Jan Van Veen, explores the concept of momentum within a field service organisation and outlines the Momentum Framework - a series of best-practices and tools that can allow you to ensure your organisation flourishes in today’s increasingly...
AUTHOR ARCHIVES: Jan Van Veen
About the Author:
Jan has over 15 years experience in various manufacturing industries, either as business leader or as consultant. He has worked for Fortune500 business and many other – smaller manufacturers. We have seen many manufacturers struggle with business innovation and change, despite great ideas. visions and business strategies. In 2015, this has inspired Jan to start his ongoing research into what sets the leaders apart from the laggards. This research is the basis of the 4 Winning Habits and the foundation of moreMomentum. moreMomentum has a team of experienced business leaders and experts to support customers.
Feb 16, 2017 • Features • Management • Jan Van Veen • management consulting • Momentum Framework • field service
Jan Van Veen, explores the concept of momentum within a field service organisation and outlines the Momentum Framework - a series of best-practices and tools that can allow you to ensure your organisation flourishes in today’s increasingly competitive markets...
Manufacturing companies have a huge potential with their services. But many struggle to gain the Momentum to make it happen.
The problem is not their vision or business strategy. It’s all about their ability to execute and change.
After all, service innovation is a serious business innovation.
The winners in our rapidly changing world have adopted modern management perspectives and practices and thus increased Momentum to change. The common management perspectives and practices fail today, as they create resistance against change.
The problem
Most manufacturing companies focus on incrementally improving performance of existing operations.
They follow tight “planning & control” management practices which trigger defensive behaviour and resistance against change. The typically suffer from:
- Ongoing performance issues, without adequate, timely and sustainable interventions
- Failing execution of strategies and change programmes
- No significant innovation beyond incremental improvements of current products and practices
- No preparations for (potentially) disruptive change
Without a rapid pace of continuous change, companies will struggle to develop a strong service business and will not thrive in our rapidly changing world.
What is Momentum?
In an organisation with high Momentum for continuous change, people are passionate and eager to perform, develop, grow and make things happen.
They take action in a coherent way. They collaborate with teams across the entire organisation. People feel safe and confident to engage in ambitious objectives, to pursue the uncertain, to drive change and to collaborate. Everyone is open to new ideas, new approaches and new opportunities.
The Momentum Framework – high level overview
The winners of today and tomorrow already have adopted modern management perspectives and practices and hence increased Momentum. They have flourishing and mature service-oriented businesses and outperform their competitors.
During our research in 2015-2016, we have established the Momentum Framework, which include the Momentum Perspectives and Practices, as well as practical approaches and tools.
Momentum Perspectives
Three perspectives are key to successfully use Momentum Practices and drive Momentum.
The majority of people in the organisation need to believe in these perspectives and use these as guiding principle in all decisions, actions and communications.
People drive change: By nature, people can and want to drive change, if there are good reasons and no serious obstacles.
Resistance does not come from people themselves, but is created by the way we have been managing and leading our companies.
Capabilities drive performance: People and organisations can only deliver sustainable high performance through adequate (organisational) capabilities. Pushing performance by merely working harder and faster is considered not to be sustainable.
Future success lies beyond business as usual: In a rapidly changing world, there is no sustainable success without adaptation and adjusting the core business, business models and organisation.
Momentum Practices
The best-in-class manufacturing companies use modern “sense & respond” management practices at all levels and entities.
They have abandoned traditional “plan & control” management practices.
Compelling direction: Winning manufacturers have defined ambitious goals for the entire organisation about increasing their relevance for their customers and achieving high growth figures.
They have painted a concrete picture of the unmet customer needs, the future offerings and required organisational competencies.
People can relate to this, get exited and see how they will fit in and how they can contribute to the change in a coherent and aligned manner.
Strategic dialogue: Best-in-class manufactures have a clear corporate strategy on choices, priorities and approach.
Objective and targets for sales, service, R&D - what have you - are all aligned towards the common goal of becoming a more service oriented solution provider.
Each local entity and department takes ownership and has its own strategy and roadmap to move from their specific as-is situation, considering their specific circumstances, towards the envisioned future.
Objectives are not just numbers to hit every month or quarter. They articulate ambitions, direction and focus. Any issues in progress or results are confidently and transparently shared and discussed.
This leads to timely and adequate collaborative interventions. People feel safe and confident to try, to respond, to take ownership and do their best to make things happen even though the outcome is uncertain.
Continuous learning: Innovative and responsive manufacturers regularly explore (potential) trends, new threats and opportunities. New ideas are regarded as the way towards sustainable success.
New ideas are never cut off because it would be different than usual or would not fit in the (current) core-business.
Momentum Road Map
The leading companies followed a road map for building momentum, from mobilising, through increasing to sustaining Momentum.
Most of them started mobilising momentum by creating awareness and a shared concern. Leaders stood up and led the way and spread the mind-set of “just-do-it!”.
Soon they further built solid perspectives and practices into habits and ultimately embedded this in the culture and DNA of the organisation.
Once in the DNA, Momentum will survive even a change in leadership.
How much Momentum do you have in your organisation?
Get Your Free Professional Momentum Score Card @ www.van-veen.nl
The Momentum Score Card benchmarks your organisation’s Momentum to continuously change for sustainable success. It helps you identify your strengths and how to improve Momentum to:
Have better interventions for (ongoing) performance issues
- Have easier and quicker execution of strategies and change-programmes
- Have better value innovation for future success
The Momentum Score Card is based on our research in 2015-2016 into “Momentum for Sustainable Success” and the Momentum Management Framework which we developed during this research.
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Dec 05, 2016 • Features • Management • Jan Van Veen • management
Jan Van Veen outlines how your field service organisation can succeed on a journey of continuous improvement through ongoing innovation...
Jan Van Veen outlines how your field service organisation can succeed on a journey of continuous improvement through ongoing innovation...
Overview
We need to drive Momentum to continuously adapt to changing requirements and new opportunities and drive performance of today, tomorrow and the future. Common management practices and perspectives do not work anymore in today’s rapidly changing and complex world.
They create resistance against adaptation and change.
In this article I will provide an overview of the need and elements of the Momentum-Framework, which enables business leaders and organisations to increase Momentum. In following articles, I will elaborate on the todays management challenges and the elements of the Momentum-Framework.
The problem
Most companies focus on maximising performance of the existing operation and follow tight planning & control types of management practices. These create resistance against change.
This results in one or more of the following:
- Ongoing performance issues, without adequate, timely and sustainable interventions
- Execution of strategies and change programmes slow down, fail and cost huge amounts of resources
- No significant innovation beyond incremental improvements of current products and practices
- No preparations for (potentially) disruptive change
However, the winners of today and tomorrow already have adjusted their management practices and increased Momentum. They see their people think and act collectively and drive continuous adaptation and change.
This is why they outperform their industry and safeguard their future existence.
What is Momentum?
In the most adaptable and agile organisation people are passionate and eager to perform, develop and grow. They collectively take action in a coherent way, across the entire organisation.
Performance and progress are reviewed transparently without fear or hiding information.
They have a proactive strategic dialogue to adjust actions and approaches, align priorities and jointly make things happen. Everyone is curious about what is happening in the world, what impact that potentially could have and how to respond to it.
The Momentum Framework
The Momentum Framework consists of perspectives and practices which most successful and adaptive organisations apply. This drives their Momentum to continuously adapt to changing requirements and new opportunities.
The elements of the Momentum Framework are:
Momentum Perspectives:
The following perspectives will help drive Momentum when they are well incorporated in the company’s values. They will serve as a guiding principle in all decisions, actions and messages.
- People drive change: By nature, people can and want to drive change, if there are good reasons and no serious obstacles. Resistance does not come from people themselves, but from the obstacles organisations create.
- Capabilities drive performance: People and organisations can only deliver sustainable high performance through adequate(organisational) capabilities. Pushing performance by merely working harder and faster is considered not to be sustainable
- Future success lies beyond business as usual: In a rapidly changing world, there is no sustainable success without adaptation and adjusting the core-business, business models and organisation.
Momentum Practices
The best-in-class organisations apply modern “sense & respond” types of management practices at all levels and entities:
- Compelling direction: The organisation has a shared, explicit and compelling view of its mission and future state, which resonates in people’s minds and hearts. Everyone has a clear picture of the upcoming change.
- Strategic dialogue: The organisation has a strong practice of ongoing dialogues at and across all levels and functions for defining, aligning, adjusting and executing strategies and driving performance in a way.
- Continuous learning: The organisation regularly explores (potential) changes and trends, new threats and opportunities. It prepares adequate measures and strategies to respond to these (potential) changes and trends. Everyone openly shares experiences, results and progress, including setbacks.
Setbacks are important learning points, not input for performance review.
Momentum Road Map
Organisations which are most successful in step-by-step increasing Momentum, followed a roadmap for mobilising, increasing and sustaining Momentum.
Mobilise Momentum
In case an organisation has a fairly low level of Momentum, the first step from a few business leaders is to focus on increasing awareness and a shared concern about Momentum and sustainable success.
With their personal leadership approach and actions, they create increased interest, dynamics and action.
Increase Momentum
Once an organisation has some level of motion and energy in some parts of the organisation - often heavily driven by a few business leaders - Momentum will be further increased by mobilising a critical mass and implementing more and more of the Momentum Perspectives & Practices through the entire organisation.
Momentum gradually becomes an integral part of daily practices. However, business leaders still need to drive the new practices and prevent the people from falling back into old habits.
Sustain Momentum
Once an organisation has a high level of Momentum and applies most of the Momentum Perspectives & Practices, the next step is to embed these into the mind-set of everyone. It becomes part of everyone’s DNA.
Momentum will then become less dependent upon the individual business leaders and will survive changes of leadership teams.
Assess your Momentum with our research: Momentum for Sustainable Success
Our research further defines and validates a pragmatic and complete Momentum-Framework consisting
of management practices, perspectives and practical tools. These will help you to increase and maintain
Momentum for sustainable success, to strengthen your competitive position and leave others wondering
how you did it.
You are invited to join by conducting a web-based survey. It takes approximately 15 minutes. Your input will remain confidential and will be reported in an aggregated form only.
In return you will receive in early 2017:
- Insights in how other companies manage their Momentum for sustainable success.
- Insights in how your organisation compares to others in managing Momentum.
- Insights into the new Momentum Framework for sustainable success.
Start the survey @ http://van-veen.limequery.com/792518?lang=en
Read about the research @ http://www.van-veen.nl/research.html.
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Sep 15, 2016 • Features • Management • Jan Van Veen • management • Service Innovation and Design
Management Consultant and service management specialist Jan Van Veen looks at how you can drive sustainable success in your organisation by unlocking full and continuous value innovation power at your disposal...
Management Consultant and service management specialist Jan Van Veen looks at how you can drive sustainable success in your organisation by unlocking full and continuous value innovation power at your disposal...
As the world is changing at an increasing pace, companies need continuous value innovation at a higher pace on top of the current incremental improvements of their products, services and operations.
However, most companies struggle to innovate their business and fall behind (new) competitors who are successfully adopting change or even driving change in the industry.
Based on many consulting engagements and recent interviews (as part of my research) it appears that three key perspectives - on people’s ability to drive change, managing performance and customer value - do make the difference for success.
A typical example
The following is a typical situation:
A leading manufacturer of heavy capital equipment is trying to grow its services business, as capital investments in their industry have dropped dramatically and are not expected to recover in the near future. The focus is to grow the business from advanced maintenance and operating services and other business solutions, which should become more significant, compared to basic maintenance, repair and spare part services.
Most companies struggle to innovate their business and fall behind (new) competitors who are successfully adopting change or even driving change in the industry.
The organisation has been restructured a few times in a row. People are being pushed to the limit to achieve new, stretched bottom-line targets. Different task forces and a programme management office has been established.
However, progress is limited and the business results are not really improving.
Entities are blaming each other for not delivering: market units are frustrated that the business units do not develop the right propositions; market units are being blamed for not selling the new service offerings. Too many people consider their own performance being fairly well, without showing any concern about the bigger picture of declining performance, which is falling behind the competition’s performance.
There are many task-forces on various topics, most of which are not really addressing the real business challenge, but more focusing on improving traditional business as usual.
As a result, this company is being hit harder by the current downturn in their industry then its competitors. Shareholders’ confidence in the new strategy and the leadership is deteriorating.
Now, wouldn’t it be great if.... Instead of...
Wouldn’t it be great if this company would have been able to fully utilise their ability to adapt to change and peoples eagerness to learn, improve and grow?
Just imagine how different the picture could have been:
Many people within the company are aware of early signs of developments in the industry and changing customer needs. They are the first to discuss these changes with their customers and develop new solutions, in close collaboration with their customers.
Set-backs are crucial learning points to adjust strategy and actions and to continue thriving for success.
For sure, they had some set-backs and they expect more to come - after all, things often go different than originally expected.
However, nobody considers these set-backs as failures and these are by no means a threat for careers. These set-backs are crucial learning points to adjust strategy and actions and to continue thriving for success. People and departments support each other in doing what is needed to get things done and keep momentum in the innovation.
How to make this happen?
There are three key perspectives, which seem to make the difference for sustainable success. These perspectives define how we manage our businesses and how we engage people to change without creating obstacles or resistance.
Performance:
Sustainable and increasing success is achieved by continuously pursuing opportunities, adopting to changes, learning and building smarter capabilities for strong performance.
People:
People are considered to be eager to grow, develop and drive change when they believe in the reasons for change and they are not pushed into a defensive fight-or-flight mode. These good reasons are based on a compelling purpose and vision, not on burning platforms, financial business cases or shareholder-value.
Customer Value:
Customer value goes beyond the availability of your great products and technology. There are so many more ways to be valuable and relevant to the success of customers and their value creation process. With this broader view, you will recognise more customer needs and challenges, transcending product requirements and related maintenance services.
Practical example of modern management practices
The following are a few examples of modern management practices - driving sustainable success by mobilising people and maintaining momentum - which are based on these new perspectives.
Customer value goes beyond the availability of your great products and technology. There are so many more ways to be valuable and relevant to the success of customers and their value creation process.
Live a shared and compelling purpose and vision - every day...
Keeping this picture alive will rally all people in an organisation.
They see and believe in the opportunities to do great things and grow as a company, as a team and as an individual. Everybody has a common picture of the direction in which the company has to develop. This picture is much more compelling than “double digit growth”, “being customers’ 1# choice” or “being industry leader”.
Keep the voice of the customer alive - every day...
A living and up-to-date picture of customers’ challenges, needs and expectations will drive the right decisions, actions, ideas and intrinsic motivation for innovation as well as daily operations.
Start every meeting with a customer story or insight.
Extend customer insights beyond your business as usual - without blinkers...
Without this insight it is hard to develop and increase your relevance and differentiation for customers and develop your business to outperform the industry now and in the future.
Too often, customer insights and feedback which do not directly impact current products, services, marketing and sales are neglected. Sticking to your “core-business” can be a risky attitude.
Respond to (potential) changes outside - again without blinkers...
Have everybody in the company continuously build awareness about what is changing in the outside world. What is (potentially) changing in technology, politics, regulations, demographics, customer needs, habits, competition, other industries, etcetera.
What impact could these changes have on your work and your business? Which opportunities could arise? Which competencies and capabilities would you need? Which signs could indicate that the change is really happening - now? What can be done now to be prepared to respond rapidly when needed and do this quicker than any other actor in the industry?
Manage high performance through a strategic dialogue - ongoing...
Outcome based, bottom line targets show the direction and priorities for managing and developing the business into a fit organisation with the required capabilities and business model to perform.
Targets are aligned with priorities and strategic objectives. Stretched targets explicitly assume change is required to meet them - so work smarter, not harder or faster.
These business review meetings are transparent and constructive discussions about the performance, root causes, alternatives, measures and priorities. Discuss and agree how other teams or entities can contribute to achieve the objectives.
Align expectations and targets of these teams with the (new) priorities of the business and the specific teams and entities to really enable them to help.
Want to know more? Read Van Veen's full original article here
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