Goodbye 2020 and Welcome to 2021!!!
Our business world has been changing fast, especially this past year, and we continue to move forward through complex issues and how best to provide our goods and services to our customers within the building industry and beyond. But what “impact” are we going to have in 2021, what is going to either continue or begin to define our companies and industry?
Recently I was in the temporary offices of one of several companies we’re working with as they start a new manufacturing operation. Their office is in a shared space that is rented from a local church. As shown in the photo [for photo, See PDF or View in Full Issue], on the wall is this message: IMPACT. The letters are lit and the word is surrounded by the 17 principles of the UN Sustainability Goals 2030 Agenda. In fact, each business that occupies office space here is required to have at least two of their goals reflective of these 17. Our client shares the goals of “Decent Work and Economic Growth,” “Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure,” and “Sustainable Cities and Communities.” One of their primary focuses is affordable housing as their Impact for the community around them. I was impressed with how singularly focused this company is, along with the others in this space, on the change they make within the community with their work and how it impacts others. We at 4Ward are honored to be helping them meet these Impact changes and goals as we help set up the company, manufacturing, and processes.
The impact we are making here looks at the changes in processes, technology, and so much more that will meet the goals they have established as their mission. This Change Impact has involved many of the parts of our team, including our Offsite, Consulting, Labor, and Design associates. But what it has done for us is bring into focus the Change Impact we have, not only within 4Ward, but for the customers with whom we work every day. We talk about change, we try to implement change — but how often do we step back to consider how change(s) are going to impact our associates?
We know that achievements of the organization are the results of the combined effort of all the individuals who make up that organization, whether it be a component, LBM, volumetric, or other building material supplier. So, if you focus only at the company or enterprise level when you implement change, you risk losing people along the way. They can stay stuck where they are and never step out of the current state; it’s likely that they will not make that personal transition successfully.
If we cannot get people to move to the future state and help them stay there, they can fall backwards to the way they used to do things — and then we end up with a compromised future state and we don’t realize the expected change value desired. Furthermore, we could create consternation and resistance. Structured change management and the Impact we desire provides a way to close the gap to ensure that the future state we envision is what we derive because we brought each of our employees along on that journey.
What is needed is a framework that enables those making changes to remind, focus, dissect, and document the individual’s journey so they can realize the impact of that same change. So what are some of the aspects of how someone shows each day that they understand your change and may or may not have been impacted? I would like to share just a few of those ancillary benefits of change impact: build empathy, define ability, create adoption metrics, engage employees, identify blind spots, personalize engagement, leverage stories, and scale interventions. One of the other aspects of understanding this is that change impacts different groups differently. Many times I hear, and have said, “let’s look at this at the 30,000 foot level; but we need to recognize that change happens at the 300 foot level.” What we need to do as managers and owners is to close the gap to take an enterprise or company-level transformation and bring it down to the level of the individual who is impacted by the change.
Build Empathy – Empathy matters to our associates, and getting the project team leaders to explore how their initiative impacts their associates is a huge benefit.
Define Ability – Awareness, Desire, and Knowledge and the hallmarks of demonstrating the capability of change and its impact.
Create Adoption Metrics – In order to know what we would measure to determine adoption and usage, we need to know and define what “to sufficiently adopt and proficiently use” means for impacted associates.
Engage Employees – Change Impact is an effective tool for directly engaging employees in co-creating a shared definition and understanding of the upcoming change and its impact. This is another benefit of Gemba walks throughout an operation that I coach managers and supervisors to perform.
Identify Blind Spots – A project team sometimes misses a particular area of impact and sometimes it’s an area of special concern for impacted employees. We need to identify those areas that we often do not look at when defining the change.
Leverage Stories and Personas – Stories directly from our associates are tools increasingly used to formalize empathy in the development process by personalizing the needs of the end user of the change. Stories add value because of the perspective they encourage: outside-in instead of inside-out.
Scale Interventions – How much change management do we need? It is a question that we often ask but we need to first know how big a change it is. Knowing this information can help as part of planning for the change initiative.
As organizations are faced with an increasing velocity and demand to deliver outcomes, it is important for us to remember that the achievements of the organization are the result of the combined efforts of all the individuals who make up that organization. Putting ourselves in another’s position to understand what they see, feel, and experience unlocks insight. Change Impact enables those of us making the changes to consider how an associate shows up each day and the impact the initiative will have on that person’s experience at work.
As you read this article, think about what the Impact will be as you make the positive changes our companies need as we continue to navigate our teams to success. The entire 4Ward team provides guidance to companies, just as we have in the company mentioned in this article. As part of the change initiatives we provide, our focus is also on the Impact of that change. If the team at 4Ward Solutions Group can be of assistance to you, please contact us; we would be honored to work with you towards your success!
Final Thought
As most of you know by now, Jess Lohse was selected by the SBCA Board of Directors to be the new Executive Director of the Structural Building Components Association (SBCA). Jess has many talents but one that I have spoken of often is his steward leadership style. Jess is very adept at listening to the many voices within the organization and helping to guide everyone on a shared path to association success. The 4Ward team and I look forward to continuing to work with Jess now and in the future. Congratulations, Jess!
Ben Hershey is CEO of 4Ward Solutions Group including Consulting, Labor, Offsite, Design, Software Programming, and Back Office Solutions. When the industry needs an actual expert, they turn to the 4Ward team with more than 150 years of experience. 4Ward Consulting Group is the leading provider of Management and Manufacturing Solutions to the Structural Component and Lumber Industry. A Past President of SBCA, Ben has owned and managed several manufacturing and distribution companies and is Six Sigma Black Belt Certified. Ben has provided consulting to hundreds of Component Manufacturers, Lumber Dealers, and Millwork Operations in the past ten years. You can reach Ben at ben@4WardConsult.com or 623-512-6770.
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