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“Turn around, don’t run upstairs, please don’t go to the garage” … all that’s left is “I’ll be right back!” The joys of wonderful horror movies! Would you ever knowingly take on a failed project with a lot of those horror movie phrases like advice from colleagues and trusted advisers ringing in your ears? Do you want to be “Captain Turnaround”?
I have a friend who, ten years later, with a glass of wine, turned to me and said: “I want to be a revolutionary CIO, the one who comes, fixes it and delivers it.” Another friend’s father was practically married to the idea that switch CIOs were similar to the Seagull analogy: fly, drop “good luck” and fly again! But sometimes, whether you plan it or not, you end up in this role.
I was successful in landing a role a couple of years ago, a role that was not advertised as “turnaround Charlie”, but rather a role that looked wonderful. In the first two weeks I realized that I needed a new name, and it would be better if it was Charlie.
How to change course? Well first things first, not upsetting the current apple cart would be my experience. If you do, you better be prepared for the disaster movie setting, no matter the horror movie.
First, in that short initial time in the role, you need to find out why. Why is it a horror movie? As with the movie, you should spend the first “chapter” on discovering your motivation, making assumptions, that you are willing to change by testing them. Try to evaluate the assumptions, you need to know what is driving the good guys and don’t forget about the bad guys.
Does the project need a change because of the characters or is it because it is impossible to be successful? The hardest task is to stop the train and tell everyone to get off, but, if the project needs a shakeup because it could never be delivered, then you have to be brave and admit it. The faster you can do this, the more likely you are to appear in the sequel movie!
Another quick win is defining the timeline. Initially, the change needs a short, sharp jolt, and it is difficult to define which correction to make first. The full change usually requires a sequel or two to pull off! With this in mind, make sure the quick win is one the customer sees and benefits from, not the most popular solution within the current team.
Like in a movie series, change requires investment from the participants, change Charlie needs to come in fast and build a relationship at all possible levels of stakeholders. Involve the audience. There is no better tool for Charlie than customers exclaiming that “things” are better now!
Take control from all perspectives and answer the question: “Do you like horror movies?” Of course you are, or you wouldn’t be doing this job!
But, bring your team a lot of time with you; What do you think turns the installment into a horror movie? Once you know that, agree on how the team will work to turn it around, and undertake delivery as a team, empower them to do this as a priority, but always link it to customer needs and deliverables as clearly as possible. The client needs to see that the team is working on the change of course as one and has it as their priority.
However, the end credits of the turnaround, unfortunately, don’t always ring true, and if you’ve consciously agreed to go in and do this, then you need to be aware of this from the start. If a project has needed restructuring, there will be residual negligence from the client, even the best restructuring cannot remove the impression the client had before the restructuring began.
This has an impact on the sequel that everyone should understand. The client starts with the perceptions of the actors involved and the story line about to be told, which means that the new project is changing from the beginning and therefore needs a new story to tell that attracts the client. back to delivery and profit and build. confidence in the result.
So once you’ve made the switch, you will never stop making the sequel, the key is to achieve what very few filmmakers have achieved, to make each sequel better than the last …
I think the sequels are better than the originals; The original Star Wars sequels (TESB, RotJ), Aliens, The Darknight, The Godfather 2, Toy Story 2, Before Sunset, and if you hadn’t guessed it, the Scream Sequels.
