Try the words of the famous Statesman and Orator, Winston Churchill.
"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet, there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know, you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."
Sir Winston Churchill, Statesman and Orator
The global services industry is in dire need of venerable. As a relatively new industry, we are short of leaders whose words can provide inspiration in our “darkest hours.” After evaluating the sage advice of such varied figures as Shakespeare, the American politician Adlai Stevenson, and Buddha, I suggest that we make Winston Churchill the patron saint of global services. Arguably the most colorful and inspirational leader of the mid twentieth century, Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill (1874 to 1965) was a British politician known chiefly for his leadership of Great Britain during World War II. His career spanned two stints as Prime Minister, journalist, army officer and artist, giving him a rich understanding of the nuances of managing change in the light of the vagaries of human nature, the role of planning, and the thin line between success and failure — all key challenges we face when transitioning to an outsourced or offshored operating model.
Here are just a few of the transition secrets of Sir Winston Churchill:
On determining who is with you and who is not on board. “A fanatic is one who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.” Churchill knew how to pick his battles, and was a master at identifying who was with him and who would always form the opposition. He wasted little time in trying to persuade those whose minds were shut to his strategy, and focused on drowning out distractions as he set about implementing his strategy.
Wise advice for transition leaders —map the supporters and the opposition, and focus time and energy on changing the minds and opinions of those who do matter.
On dealing with internal customers. “They are decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all-powerful to be impotent.” No decision is always a decision, yet we intuitively think that if we don’t draw a line in the sand, we retain ultimate flexibility. Savvy transition leaders gather opinion and know when to move on to implement the right kind of change given what is known and what is knowable.
On negotiating change. “Never hold discussions with the monkey when the organ grinder is in the room.” Churchill was a past master at working his enviable network. He was able to divide and conquer, appealing to the needs of range of opinion leaders, and, at the very least, neutralize the effect of opinion, if not obtain outright support. The lesson for services implementation? Develop a plan for each constituent of change in such a way that avoids the bandwagon effect, working each separately and selectively.
On the realities of communicating change. “There are a terrible lot of lies going around the world, and the worst of it is half of them are true.” Most global services programs spend little time in developing the communications strategies that are targeted to deal effectively with myth and lore, and eradicate miscommunications, and out and out untruths. So the myth becomes reality and the opposition to change digs in. Good programs ensure that there is a clear communication of what is changing, what is not, and what is left undecided. And these programs also ensure that the communication is regular, not episodic when a problem occurs.
On developing the right plan for the transformation journey. “It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time.” Churchill developed a strategy, which was able to flex to meet every exigency … and still win. The lesson that he has taught for transition is that set sights long and tactics short.
On moving on from powerpoint presentations to measuring performance. “However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” Churchill hits right between the eyes with this remark. It’s a measurable change in the status quo that matters, not the quality of a best-laid plan.
On compromising just to move the program along. “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.” This was Churchill’s direct hit at the appeasement policy of Neville Chamberlain. Churchill knew how important it was to hold fast to conviction. In global services speak, exempting a business line from an aspect of the program for no good reason, or making changes in staging that have no justification to get seeming support may not be the best way to go. The accommodation may send the signal to the process or geography or business line that the program is not serious or a business imperative.
On understanding the needs of the business lines. “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” While he planned, Churchill had the ability to listen. Since many global services strategies are driven top down or bottom up, then often inadvertently they ignore the needs of internal customers.
On dealing with transition setbacks. “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.” And “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: It is the courage to continue that counts.” No transition program is perfect, despite the claims of customers and providers alike. Deadlines are missed, processes exceed error-rate targets, key staff leave, and technology implementations go awry. The experienced transition team understands that each day is fraught with challenges, and the way these setbacks are dealt with — deliberately, with a focus on a one-time fix, not a serial problem — is the hallmark of a good transition.
On getting the job done. “It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best’. You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” The journey to a new operating model is not driven by a textbook formula. The ability to change direction on a dime, and to think out-of-the-box, throwing out any orthodoxies when confronted with a challenge are the traits that guided Winston Churchill through Britain’s darkest hours.
Parting words from Sir Winston for the transition team? “Never give in! Never give in! Never, never, never. Never — in anything great or small, large or petty — never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”
Deborah is Chief Marketing Officer of a leading offshore business-process outsourcer. Formerly a Partner at two professional services firms, Managing Director at two global banks and a founding executive at a BPO service provider, she has a unique perspective on an industry that she believes will flourish, often in spite of itself.
