Every business wants to disrupt its field, becoming an innovator that completely reinvented the game. For this reason, many have been focusing on DevOps transformations that get them closer to unleashing breakthroughs intended to shake the industry. However, many of these transformations fail, and for one reason: businesses never make a good enough case for why the ‘status quo’ needs to change.
Laying this foundation for transformation will be the most critical step you’ll make, as it will determine the entire program and its success. Here’s what you need to know about ensuring a successful digital business transformation:
Breaking Down the Status Quo
Implementing change is challenging, which is why most attempts to transform end up sputtering to a stop. In fact, leading a change program may be one of the toughest things you’ll ever do. Most change teams are action-oriented, rushing to implement change activities like new tools, training modules and exploring new ways of working before fully understanding why the change needs to occur in the first place.
To get started, the change team must first explain why the status quo is no longer sufficient for the company to grow before they begin discussing a solution, such as a DevOps transformation to address your IT challenges. When they clearly identify all points for change and create indisputable arguments for them, that’s where the real change can begin.
The Need to Create a Sense of Urgency
It’s easy to get people to agree that change needs to happen. Getting management to buy into this need is considerably tricky, as you need 75 percent of them to get on board with you. To enjoy a higher chance of success, you’ll have to pivot the conversation into dissecting the what and how of the transformation your change plan intends to develop. Otherwise, people will be more resistant to the idea of change since they believe that the status quo is perfectly fine. If the old way is working, they won’t see any need to try something new.
Developing a Proper Program
All transformation programs need to tackle the root of the behavior that actively contributes to the status quo. You can tackle this in the Trans-Theoretical Model of behavioral change or TTM, which can help you make a good case for the transformation you aim to make.
The first stage is when people are unaware of the issue and why change needs to occur. Stage 2 is awareness of the problem, where you’ll have them think about the need for change and possible solutions to explore. However, you’ll need to make sure they completely understand and internalize the problem so they can see why there must be a new status quo.
Here is where many teams make a mistake: they charge ahead to stage 3, preparation, and stage 4, action because they’re excited about being involved in something potentially groundbreaking. The team may have undergone stages 1 and 2, but the rest of the company has not. However, they need to allow the organization enough time to move through the first two stages, which they can do through an internal marketing plan that explains why change needs to happen before championing DevOps as the solution.
Conclusion
Making a case for why business as usual is no longer good enough will look different for every industry. However, gathering enough evidence will help you create strong points that will convince management to move forward and innovate instead of risking being left behind, especially when faced with IT issues. Still, you’ll have to carry out deep analysis and understanding of the organization, its position in the market, and its unique value proposition to engineer an effective change that is genuinely innovative.
Creative Business Labs is a digital consulting firm that can help you create the successful DevOps transformation you’ve always wanted. We are passionate about enabling our clients to transform their business through innovative technology solutions that streamline workflows, support real-time data analytics, and ensure the highest quality of customer and employee user experiences. Contact us today to find out what we can do for your organization!
