Change and the Power of Choice – Part 4: Measure the Impact
Once we have actively heard the message of change, and we have asked the right questions to better understand the change, we come to the third step in mastering the change. We need to measure the impact of the change with the assumption it will be implemented. But what are we measuring the impact against? What is our ruler, or scale? The pieces that impact us personally; that impact our Business Quality of Life (BQL), or quality of life in general, will differ based on the individual. Not all of us value the same things. For me, time spent in my home has great value. So I often consider this aspect when confronted with a change. Will I need to need to travel to other offices? How frequently? And for how long? Will I need to travel? These are all questions that I consider when weighing out a change, an opportunity.
When measuring the impact of a proposed change, we also need to consider the impact to others. What impact will the change have on our business team? On our department? Will their work be easier, or harder? In either case, what is the upside, and are there any negatives in the proposed change. Will we need to work longer hours to support the change? If so, try to quantify the number of hours, and make a projection on what the benefit will be to the team, your boss (this is an important one to consider) the department, the organization, and most importantly, the customer. A quick way to estimate positives, and negatives is draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper, and list positives (or gains) on the left side of the line, and negatives (losses) on the right. Often these will offset, for example on the right might be “I am being asked to learn different skills” - but on the right offsetting could be “By learning new skills I will be more valuable, and marketable”. Again on the right we might capture “I am being asked to be a lead for new hires” - but on the left we might write out “I will gain supervisory experience.” The important thing here is to put the pluses, and minus's down on paper, or electronically to be able to see them, and weigh them out rationally. Below is a list that we can draw from when we want to measure impact:
What resources will shift based on the change?
What is the primary impact of change?
What are secondary impacts of the change?
What are the costs of the change?
What are the benefits of the change?
Will the entire business team be impacted?
What will be the delta in terms of hours?
What will the delta be in terms of effort?
What will the impact be to business quality of life?
What is the measure (benefit, loss) of the change for the customer?
Again, on the topic of Change, and the Power of Choice, the key is to take an ACTIVE stance when working through a change. The more active we are when working through a change the more power we have. Reject being a victim of change. Engage the change with action.
Once we have actively heard the message of change, and we have asked the right questions to better understand the change, we come to the third step in mastering the change. We need to measure the impact of the change with the assumption it will be implemented. But what are we measuring the impact against? What is our ruler, or scale? The pieces that impact us personally; that impact our Business Quality of Life (BQL), or quality of life in general, will differ based on the individual. Not all of us value the same things. For me, time spent in my home has great value. So I often consider this aspect when confronted with a change. Will I need to need to travel to other offices? How frequently? And for how long? Will I need to travel? These are all questions that I consider when weighing out a change, an opportunity.
When measuring the impact of a proposed change, we also need to consider the impact to others. What impact will the change have on our business team? On our department? Will their work be easier, or harder? In either case, what is the upside, and are there any negatives in the proposed change. Will we need to work longer hours to support the change? If so, try to quantify the number of hours, and make a projection on what the benefit will be to the team, your boss (this is an important one to consider) the department, the organization, and most importantly, the customer. A quick way to estimate positives, and negatives is draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper, and list positives (or gains) on the left side of the line, and negatives (losses) on the right. Often these will offset, for example on the right might be “I am being asked to learn different skills” - but on the right offsetting could be “By learning new skills I will be more valuable, and marketable”. Again on the right we might capture “I am being asked to be a lead for new hires” - but on the left we might write out “I will gain supervisory experience.” The important thing here is to put the pluses, and minus's down on paper, or electronically to be able to see them, and weigh them out rationally. Below is a list that we can draw from when we want to measure impact:
What resources will shift based on the change?
What is the primary impact of change?
What are secondary impacts of the change?
What are the costs of the change?
What are the benefits of the change?
Will the entire business team be impacted?
What will be the delta in terms of hours?
What will the delta be in terms of effort?
What will the impact be to business quality of life?
What is the measure (benefit, loss) of the change for the customer?
Again, on the topic of Change, and the Power of Choice, the key is to take an ACTIVE stance when working through a change. The more active we are when working through a change the more power we have. Reject being a victim of change. Engage the change with action.
RSS Feed