Phase III).

Step 6: Generating Short-term Wins

This step focuses on “creating some visible, unambiguous success as soon as possible”:

Plan for visible performance improvements

Create those improvements

Recognize and reward employees involved in the improvements

This step relates to Phase II and III of Artful Transformation, and specifically the successes and improvements at the early parts of the phases.

Step 7: Never Letting Up / Don’t Let Up!

This step focuses on “consolidating gains and producing more change”:

Use increased credibility to change systems, structures and policies that don’t fit the vision

Hire, promote, and develop employees who can implement the vision

Reinvigorate the process with new projects, themes, and change agents

This step relates to Phase II and III of Artful Transformation, and specifically the gains at the latter parts of the phases.

Step 8: Incorporating Changes into the Culture / Make it Stick

This step focuses on “anchoring new approaches in the culture”:

Articulate the connections between the new behaviors and organizational success

Develop the means to ensure leadership development and succession

This step relates to Phase II and III of Artful Transformation, and specifically the emergence of communities (Phase II) and fostering those communities (Phase III).

Artful Transformation and The 8 Steps

The 8-Step Process for Leading Change provides rich guidance that can be used with Artful Transformation to lead change.

Artful Transformation and the PRIMES

In The PRIMES: How Any Group Can Solve Any Problem, Chris McGoff (@ThePRIMESbook) of The Clearing with Dana Theus (@DanaTheus) of Magus Consulting describes a set of “simple, enduring, and universally applicable truths” that “unlock the power of a group” in “solving complex problems and driving transformational outcomes” (“direct change, facilitate transformation, and solve complex problems”).

How do the PRIMES relate to Artful Transformation?

The PRIMES

(click figure to enlarge)

The book introduces Universe Denters:

Michael Doyle [Chris McGoff’s colleague] and his team had a deep and practical understanding of the true nature of group work. They knew how to unlock the power of a group and catalyze the social construction of knowledge. I watched them accomplish “something big” over and over again. I called them “Universe Denters.”

The book then introduces the PRIMES:

In the process of scaling one organizational challenge or another, over a period of many years, realizations came to my partners and me one at a time — and often just in time. The PRIMES are these “eureka” insights. Usually, they occurred when we got stuck as a team. When something was wrong and we were in trouble, we talked it through. A realization would often surface that fit the exact circumstance and allowed us to move forward. As we refined and reused an insight successfully in other circumstances, we knew we had uncovered a PRIME. To qualify, the insight had to be universally applicable, effective in a wide variety of situations, and it had to be timeless and simple. One after another, we “met” the PRIMES.

This book then emphasizes distinguishing the PRIMES:

One of the most profound revelations in my life is that naming things is the act of creating the human experience and shaping the future. Naming is the core of what we do and what we cause. Naming is an essential first step toward achieving mastery over any aspect of life.

The book is organized into three parts with seven chapters:

Part 1 (The Calling): We pay attention to our “calling” and our desire to make a significant, lasting contribution to organizations, communities, and society. The PRIMES in Part One will help us prepare to meet challenges and enroll others in our vision.

Part 2 (Outward Bound): As we set out on our adventure, specific PRIMES help sustain us as a group. We’ll discover PRIMES for beginning our journey and for dealing with inevitable dangers on the path. Other PRIMES will help us “see around the corner,” to predict specific threats to our goal, and help us manage risks.

Part 3: (Summiting): Our goal is near, but at this stage we encounter the greatest fatigue. Our best and worst behaviors begin to manifest themselves. We’ll uncover PRIMES to help us protect the integrity of the expedition.

Artful Transformation and the PRIMES

(click figure to enlarge)

While the PRIMES may generally apply across Phase I, II, and III of Artful Transformation, they also have a natural place across Phase I, II, and III where they may have the greatest impact and value.

The Wanderlust chapter of Part 1 (The Calling) establishes underpinning or foundational PRIMES, which are commonly leveraged across Phase I, II, and III of Artful Transformation.

The Enrollment chapter of Part 1 (The Calling) offers PRIMES commonly leveraged in Phase I (Context) of Artful Transformation.

The Outfitting, Stepping Off, and Here be Dragons chapters of Part 2 (Outward Bound) introduce PRIMES commonly leveraged in Phase II (Foundation) of Artful Transformation.

The Strategic Pause chapter of Part 3 (Summiting) introduces PRIMES commonly leveraged in Phase III (Evolution) of Artful Transformation.

The Declared Leadership chapter of Part 3 (Summiting) establishes overarching or leadership PRIMES, which are commonly leveraged across Phase I, II, and III of Artful Transformation.

Wanderlust

The Wanderlust chapter explores PRIMES that “help you clarify your purpose and prepare you to let the world know your vision.”

CHANGE VS. TRANSFORMATION: Change fixes the past. Transformation creates the future.

INTEGRITY: Change fixes the past. Transformation creates the future.

TRUST THE UNIVERSE: The Universe helps people who live boldly.

ENNOBLEMENT: A great vision elevates the people that hold it.

DYNAMIC INCOMPLETENESS: Co-creation causes co-ownership.

These PRIMES relate to fostering a Wholeness mindset (The Art of War – Wholeness) across Phase I, II, and III of Artful Transformation.

Enrollment

The Enrollment chapter explores PRIMES that “give us the ability to build our team and excite, focus, and commit everyone to do what it takes to achieve our clear vision for the future.”

CORE PRIME: Powerful groups forge five essential agreements.

PARITY: Balancing the As Is and the To Be.

FACTS, STORIES, AND BELIEFS: Beliefs shape the facts we listen to and the stories we tell about them.

STAKE: People have different motivations; inspire them all.

DECLARATION: Great leaders DECLARE what will be, by when.

These PRIMES relate to Phase I of Artful Transformation, and specifically establishing a transformation team and socializing & refining the framework. The CORE PRIME is quintessential in this phase.

Outfitting

The Outfitting chapter explores PRIMES that “prepare you to recognize and manage inevitable obstacles on whatever path you take.”

CULTURE: Every group divides the behaviors it will tolerate from those it will not.

GOSSIP: GOSSIP is pure, destructive energy. Tolerate it at your peril.

CONSENSUS: Everyone “agreeing with everything” is overrated.

VICTIM-LEADER: Empowering discussions focus on that which you can control.

BREACH: Acknowledging BREACH is an important step into INTEGRITY.

These PRIMES relate to Phase II of Artful Transformation, and specifically enacting the framework and renewing value-creation capabilities. The CULTURE PRIME is quintessential in this phase.

Stepping Off

The Stepping Off chapter explores PRIMES “to help fuel the group, and to focus and maintain its energy, as it attempts the extraordinary.”

MUDA: Stop non-value-added activity to make room for value.

REDPOINT: Focus on the fewest, most important, things to do now.

ISSUES FORWARD: Direct your focus to what you can affect.

COHESION: Knowing what you want increases your chances of getting it.

These PRIMES relate to Phase II of Artful Transformation, and specifically enacting the framework and renewing value-creation capabilities. The REDPOINT PRIME is quintessential in this phase.

Here be Dragons

The Here be Dragons chapter explores PRIMES that “clarify the importance of focusing and expanding energy efficiently.”

BIG HAT-LITTLE HAT: Everyone wears two hats. Know which one you wear at all times.

RIGHT VS. RIGHT: The most important arguments occur when rights collide.

RESOLUTION PRINCIPLES: Ethical dilemmas can’t be avoided, but they can be managed.

BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT: Rationality is a function of the information at hand.

LEVELS OF PERSPECTIVE: Where you stand determines the problems and solutions you see.

These PRIMES relate to Phase II of Artful Transformation, and specifically enacting the framework and renewing value-creation capabilities.

Strategic Pause

The Strategic Pause chapter explores PRIMES that “help you locate the source of a group’s problem and help members resolve it quickly.”

FRAGMENTATION: Understanding the natural splintering of intentionality helps address it.

LAGGARDS: Ignore those who will never come along.

OPEN-CLOSE-DECIDE: Only one person, at one moment, makes a decision.

IN-ON: You are either working IN your business, or ON it.

These PRIMES relate to Phase III of Artful Transformation, and specifically renewing oversight capabilities.

Declared Leadership

The Declared Leadership chapter explores PRIMES that “are survival gear for truly great leaders.” “Outfitted with these principles, you will bypass obstacles, navigate the unexpected, and lead your teams through the rough patches every time they appear.”

LEADERSHIP SPECTRUM: Great leaders master multiple leadership styles.

SHAPE SHIFTING: Lead collaboratively or authoritatively, explicitly and intentionally.

CHASE-LOSE: Pursuit of meaningful outcomes inspires teamwork and leadership.

COMMITMENT VS. ATTACHMENT: Success is a state of being.

These PRIMES relate to fostering a Leadership mindset (The Art of War – Leadership) across Phase I, II, and III of Artful Transformation.

Artful Transformation and the PRIMES

The PRIMES provide a rich set of principles that can be used with Artful Transformation “to create the future, produce extraordinary results, and make a dent in the Universe.”

Artful Transformation

Artful Transformation is an experientially derived and proven approach to transformation resulting from over three decades of major transformation work.

Artful Transformation is not a traditional change management approach or a new change management approach. Artful Transformation is not a theoretical or speculative approach to transformation.

Artful Transformation has been described & distilled and supported with a “public” case study (who, why, how, and the results).

Transformation involves fundamental change that fosters organizational health (performance and well-being).

Enterprise transformation involves the fundamental change of an enterprise, not merely causing the enterprise to change its structure or processes, but causing the enterprise to change its culture (expressed through language, relationships, and behaviors), which may in turn cause the enterprise to change its structure and processes. Organizational health involves a high performing enterprise that thrives within its context.

Transition is a practice-based change that primarily focuses on surface level behavior while a transformation is a value/principle-based change that focuses on the DNA of an enterprise.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Artful Transformation offers a 3 to 5 times improvement in organizational health (performance and well-being)! See the recommendations for more information!

(click figure to enlarge)

Phase I: Context

Phase I is described & distilled and supported with a “public” case study.

Phase I involves establishing a transformation team, deriving a “minimal” framework, and socializing and refining the framework for adoption, which ensures awareness of the aspects of the enterprise.

Phase II: Foundation

Phase II is described & distilled and supported with a “public” case study.

Phase II involves enacting and elaborating the framework, and renewing value-creation capabilities for adoption and scale, which ensures the dynamics within the enterprise.

Phase III: Evolution

Phase III is described & distilled and supported with a “public” case study.

Phase III involves enacting and evolving the framework, renewing oversight capabilities, and fostering communities for scale and sustainability, which ensures the wholeness of the enterprise.

Cars.com’s Agility Transformation Journey

On July 13th, 2011, Clay Johnson (@edeviant), Jacque Harper (@ChicagoBassEns), Jim Sanders, John Manganaro, Jonathan Yenkin, Len Lagestee (@lagestee), Mahi Inampudi, and Nick Hummer shared Cars.com‘s Agility Transformation Journey (as a Ryma Technology Solutions hosted webinar).

Cars.com, a division of Classified Ventures LLC, which launched in June 1998 is the leading destination for online car shoppers, visited by more than 10 million car shoppers each month. To further fuel its success in putting car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions, Cars.com ventured into an enterprise transformation focused on greater organizational health (performance and well-being) and Agility.

The enterprise transformation (approximately 9 calendar months involving approximately 6 effort months) involved Product Management, Project Management, Product Engineering, User Experience, Enterprise Architecture, Operations/Infrastructure, Governance/Oversight, etc. The webinar showcased the transformation experience from all of these perspectives directly from the core participants while the coaches — Mark Ferraro (@mark4ro), Larry Schoeneman, and Si Alhir (@SAlhir) with Redpoint Technologies and Judith E. Glaser (@CreatingWE and @JudithEGlaser) with Benchmark Communications — contributed to the conversation.

— The whole webinar hosted by Ryma Technology Solutions is available here or you can view snippets below. —

Who is Cars.com?

The core participants introduce Cars.com…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 1 min)

Why Agility?

The core participants describe Cars.com’s motivations…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 2 min)

The Journey

The coaches describe the transformation approach…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 2.5 min)

The coaches emphasize that the approach is well described in Transformation Distilled: A Journey and a Way of Being and Transformation further Distilled. Furthermore, the coaches emphasize the three underlying pillars of the approach:

• The approach emphasizes a Natural perspective in that it is rooted in Sociality & Human Nature and relies on Human Leadership, including:
• Tribal Leadership and its appreciation of natural groups.
• WE-Centric Leadership and its appreciation of vital instincts.
• The Art of War (“the coaching manual” as Taking Whole and The Sage Commander) and its appreciation of the nature of conflict.
• And other bodies of knowledge based on the context of the enterprise.
• The approach emphasizes an Essential perspective in that it starts with something (framework) “minimal” & “holistic” and evolves it in the context of the enterprise.
• The approach emphasizes a Real perspective in that it considers people and results in the context of the enterprise, that is, it balances the “soft stuff” (people) and the “hard stuff” (business results).

The approach is Natural, Essential, and Real!

The Journey: Energize

The coaches describe the first phase of the approach…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 1 min)

The coaches emphasize the importance of appreciating the enterprise, energizing the enterprise, starting with a “blank sheet”, formulating a “minimal vision”, and socializing the “framework”.

See here and here for more information on phase I.

The core participants share their experiences and recommendations concerning the first phase…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 5.5 min)

Encourage you to listen to the audio and leave your comments regarding what “emerges” for you.

The Journey: Experience

The coaches describe the second phase of the approach…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 1 min)

The coaches emphasize the importance of experiencing the dynamics of the framework (not merely socializing the framework) and growing the framework, discovering the “shift”, and renewing “how we create value”. Generally, it is about heightening awareness, fostering behavior, and producing results.

See here and here for more information on phase II.

The core participants share their experiences and recommendations concerning the second phase…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 11 min)

Encourage you to listen to the audio and leave your comments regarding what “emerges” for you.

The Journey: Embody

The coaches describe the third phase of the approach…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 1 min)

The coaches emphasize the importance of embodying the “shift” in the enterprise, renewing “oversight”, and ensuring the “goodness” is embodied within the communities of people who constitute the enterprise. Generally, it is about heightening awareness, fostering behavior, and producing results.

See here and here for more information on phase III.

The core participants share their experiences and recommendations concerning the third phase…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 5 min)

Encourage you to listen to the audio and leave your comments regarding what “emerges” for you.

The Journey in Summary

The core participants share their overall experiences and recommendations…

(click figure to enlarge)

(audio – 6.5 min)

Encourage you to listen to the audio and leave your comments regarding what “emerges” for you.

Overall Impressions

Judith E. Glaser emphasizes the organic nature of the transformation experiences (audio – 1.5 min) while the core participants (and coaches) share their “code word” (audio – 1 min) for that sensation (being connected, energetic, and committed) and the host shares his impressions (audio – 1.5 min).

Encourage you to listen to the audio and leave your comments regarding your impressions.

Key Questions

The core participants (and coaches) explore

• the liberating power of starting with an agnostic perspective (audio – 1 min),
• the importance of a cross-functional core participant team (audio – 2 min),
• the liberating power of starting with an essential framework and the wisdom of listening and conversing (audio – 2 min),
• the overall potency of the core participant team and being “alive” (audio – 2 min), and
• sponsorship and the courage & leadership of the management team (audio – 1.5 min).

Encourage you to listen to the audio and leave your questions.

Conclusion

Judith E. Glaser emphasizes the do-ability of transformation (audio – 0.5 min) and the nature of being human and thriving together (audio – 0.5 min).

Please share your thoughts.

Transformation further Distilled

Thriving and high performing organizations are founded on strong cultures, which involve shared values, strategy alignment, and interconnection. Such organizations achieve 4 times higher revenue, 7 times more expanded work force, 12 times higher stock prices, and 756% higher net income. However, approximately 70% of all change initiatives focused on improving performance fail!

With an acute focus on business results, this unique transformation approach offers an efficient and effective alternative to more “traditional” approaches to change. This approach includes three sequential phases: Context, Foundation, and Evolution.

Context: Transformation Team and Framework

The first phase involves establishing a transformation team; sufficiently understanding the organization’s structure, processes, and culture; and considering how to improve people’s well-being and the organization’s performance. Appreciation of the whole and parts is essential!

Transformation Team

Establish a transformation team.

The transformation team is composed of people from across the organization. The team must be representative of all the groups (of people) involved in the transformation. The team is responsible for coaching, consulting, and training interventions and generally supporting people and the organization.

Framework

The transformation team derives a “minimal” framework.

A framework is a social construct, a social object that fosters a group’s social construction of reality. For example, a framework may be an expression or description of

• Values or what gives a group “meaning”,
• Cause or what gives a group “purpose”,
• Guiding Principles,
• Roles & Tasks & Work Products,
• Behaviors & Relationships & Language, or
• Anything that foster’s the group’s shared understanding of its reality.

The framework essentially expresses a “way of being” that considers people’s well-being and the organization’s performance. It should be “minimal” and integrate people’s human needs and the organization’s business needs. The transformation team is vital in understanding the organization’s structure, processes, and culture while external coaches are vital in contributing various bodies of knowledge (content) and practice (experience) to the framework and throughout the transformation.

The transformation team socializes and refines the framework.

The transformation team shares the framework with all the people who are represented by the team, and the transformation team refines the framework based on any feedback. Naturally, there will be disagreements among people and groups! However, the framework is merely a starting point for the transformation, it is not the destination. As the transformation progresses, the framework will be “tested” against reality and “improved” to ensure people’s well-being and the organization’s performance.

Foundation: Value Creation, Enactment & Elaboration, and Renewal

The second phase involves improving people’s well-being and the organization’s performance by improving the organization’s structure, processes, and culture.

Throughout this phase, the transformation team ensures people experience healthy dynamics in how they work together as reflected in people’s behaviors, relationships, and language.

Enact & Elaborate

The transformation team works with people in enacting the framework (on real work).

The transformation team must live the framework and work with people to also start living the framework. For examples, the transformation team coaches people to live the Values in alignment with the Cause expressed in the framework or coaches people to live the Roles, perform the Tasks, and produce & consume Work Products expressed in the framework. As other people outside the transformation team start living the framework, those people with whom the framework resonates will in turn progressively (and ultimately virally) work with other people to start living the framework. This fosters progressive adoption of the framework.

The transformation team works with people in elaborating the framework.

As people begin to live the framework, the transformation team works with them to change what is not working well (that is, not improving people’s well-being or not improving the organization’s performance) and elaborate (beyond what was “minimal”) what is working well (that is, improving people’s well-being or not improving the organization’s performance). This fosters progressive adaptation of the framework based on the natural group of people who constitute the organization and the demands of the marketplace on the business organization.

Renew Value Creation

The transformation team works with the organization to renew its value-creation capabilities.

As the transformation team, people, and organization begin to recognize what is working well and what is not working well, the enterprise can further organize around how to best foster people’s well-being and the organization’s performance. For example, people may be reorganized as teams, departments may be reorganized across the organization, etc. around how to best create value to meet business objectives.

Evolution: Oversight, Communities, Enactment & Evolution, and Renewal

The third phase involves ensuring the improvements are enduring by ensuring the durability of the organization’s structure, processes, and culture.

Throughout this phase, the transformation team ensures people experience healthy dynamics in how they work together as reflected in people’s behaviors, relationships, and language.

Enact & Evolve

The transformation team works with people in further enacting the framework (on real work).

The transformation team must continue to live the framework and work with people to also continue to living the framework. For examples, the transformation team coaches people to continue to live the Values in alignment with the Cause expressed in the framework or coaches people to continue to live the Roles, perform the Tasks, and produce & consume Work Products expressed in the framework. As other people outside the transformation team continue to live the framework, those people with whom the framework resonates will in turn progressively (and ultimately virally) work with other people to continue to live the framework. This fosters progressive adoption of the framework.

The transformation team works with people in evolving the framework.

As people continue to live the framework, the transformation team works with them to change what is not working well (that is, not improving people’s well-being or not improving the organization’s performance) and evolve (beyond what was “minimal”) what is working well (that is, improving people’s well-being or not improving the organization’s performance). This fosters progressive adaptation of the framework based on the natural group of people who constitute the organization and the demands of the marketplace on the business organization.

Renew Oversight

The transformation team works with the organization to renew its oversight capabilities.

As the transformation team, people, and organization begin to recognize what is working well and what is not working well, the enterprise can further organize around how to best sustain people’s well-being and the organization’s performance. For example, how are cross-team conflicts and cross-department conflicts resolved, etc. in how to best oversight value creation.

Communities

The transformation team fosters communities who take ownership of the framework.

Throughout the journey, ownership of the framework progressively (and ultimately virally) permeates every person beyond the transformation team. The enterprise, as an overall community, owns the framework while the transformation team fosters various sub-communities to take ownership for evolving different aspects of the framework. As the enterprise’s journey is never-ending, the evolution of the framework in continuously improving people’s well-being and the organization’s performance is never-ending.

How is this Different? Why does it Work?

This transformation approach is different from more “traditional” approaches to change in that it very organically and simultaneously focuses on people’s well-being and the organization’s performance.

• From a business perspective, the approach transforms how people and the organization discover and deliver value to clients and customers in the form of products, services, and experiences.
• From an organizational perspective, the approach transforms the organizational structure and processes to more efficiently and effectively achieve business results.
• From a cultural perspective, the approach transforms people’s behaviors, relationships, and language to ensure their well-being in achieving business results.
• Most notably, the approach is completely agnostic of business domain and may be combined with almost any Strategy, Leadership, Execution, Cultural, etc. model or approach (for example, [1], [2], [3], [4], etc.).

Integrating these different perspectives is the foundation for a complete and holistic transformation approach.

Transformation Distilled: A Journey and a Way of Being

This is not a traditional change management approach or a new change management approach.

This is not a theoretical or speculative approach to transformation.

This is an experientially derived and proven approach to transformation.

Enterprise

An enterprise is a meaningfully-purposeful collective of individuals who form an ecosystem.

They share an organizational structure, organizational processes, and culture.

They express themselves through their language, relationships, and behaviors.

Value Discovery and Delivery

The enterprise (organization) is focused on value (results) via ongoing value discovery and delivery efforts.

A value discovery project (effort) is focused on discovering valued products/services/experiences (results).

A value delivery project (effort) is focused on delivering valued products/services/experiences (results).

Transformation

Transformation involves fundamental change that fosters organizational health (performance and well-being).

Enterprise transformation involves the fundamental change of an enterprise, not merely causing the enterprise to change its structure or processes, but causing the enterprise to change its culture (expressed through language, relationships, and behaviors), which may in turn cause the enterprise to change its structure and processes.

Organizational health involves a high performing enterprise that thrives within its context.

A Journey and a Way of Being

Transformation coaches are catalysts who foster (via intervention) the enterprise’s journey towards a more healthy way of being.

Transformation Distilled

Transformation is enacted across three phases (Context, Foundation, and Evolution) and involves three core or essential elements (Nucleus, Dynamics, and Communities).

The phases are not merely sequential but general overlap (within a 3 to 6+ month timeframe for all three phases, which is further adapted to the needs/context of the enterprise).

Phase I: Context

(click figure to enlarge)

The first phase involves engaging and energizing the enterprise.

This phase focuses on sufficiently appreciating the enterprise to foster the creation of a “minimal” value discovery and delivery framework and transformation roadmap.

The framework expresses a value-centric way of being. The framework may leverage almost any Strategy, Leadership, Execution, Cultural, etc. model or approach (for example, [1], [2], [3], [4], etc.). The roadmap expresses a transformation journey.

• Sufficiently understand (gain awareness of) the enterprise.
• Establish a nucleus based on the constituencies of stakeholders.
  A nucleus is a group of people who are the initial agents of transformation.
• Engage the nucleus and leverage the understanding of the enterprise, various bodies of knowledge (content), and various bodies of practice (experiences) to derive a “minimal” value discovery and delivery framework (initial draft).
• Engage the nucleus to socialize (with the constituencies of stakeholders) and refine the “minimal” value discovery and delivery framework (metaphorically, a “skeleton”).
• Introspection, reflection, appreciation, and greater awareness are essential!
• Ensure the wholeness of the nucleus and enterprise. This is essential!

Phase II: Foundation

(click figure to enlarge)

The second phase involves fostering the enterprise experiencing and elaborating its new way of being.

This phase focuses on value discovery and delivery efforts progressively experiencing and elaborating the emerging framework.

• Engage the nucleus to enact value discovery and delivery efforts to experience and elaborate the framework. Ensure people experience vital natural & instinctual human dynamics.
• The nucleus must live the framework and practice & exhibit the language, relationships, and behaviors.
• The nucleus must coach other people and engage & invite other people to live the framework.
• Those engaged, invited, and impacted will in turn live the framework and coach other people, etc.
• Introspection, reflection, appreciation, and greater awareness are essential!
• From enactment, a more healthy framework (metaphorically, a “skeleton with muscles”) will emerge.
• Ensure the enterprise recognizes the journey and way of being. (Commonly referred to as “the shift“).
• Engage the nucleus to renew the enterprise’s value discovery and delivery capabilities (means, ends, and means-ends). Ensure people experience vital natural & instinctual human dynamics. Renewal is essential!

Phase III: Evolution

(click figure to enlarge)

The third phase involves fostering the enterprise evolving and embodying its new way of being.

This phase focuses on value discovery and delivery efforts progressively evolving and embodying the emerging framework.

• Engage the nucleus to further enact value discovery and delivery efforts to evolve and embody the framework. Ensure people experience vital natural & instinctual human dynamics.
• The nucleus must live the framework and practice & exhibit the language, relationships, and behaviors.
• The nucleus must coach other people and engage & invite other people to live the framework.
• Those engaged, invited, and impacted will in turn live the framework and coach other people, etc.
• Introspection, reflection, appreciation, and greater awareness are essential!
• From further enactment, a more healthy framework (metaphorically, a “skeleton with muscles”) will emerge.
• Engage the nucleus to renew the enterprise’s oversight capability. Ensure people experience vital natural & instinctual human dynamics. Renewal is essential!
• Engage the nucleus to foster communities of commitment around the value discovery and delivery framework (metaphorically, a “skeleton with muscles and skin”).
• Ensure the wholeness of the communities of commitment and enterprise. This is essential!

Does it Work? What are the Results?

This is an experientially derived and proven approach to transformation.

Does it work? It works! But, it (adopting, scaling, and sustaining the change) is constrained by the readiness of the enterprise to transform, the potency of the nucleus involved, and the potency of the coaches involved.

What are the results? Anecdotal evidence suggests a 3 to 5 times improvement in organizational health (performance and well-being)! See the recommendations for more information or contact me directly.