using stories and km techniques to develop strategies people embrace
Strategy documents can be incredibly boring and couched in indecipherable language. Occasionally they reflect the views of people who actually undertake the day-to-day work. Frequently they are imposed top down after a lengthy (and costly) exercise in change management. And yet the people who have to carry out the implementation plan are at best indifferent and often disengaged.
The illustrations that follow are from senior people charged with developing and implementing IT strategies; how they used narrative and km to create and then reveal what technology might do for the business. In both cases the feedback was extremely positive and strategies approved.
The evolving role of the knowledge manager interviews have yielded a rich seam of material to mine, none more so than Sandra Higgison’s discussion with Barney Smith erstwhile CKO and CIO of Natural England and Defra respectively.
His description of how he and his team developed a strategy for IT struck a chord since it was similar to a piece of scenario building story work Philip Gibson undertook earlier this year for the CIO of a major reinsurance broker when he was preparing his IT strategy.
Here’s Barney’s story shown as an extract from his discussion with Sandra:
We went out to the business and painted portraits in words of what the service would feel like. We asked them to comment on what they felt about that. Then we interpreted that into techy, SLAs, statistical things. And we went back to them and said, this is what we’ve painted, this is what we’ve said. This is how we’ve interpreted it in terms of technology. It’s all a bit boring, but this is us hearing it from you.
The service was then rolled out both in Defra and in my user base. My user base had 15-20% higher user satisfaction with the same service.
Sandra: Did you have different KPI’s?
No, same KPI’s, but because we explained and engaged with people in their language and they had an opportunity to contribute to what it would look like, they had more ownership and therefore were satisfied that they understood what they were getting and they were setting an expectation. We used KM techniques in doing that.
Sandra: So what does a portrait in words look like?
A portrait with words is just a description of what it would look and feel like, in a way we could put out on the intranet. We did it as a Survey Monkey. We described something, said that’s what it looks like, imagine if a problem happens. This is what you would do, and this is the experience that you would receive. And then we asked them a series of questions against that scenario.
Sandra: So is that what’s been put in place?
Yes. And we’ve subsequently done a satisfaction survey on what service feels to them and they’re very pleased with it. Whereas most people traditionally write an IT strategy by saying we’re going to deploy this technology and this thing in response to their stated needs. We actually did this.
We wrote 8 business scenarios, and then from that, we then devised what is the technology that was used. So now we started pulling out key messages—outcomes, visions, strategic themes, all joined to form these things. And then just to really get people really thinking differently we asked what people thought about business scenarios.
Sandra: So this is a different piece than what you just talked about.
This is different. This came before we then went out to define the service levels. So we then mapped it against the corporate strategic outcomes. And we did something that a lot of people don’t do. We then conducted workshops with webinars, so people could see us live and about 10 other people on the phone, all audio conferenced in and seeing the same image.
We asked them a question. Put the mark on this slide somewhere between innovative and conservative and then decide on the rest.
— Do we want our IT to be people-focused or technology-focused?
— Do we want to do new development or concentrate on what we have?
— Do we want to collaborate to do it on our own?
— Do we want to be tactical or strategic?
— Do we want to be front line or back office?
— Do we want modular solutions or one-off solutions?
And these are senior managers across the business able to influence the way strategy works. And then we then also asked them to prioritize themes that came out of the issues. So we said, then we want you to prioritize the benefits. What are the benefits to building the evidence base? Is it low to high? Monetary? And from that we were monitoring, geographic literacy, mobile or flexible, collaboration, managing relationships, performance, and resource planning.
Again, and I think a lot of this, is v KMy. We’re not using technology language. We’re saying I’ve got the technology that’s working for me.
Sandra: So if it’s not technology language, what kind of language would you describe it as?
It’s the language of the business. So it enabled us to do some prioritization, so we put maps against cost implementation, high cost here, low cost there, low to high benefit. We, the IT people defined that, the business defined that, and then we mapped it.
Sandra: So what happened as a result?
That’s how we invested a substantial sum on IT.
Sandra: What difference would it have made if you hadn’t had your background in KM?
I think we would have taken it more towards a technology strategy; what technologists driving the business would do, saying, wouldn’t it be great if we were all Macs or all PCs. Isn’t it wonderful what iPhones can do? But actually we said, let’s talk in the language of business. And my full time strategy person was a former head of knowledge management at English Nature. It was all KMrs that worked on this, but they then having done that analysis handed it on to the technologists to define, what do you do?
And also in developing our strategy, it was okay, and in doing these things, we actually reached the objectives. How should we invest in setting standards? How can we have to invest in building technology and how much is it about the skills of the end user? And defining do we need a metadata framework? Do we need to build a new platform or application, or do we need new skills in the user base?
And some of these things, actually a lot of it was in the skills base. We have audio conferencing, but do people know how to use it? Do they know how to get the best effect out of it? We don’t want to give people more ability to send more emails. We want to teach people that when someone sends you an email, pick up the phone and speak to them.
While Barney was using km techniques to develop an IT strategy in government another client was using story scenarios to illustrate the potential impact that IT could have on the business. Here’s one of five business scenarios developed by Phil Hill, Managing Director BMS Management Services that illustrates what life might be like in the future at BMS for a new joiner:
scenario 5 | a change for the better
Jade Thompson is 35 and has worked in the London Market for 14 years. She has agreed to join BMS as a senior underwriter, moving on from one of the big managing agents. She wants to work for a company that really supports her initiative and drive – not one that swaddles her in red tape.
The week before Jade joins, she receives at home via courier a package from BMS.
Inside she finds an iPad, with a BMS logo with the slogan: “Using clever technology”. There’s also an iPhone, also with a BMS logo and her name.
She reads the attached note, welcoming her to BMS and giving her the logon and password information she needs to use the equipment. “Wow!” she says to herself, “this is great – they really know how to make you feel special.” Jade switches on the iPad and logs on as instructed. There‘s an icon on the first screen, “Welcome”. Touching the icon starts a video of the CEO welcoming her to the company. Various members of the board and HR provide insights into BMS and what she might expect in her first few days.
There is also a pointer to other information on the iPad, such as all aspects of the induction procedure including health and safety. Thrilling, she thinks to herself.
Checking further, Jade finds a comprehensive set of electronic brochures and videos about BMS and BMS products.
She accesses the Internet via a BMS Extranet icon. She can see the latest news as published by the Marcoms team, including details of her appointment.
She comes into the office with her iPhone and iPad. She meets HR to cover the final details – an unusually brief session. HR point out that her iPad contains a map of each of the BMS offices, and a directory of all staff, including photos, biographies and locations. She shouldn’t get lost. This information is provided by the office WiFi to which her phone and tablet connect automatically.
She is shown to her desk, which is clear of papers. She wonders how long it will stay like that. Then she notices that all the desks around it are similarly tidy. There is very little evidence of paper filing, and the office is airy and light. While her desk is in an open “trading” area, it feels as if she has plenty of space. She notices the effective use of the furniture, and again the lack of paper files.
She has a good session with Joe, her IT mentor. He is a member of her team responsible for understanding the opportunities provided by the company’s IT systems. Among other things, he shows her how to use of the CRM and content management systems, which are mandatory for all staff.
At the end of the day, she goes for a drink with a group of friends from her previous employer. They’re dying to find out about her first day. As she settles down, her friends ask what BMS is like…..
Phil has taken the concept of user profiling a stage further by demonstrating how a new joiner might be inducted into the business and the technology needed in support of his vision of the future. These scenarios were presented to the board who endorsed the 5 year IT plan as a result.
Intelligently applied stories and km techniques open up the most esoteric of topics; they create a sense of shared ownership improving the odds of people embracing the final outcomes.
