Move guide
Make the case and size the ambition
Your report suggested a move on at least one of these three practices:
- whether the business can say why it must change now;
- whether the initiatives add up to more than the target, so some can fail;
- whether there is a clear picture of the end state.
This move guide writes the case for change on one page and describes the business you want to be. Then it builds a list of initiatives worth well above the target, so some can fail and the programme still lands.
1. When it applies
Use this move guide if your report placed any of these three practices in the lowest two stages.
| Practice | Where it may sit today | Where this move guide aims |
|---|---|---|
| Whether the business can say why it must change now | Lagging: "The reason for the programme is a budget hole or an instruction from the owners, and managers privately expect it to blow over." Basic: "A case for change was written for the launch deck; nobody has referred to it since and few could repeat it." |
Competent: "One page says what happens if nothing changes and why it has to be this year, and the leadership team tells the same story." |
| Whether the initiatives add up to more than the target, so some can fail | Lagging: "There is no target yet, or it is last year's number plus a percentage, or a figure handed down from a benchmark or the owners with no path to it." Basic: "A bigger number has been set, and the list of ideas underneath it adds up to less than the number." |
Competent: "The target could not be reached by trying harder at today's business, and the initiative pipeline adds up to it." |
| Whether there is a clear picture of the end state | Lagging: "Asked what the business looks like when the programme is done, leaders describe today's business with fewer people." Basic: "A vision statement sits on the launch slide; the initiatives underneath it are all cost cuts." |
Competent: "A written end state describes how customers, operations and roles will differ, and some initiatives change how work is done rather than what it costs." |
If all three already sit at the middle stage or higher, skip this move guide.
It runs alongside owning it at the top. The chief executive writes the case.
2. What to do
Four steps, in three to five weeks.
- Write one page on why now. Say what happens if nothing changes, in numbers the leadership accepts. The why-now worksheet does this.
- Build the fact base. Results by business and product, and the cost base by function. Add a bridge from today's profit to the target year if nothing is done.
- Describe the business you want to be when the programme ends, before you set the number. Say how customers, operations and roles will differ. The end-state worksheet does this.
- Size the pipeline of initiatives at well above the target, so the programme can lose some and still land. The ambition worksheet adds it up.
Table A below holds the case, the target and the pipeline on one page.
The three free worksheets do the recording:
- /worksheets/transformation/why-now for the one-page case;
- /worksheets/transformation/ambition for the target and the pipeline;
- /worksheets/transformation/end-state for the end state.
3. What to produce
One table, plus the three worksheets above.
Table A. The case, the target and the pipeline
| Item | Value or words | Agreed by |
|---|---|---|
| Profit in the target year if nothing changes ($) | ||
| The target ($) | ||
| The gap to close ($) | ||
| Pipeline: already in the budget ($) | ||
| Pipeline: weighted for its chance of landing ($) | ||
| Pipeline: total ($) | ||
| The end state, in three lines |
The weighted pipeline should still exceed the gap.
4. A worked example
Illustrative. Written for this move guide. It describes no client.
A food manufacturer's profit has fallen two years running. The owners asked for a cost programme, and managers expect it to blow over.
The case.
- The chief executive wrote one page. If nothing changes, profit halves within three years as two large contracts reprice.
- The leadership team now tells the same story at every site.
The end state.
- The business wants fewer, larger customers served from two plants. Orders arrive online, and the sales team spends its time on new accounts.
The pipeline.
- The target is to close a gap of $12m. The initiatives add up to $19m in total, and to $14m weighted for their chance of landing.
One month on.
- 1 page on why now, told the same way by every leader
- $14m weighted pipeline against a $12m gap
- 3 lines describing the end state
On a retake, all three practices could be answered at the middle stage.
What it looked like in our work
From our own work. Figures changed.
An equipment maker's case for change started with a bridge. It showed where three years of profit had gone, indexed to the starting year.
- Profit at the start100
- A shrinking product line at home−28
- Growth abroad+6
- Acquisitions+1
- Overheads growing ahead of revenue−13
- Profit three years on66
| Step | Index (starting profit = 100) |
|---|---|
| Profit at the start | 100 |
| A shrinking product line at home | −28 |
| Growth abroad | +6 |
| Acquisitions | +1 |
| Overheads growing ahead of revenue | −13 |
| Profit three years on | 66 |
Profit fell by about a third. Most of it came from one product line, and most of the rest from overheads. The initiatives that followed went after those two bars first.
5. Effort and dependencies
- Chief executiveWrites the case and the end state.
- Chief financial officerBuilds the fact base and the profit bridge.
- Leadership teamAgrees the case and brings initiatives to the pipeline.
What you need
- Results by business and product, and the cost base by function.
- The budget for the coming year, so you know what is already in it.
How long
- Three to five weeks, alongside owning it at the top.
What gets in the way. We have seen this in our own work:
- A number from a benchmark. A drinks producer set its targets from a benchmarking exercise, with no path built up from the business. Most of the savings it later claimed were cuts made outside the programme.
6. How will you know it worked?
The test is whether the case, the end state and the pipeline are written and agreed. Retake the check once the leadership team has signed off all three. Each of these should be true when you answer:
| Practice | You can answer Competent when | A document alone does not count if |
|---|---|---|
| Whether the business can say why it must change now | One page says what happens if nothing changes, and every leader tells that story. | The page exists, but leaders tell different stories. |
| Whether the initiatives add up to more than the target, so some can fail | The pipeline adds up to the target, and the target needs more than trying harder. | The target is set, but the pipeline adds up to less. |
| Whether there is a clear picture of the end state | A written end state says how customers, operations and roles will differ. | The end state is written, but every initiative is a cost cut. |
The worked example is illustrative.
Think we've used your work without proper credit? Tell us and we'll fix it.