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Beware of managers who are stuck in the past and refuse to move ahead.
Creating strategy is just as much about letting go of the past as it is about taking on new things.
Eliminating non-strategic activities, projects and programs in fact is critical to creating the bandwidth to take on the new things required.
You simply don’t have sufficient time, energy and resources to take on new stuff while continuing to carry on with past activities.
Of course there will be managers in your organization that really like the past direction and don’t want to be part of executing on a new course.
For many, the past is familiar and comfortable and relatively stress free. Why would they want to give it up for the anxiety, risk and uncertainty of going a new direction?
Their preference is to continue to manage the irrelevance that gives them satisfaction and security.
It is essential to identify these custodians of the past and to act on them.
If not, they will infect others in the organization by attempting to convince them not to embrace the new strategic direction.
Here’s a process to follow.
▪️determine the CRAP, or non-strategic activities and projects that are no longer appropriate given your new strategy. Make the list long. Avoid being persuaded that everything associated with your old plan is relevant to the new.
▪️identify the people associated with the CRAP.
▪️develop an action plan for each person who is engaged in irrelevant activities. Don’t assume a single solution will work for everyone. Each person will be different and will require a personalized solution.
▪️reassign those who want to go to your brave new world and give them all the training and development support they need to succeed.
▪️exit those who are either not qualified to take on the new challenge or who refuse it.
Either way, they need to go to prevent the inertia virus from spreading!
Related: Why Great Leaders Scream About Being Different on Friday