Move guide
Sustain the curve
Your report suggested a move on at least one of these three practices:
- whether benefits are landing against plan;
- whether gains are being locked in;
- whether the programme finds more and builds capability.
This move guide counts what has landed against the original plan, every quarter. It puts each landed benefit into next year's budget and switches off the old way of working. Then a review after each wave finds the next tranche.
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 benefits are landing against plan | Lagging: "Slippage is explained after the fact, and the plan has been re-based so the programme is 'on track'." Basic: "Benefits are behind plan and everyone knows it, but nobody has said which initiatives are leaking or why." |
Competent: "Benefits are tracked against the original plan, leaks are named by initiative and cause (late, smaller, volatile), and re-plans are approved rather than assumed." |
| Whether gains are being locked in | Lagging: "The gains hold while someone is watching, and when the programme team moves on the numbers drift back." Basic: "Benefits have been booked, but the old process, the old headcount plan and the old budget line are all still there to fall back on." |
Competent: "Each delivered benefit is in next year's budget and on someone's scorecard, and the old way has been switched off." |
| Whether the programme finds more and builds capability | Lagging: "The plan is the plan, 'enough is good enough', and nobody in the business is learning how to run the next one." Basic: "Leaders talk of a second wave, but nobody is looking for it and the programme team's next roles are not decided." |
Competent: "A structured review after the first wave has found the next tranche, and the programme team's people are staying in the business." |
If all three already sit at the middle stage or higher, skip this move guide.
It runs while the programme runs and for a year after, on the tracker from running the programme.
2. What to do
Three steps, every quarter.
- Count what has landed against the original plan. Never re-base it quietly. Name each leak by initiative and cause: late, smaller or volatile. Show three forecasts side by side: the last one the board saw, the revised one, and one weighted for confidence. The benefits-landing worksheet does this.
- Put each landed benefit into next year's budget and onto someone's scorecard. Then switch off the old way of working: the old process, the old headcount plan and the old budget line. The locking-in worksheet records each one.
- After each wave, run a review that finds the next tranche. Decide the programme team's next roles in the business, so the skill stays. The iterating-extending worksheet holds the review.
Split each month's variance into three causes: the programme, the underlying business, and other effects such as currency. Only the first belongs to the programme.
Table A below holds the landing count and the switch-offs on one page.
The three free worksheets do the recording:
- /worksheets/transformation/benefits-landing for the count against the original plan;
- /worksheets/transformation/locking-in for the budgets, scorecards and switch-offs;
- /worksheets/transformation/iterating-extending for the review that finds the next tranche.
3. What to produce
One table, plus the three worksheets above.
Table A. Landed, locked in, and next
| Initiative | Original plan ($) | Landed ($) | Leak and cause | In next year's budget? | Old way switched off? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Next tranche, from the review |
A benefit with the old budget line still open will drift back.
4. A worked example
Illustrative. Written for this move guide. It describes no client.
A transport operator's programme is a year in. The plan has been re-based twice, and the programme reports "on track".
The count.
- The office restored the original plan. Benefits stand at 70% of it. Two initiatives are late, and one landed smaller than planned.
The lock-in.
- Each landed saving went into next year's budget. The old overtime budget line was closed, so the old rosters cannot creep back.
The next tranche.
- A review after the first wave found four new initiatives in maintenance. Two of the programme team moved into permanent roles in operations.
One quarter on.
- 70% of the original plan landed, with each leak named
- All landed savings in next year's budget
- 4 new initiatives found by the review
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 energy retailer tracked its programme's net cash benefits with three forecasts side by side. One was weighted for confidence, one revised, and one the board last saw. The gap between them showed the range.
| Year | Weighted for confidence ($m) | Revised ($m) | Board's forecast ($m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 13 | 18 | 19 |
| 2 | 28 | 40 | 41 |
| 3 | 33 | 44 | 46 |
| 4 | 36 | 46 | 49 |
The revised forecast stayed close to the board's. The confidence-weighted one sat about a quarter to a third lower in every year.
5. Effort and dependencies
- Chief financial officerCounts against the original plan and puts benefits into the budget.
- Programme ownerNames each leak and runs the review after each wave.
- Line managersSwitch off the old way and carry the benefit on their scorecard.
What you need
- The tracker from running the programme.
- The original plan, as it was first approved.
How long
- Quarterly, while the programme runs and for a year after.
What gets in the way. We have seen this in our own work:
- What good looked like. An equipment maker put the year's landed benefits into the budget as they landed, and named each leak by cause.
6. How will you know it worked?
The test is the count against the original plan, and what has been switched off. Retake the check after the first wave's review. Each of these should be true when you answer:
| Practice | You can answer Competent when | A document alone does not count if |
|---|---|---|
| Whether benefits are landing against plan | Benefits are counted against the original plan, and each leak is named by initiative and cause. | The plan was re-based to make the programme look on track. |
| Whether gains are being locked in | Each landed benefit is in next year's budget and on a scorecard, and the old way is switched off. | The benefits are booked, but the old budget line is still open. |
| Whether the programme finds more and builds capability | A review after the first wave found the next tranche, and the programme's people are staying. | A second wave is talked about, but nobody is looking for it. |
The worked example is illustrative.
Think we've used your work without proper credit? Tell us and we'll fix it.