Deepteam

We all have to review purpose and vision from time to time. While the BIG CIC is a voluntary group, and what gets done is what members want to do - and when - it must have a clear purpose and vision before we head of and start doing more. I guess it is that time of year!

Prioritisation is not just for Christmas. I am exasperated with so many organisations. Why? I've just got off a webinar I supported with TransparentChoice Limited with presentation from Dan Dures - In recent events with the APM Governance Interest Network - we have established that not many organisations are systematic with their use of tools for prioritisation - https://lnkd.in/ekK5MrX3 - Anecdotally and evidentially - our strategy delivery capability is not good - https://lnkd.in/eqP_Fjza - is it just me that is putting 2 and 2 together here - it seems quite obvious that a major factor causing poor strategic outcomes is deploying resources, leadership time and funding to the wrong activity. Having seen the Transparent Choice Demo done by Dan - we have no excuse for not using readily available prioritisation tools to enable us to deploy resources where most valuable, and every reason to expect our strategy delivery to be successful. So what? In the run up to your impeding business planning rounds - why not think a little bit more about how next years strategic objectives are going to get delivered. - Look at the Business Integrated Governance Framework as the capability to deliver your strategic objectives within. https://www.big-cic.org.uk - be serious about the need to prioritise, and reprioritise through the coming months. - https://lnkd.in/eNiMUW2K - start a journey to improve your strategy delivery - https://lnkd.in/eAzb5eDE Is it being too blunt and abrasive to suggest - Wake up and smell the coffee? Contact us to talk further (we can be more polite over a conversation) https://lnkd.in/ek2vkn9y

Are you going to prioritise - and how? From January to April, Deepteam is focusing on the process for setting targets and budgets for the next financial year - and business planning is about confirming each line manager's operational headcount needs, with perhaps some specific 'strategic asks' layered on top of that. Other organisations have growth aspirations, or face competition and market change around their operation. Steady state is not an option. Their strategic leads have a developing view of which vectors the organisation should take and managers have ideas for innovation. HOWEVER - There is ALWAYS more we COULD do than we CAN do. Out of all the things we currently do, the implications of our directed goals, and the innovations we see within our management teams - which ones SHOULD we do? We MUST set and maintain focus on our strategic priorities. Not being systematic about prioritising and holding people to account means that our business plans quickly become irrelevant and our strategic focus blurs. How many of us get the end of a financial year, look back and wonder if all that effort to create a business plan has been worth it? The trouble is - many of us develop strategy and try to cascade it through documents, so integration, oversight and simple configuration management is difficult. Prioritisation is opinion based on slide-based analysis, not information driven from traceable data. Our objectives, priorities and workloads slowly drift apart - with new objectives not being included, priorities become irrelevant, and accountability withers. This is of course made more difficult where we have workloads for objectives that cross functional boundaries - where managers have competing priorities between local and strategic goals. There is a lot to think about - one part of the solution is a container to structure, calculate, delegate and maintain your strategic and local priorities - ensuring leadership time, funds and resources REMAIN deployed on what is strategically important. One solution is the Transparent Choice solution which Dan Dures is demonstrating on 30th January, 4pm UK. Why not come along and see how you can professionalise prioritisation as part of business planning and strategy delivery? Read more about the challenges and get to a booking page for the webinar here: https://lnkd.in/e-RT49b3 Don't get pulled apart by an organisation that wants to do everything.

What does a Portfolio contain? Can something belong to several portfolios? This question appears innocuous - but the ambiguity / confusion about what this means impacts strategy delivery. Firstly, Portfolio means different things: - project / programme - collection of projects & programmes - finance - investments - e.g. growth (e.g. hiring sales people), change (e.g. merger, restructure, savings initiatives), value streams (e.g. technology, service, consulting propositions) - product (e.g. technology products within the tech value stream) - strategic (objectives, targets, challenges) etc. However, some workloads can be in multiple portfolios, e.g. - a project developing an eco-friendly product could belong to both the Innovation & Sustainability portfolios. - The digital transformation project could be in the Technology & Operational Excellence portfolios. - If a Business Unit Manager is asked to support a strategic initiative - is the work from "Strategic Project A" more important than daily workloads? If something is in 2 (+) portfolios - HOW do we determine priority? How many cases are there of conflicts between local & strategic priority? If we can't be clear on priority & our response to it, how can our strategy materialise? Clearly, strategic / cross functional initiatives cause overlap & bend our lines of command, causing stress and delay. Do you: - Clearly define accountability & decision-making for workloads in multiple portfolios to avoid conflicts? - Consistently track across portfolios to prevent duplication of effort or misaligned reporting? - Use tools to identify & manage shared resources effectively to avoid over-allocation? - Maintain transparency between portfolio managers to ensure alignment of objectives & outcomes? ...or do you pull your staff & managers apart? Instead - think BIG. Build prioritisation into systematic governance for strategy delivery. Get the knowledge - https://big-cic.org.uk/ Become a member - https://lnkd.in/e7EaQC78 Access a community - https://lnkd.in/gmGPZRk Get Help - https://deepteam.co.uk/ Prioritisation Solution - https://lnkd.in/eNiMUW2K

Happy new year - time to start business planning? I don't mean to spoil anyone's day - but for many it is about now when some organisations ask their staff to spend weeks developing plans for the year ahead. Don't get me wrong - we need to plan, and we need motivational targets to drive against - but BE HONEST - how many of us find our business plans are more about putting money into buckets more than driving the organisation forwards? It's not that our thinking / planning is no good - but EVIDENTIALLY, many of us: - are not clear on business purpose We do not: - cascade objectives through the organisation very well - prioritise between objectives, or balance BAU, value creation and change - measure results related to objectives - leverage technology to manage information related to strategy delivery - operate or support the operation of 'strategy delivery' How can an organisation get on top of the implications of business planning in those circumstances!! What is the point of business planning if we can't control the implications, or tweak our plans - and re-cascade / integrate them - based on progress and changes in our environment? It CANNOT BE a surprise that business plans are out of date after a month, irrelevant after 3 months, ignored after 9 months. HOWEVER - you may work for an SME that doesn't have much infrastructure and is struggling to mature in this area - but as an SME looking to survive and thrive - strategy delivery is key!! It is ok to paddle your boat harder, but at some point - you need to fit that outboard motor to go any faster. We believe you have to think BIG - and use the Business Integrated Governance Body of Knowledge (https://big-cic.org.uk/) to define the capability you need for the operation of strategy delivery. I'm starting to put together a briefing primarily aimed at SMEs to help then define and build the basics that larger organisations more often (far from always!) have behind strategy delivery. Please do revisit your planning - but this year - why not take a look at how you will be set up to systematically deliver against it? Read more here, register interest in a briefing, or contact us to find out more...fit the outboard motor. https://lnkd.in/evyyHUsM

Happy new year - time to start business planning? I don't mean to spoil anyone's day - but for many it is about now when some organisations ask their staff to spend weeks developing plans for the year ahead. Don't get me wrong - we need to plan, and we need motivational targets to drive against - but BE HONEST - how many of us find our business plans are more about putting money into buckets more than driving the organisation forwards? It's not that our thinking / planning is no good - but EVIDENTIALLY, many of us: - are not clear on business purpose We do not: - cascade objectives through the organisation very well - prioritise between objectives, or balance BAU, value creation and change - measure results related to objectives - leverage technology to manage information related to strategy delivery - operate or support the operation of 'strategy delivery' How can an organisation get on top of the implications of business planning in those circumstances!! What is the point of business planning if we can't control the implications, or tweak our plans based on progress and changes in our environment? It CANNOT BE a surprise that business plans are out of date after a month, irrelevant after 3 months, ignored after 9 months. HOWEVER - you may work for an SME that doesn't have much infrastructure and is struggling to mature in this area - but as an SME looking to survive and thrive - strategy delivery is key!! It is ok to paddle your boat harder, but at some point - you need to fit that outboard motor to go any faster. We believe you have to think BIG - and use the Business Integrated Governance Body of Knowledge (https://big-cic.org.uk/) to define the capability you need for the operation of strategy delivery. I'm starting to put together a briefing primarily aimed at SMEs to help then define and build the basics that larger organisations more often (far from always!) have behind strategy delivery. Please do revisit your planning - but this year - why not take a look at how you will be set up to systematically deliver against it? Read more here, register interest in a briefing, or contact us to find out more...fit the outboard motor. https://lnkd.in/evyyHUsM

Connecting Project & Strategy Management through Integrated Governance - Ability This time last week, the APM Governance Interest Network hosted a session to support attendees to raise improving strategy delivery to the executive agenda - event report here - https://lnkd.in/e9U-7wnb In previous sessions we have: - established the gap in support within many organisations for the connection of strategy to delivery - identified specific issues related to visibility of purpose/strategy, cascade of objectives, prioritisation, use of metrics to track performance, and lack of IT to make this easy. - signposted the BIG Body of Knowledge as a source of concepts, principles, components and roadmap to help protagonists get improvements moving. In the session last week we simulated a process to: - clarify our personal goals - anticipate stakeholder pains and expectations - capture current state with a Readiness Model and a Pains Canvass - develop a vision and roadmap for the capability implied (we presented an example) Thankyou to Andrey Malakhov Chris Bragg Greg Krawczyk Martin Samphire for supporting discussion groups! Some recent quotes: "I found today's webinar excellent. It would be very useful to talk with you about my situation" "I am meeting the COO tomorrow and want to schedule a half-day workshop with him early in the new year to go the first steps." "I thought the template was really useful for this and will be utilising it in future." "The APM Webinars held by you was insightful. Sharing of experience and thoughts of you all really helped me in my career development." "thanks to BIG and to your kind offer about becoming an Associate, I see that it could be a new vector of my career - becoming Strategy delivery director! Thank you for this insight." If you can think big for Strategy Delivery - we have an approach with which protagonists can now confidently engage stakeholders. More about BIG - https://www.big-cic.org.uk From Deepteam: More about First Steps - https://lnkd.in/dN-HhK4a Free half day consultations with Deepteam - https://lnkd.in/emCKEfpS Happy Christmas! Have a BIG New Year?

Strategy Delivery - you have to think BIG - P3 and PMO Community. On the eve of our next event with the APM Governance Interest Network - presenting session 3 on "Connecting Project & Strategy Management through Integrated Governance - ABILITY" - I'm reflecting on some of the BIG feedback we've had. (you can find out more about the event here - this one - https://lnkd.in/e7BBdBz8 - is FULLY FULL - but more to follow....) BIG has been supported in development / publicity by professionals from strategy, governance, finance, product management, change, operations and IT - but we emerged out of P3/PMO. The P3 / PMO community is especially mature with its multiple sources of wisdom and transferrable skillsets. However - being expert in P3 or PMO doesn't always lead to a pathway outside the domain - which is great if you want to be P3 / PMO "indefinitely". Fortunately - MULTIPLE instances of feedback we have on the BIG Concepts, Principles and Components suggest we are enabling P3 professionals to have COMPLETELY different conversations with Executives, and COMPLETELEY new options for career direction. "I realised that up until now I haven’t had a clear direction of my professional development: project manager / PMO… indefinitely. And thanks to BIG and to your kind offer about becoming an Associate, I see that it could be a new vector of my career - becoming Strategy delivery director! Thank you for this insight." If you work in PMO, or at any level in Portfolio, Programmes or Projects - you may be able to leverage BIG to - reach up and make strategy connections - reach out and build better connections to your customers and suppliers - reach across and help colleagues in business units, product groups, and other support functions to better serve the purpose and objectives of our organisations. Access our Introduction video - https://lnkd.in/eKasbm5v Read the Body of Knowledge Outline - https://lnkd.in/e3htUKEz Become a Member to access the rich content - https://lnkd.in/e7EaQC78 Take an exam to acquire a new credential - https://lnkd.in/en8Xy5_G Think BIG and talk differently. Develop and grow - you and your organisation... https://big-cic.org.uk/ Alex Shapley Greg Krawczyk Natalia Jobson, PMP

Improve your strategy delivery by thinking BIG - Public APM Governance Interest Network Workshop 12th December. Previously, we delivered sessions which explored the pains of strategy delivery and introduced the BIG Body of Knowledge as a means to address many of them. Our final session in the series focuses on HOW to get improving strategy delivery improvement on the executive agenda - and for the 30 attendees already booked in - this will include a practical walk through of the process and group material creation based on example content. Split into 5 groups of 6, we will dig into: - what are your triggers to do something, who do you need to reach to get moving? - capturing current state - we will use the BIG Current State Canvass format to capture pains / gains, and explore the BIG Readiness model - defining the high-level vision for a BIG-based Strategy Delivery "solution" (it is not just IT) for attendees Attendees will take away their outputs from discussions. This is not a 'turn up with a coffee and listen' session, as our aim is to expose attendees to the BIG 'First Steps' approach included in the BIG BoK. Attendees will gain confidence to engage senior stakeholders to improve strategy delivery. For those not booked on, a pdf briefing is attached - a video briefing is here - https://lnkd.in/enC5D5fm - perhaps you can get on the next one? We will likely run more sessions like this with the APM - you can get on a wait list here: https://lnkd.in/e-wNDvU4 See more of the background to these sessions: https://lnkd.in/eRv7y97w For nostalgia - you may like to see that we ran a similar session to help people get portfolio management on the exec agenda when that was emerging 11 years ago.... https://lnkd.in/efccQ2MG

Improving Strategy Delivery - pulling on the Brave Trousers. Here are some facts. Call me out if you disagree. In many organisations: 1. the path from purpose to vision to strategy is not clear or communicated 2. objectives are not well defined, cascaded or established with accountable people 3. Priorities are not well defined or implemented to empower responsible people with funds and resources 4. Objectives are not built on measures which track accomplishment 5. Information infrastructure / capability is not harnessed to enable strategy management 6. There is no support body that operates strategy delivery governance WHY, LinkedIn Community, do so many of us seem to have our heads in the sand on this? We chug along, tolerating poor strategic outcomes, donning the Superman capes to try to keep the wheels on the bus, pretending it's all great. From whichever perspective you take a view - executive leadership, corporate governance function, operations management, product management, finance, or transformation leadership - SOMEONE needs to stick their head above the parapet - surely? Arm yourself with some background on these issues - https://lnkd.in/ekK5MrX3 Learn about a framework you can address them with - https://lnkd.in/e5AcpiYk then... Join our event where we do our very best to empower attendees to engage their stakeholders to do ..SOMETHING! To support the APM Governance Interest Network - We are taking 30 people through the process of making them into 'BIG Enablers'. Join them here - https://lnkd.in/e7BBdBz8 Contact me to receive the briefing back and video when ready: https://lnkd.in/ek2vkn9y Best foot forwards? Or keep eating sand?