Move guide
Sequence the waves and bank early wins
Your report suggested a move on at least one of these three practices:
- how initiatives are sequenced, and whether the dates are real;
- whether early moves ring the register;
- whether the programme stays the programme.
This move guide puts the initiatives in dated waves, with the quick, safe ones first. It finds the moves that pay in the first weeks. Then it locks the scope, so new work comes in only through a gate.
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 |
|---|---|---|
| How initiatives are sequenced, and whether the dates are real | Lagging: "Everything starts at once, or whichever initiative the loudest leader wants, and nothing has a date beyond 'this year'." Basic: "Initiatives are ranked by benefit size and started in that order, and their dates were set to fit the target rather than the work." |
Competent: "Initiatives are sequenced in waves on a dated plan that allows for the busy season, and the first wave's benefits are dated inside the first quarter." |
| Whether early moves ring the register | Lagging: "Months after launch nothing has changed that anyone can point to, and people are asking whether the programme is real." Basic: "A few quick wins were listed at launch; most are still waiting on an approval." |
Competent: "Spend gates, approval limits and hiring discipline were in place within weeks of launch, and the first savings showed in the accounts in the first quarter." |
| Whether the programme stays the programme | Lagging: "The programme has become the catch-all for every business-as-usual task and pet project, and three programmes want the same six people." Basic: "Scope was written down at launch and has grown since, one reasonable addition at a time, with nobody counting." |
Competent: "Scope was locked at launch, additions go through a gate, and other programmes running at the same time are listed in one place." |
If all three already sit at the middle stage or higher, skip this move guide.
It orders the initiatives from finding, defining and valuing the initiatives.
2. What to do
Four steps, in two to three weeks.
- Rank each initiative by impact against risk, cost and time. Impact means the money and the signal it sends. Do the high-impact, low-risk ones first, as in the grid below. The sequencing worksheet does this.
- Put the waves on a dated plan, with the dependencies shown and the busy season allowed for. Date the first wave's benefits inside the first quarter.
- Pick the moves that pay in the first weeks. Spend gates, approval limits and hiring discipline are the usual ones. Announce them as proof the programme is real. The no-regret-moves worksheet lists them.
- Lock the scope at launch. List every other programme in one place, and bring new work in only through a gate. The scope-discipline worksheet keeps the register.
Early gains build credibility for the harder steps.
High risk, cost or time means the move will face resistance, take real money and time, or force a decision. Any decision is better than none.
The three free worksheets do the recording:
- /worksheets/transformation/sequencing for the dated waves;
- /worksheets/transformation/no-regret-moves for the first-weeks moves;
- /worksheets/transformation/scope-discipline for the scope register.
3. What to produce
One table, plus the three worksheets above.
Table A. Waves, early wins and the scope gate
| Wave | Initiatives | Starts | First benefit due | Depends on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inside the first quarter | |||
| 2 | ||||
| 3 | ||||
| First-weeks moves | ||||
| Other programmes running now |
A wave with no dated benefit is a wish.
4. A worked example
Illustrative. Written for this move guide. It describes no client.
A building services contractor launched its programme with 30 initiatives, all starting at once. Six months later, nothing showed in the accounts.
The waves.
- It re-cut the plan into three waves. The first holds eight low-risk initiatives with benefits dated in the coming quarter. The busy summer season holds no launches.
The early moves.
- A spend gate on all purchases above $5,000 and a hiring freeze on support roles went in within two weeks. Both showed in the next month's accounts.
The scope.
- Two pet projects came out of the programme. Every other programme now sits on one register, and new work enters through the programme owner.
One quarter on.
- 3 dated waves, the first inside the quarter
- 2 early moves showing in the accounts
- 1 register of every programme running
On a retake, all three practices could be answered at the middle stage.
What it looked like in our work
From our own work. Redrawn.
A plan for a retail group started with a short first phase: four weeks of diagnosis, a pilot in one area, planning and launch. A go or no-go checkpoint followed. Then the reviews of each area were staggered, one starting after another.
- 1. First phase: diagnosis, a pilot in one area, planning and launch, weeks 1 to 4
- 2. Review: overhead functions, weeks 5 to 8
- 3. Review: store operations, weeks 7 to 14
- 4. Review: brand structures, weeks 7 to 14
- 5. Review: online structures, weeks 12 to 15
- 6. Pulling it together, weeks 16 to 18
Go or no-go checkpoints sat at the end of week 4 and week 18.
After the second checkpoint, the business's own programme office was to lead the implementation. Steering updates ran every two to three weeks throughout.
5. Effort and dependencies
- Programme ownerRanks the initiatives and holds the scope gate.
- Programme officeBuilds the dated plan and keeps the register.
- FinancePuts the first-weeks moves in place and reports what they show.
What you need
- The briefs and benefits from finding, defining and valuing the initiatives.
- The business's calendar, with its busy seasons marked.
How long
- Two to three weeks.
What gets in the way. We have seen this in our own work:
- What good looked like. A financial services business with no programme yet started with a short kick-start, then a minimum programme. A go or no-go sat between them.
6. How will you know it worked?
The test is the dated plan and what shows in the accounts. Retake the check at the end of the first quarter. Each of these should be true when you answer:
| Practice | You can answer Competent when | A document alone does not count if |
|---|---|---|
| How initiatives are sequenced, and whether the dates are real | The waves sit on a dated plan, and the first wave's benefits fall inside the first quarter. | The plan is dated, but every wave starts in the same month. |
| Whether early moves ring the register | Spend gates, approval limits and hiring discipline went in within weeks, and savings showed in the first quarter. | The quick wins are listed, but most still wait on an approval. |
| Whether the programme stays the programme | The scope was locked at launch, and additions go through a gate. | The gate exists, but nobody has ever been turned away. |
The worked example is illustrative.
Think we've used your work without proper credit? Tell us and we'll fix it.