* If you are looking for the Defining change management, project management and "the change" blog, click here: http://prosci-change-management.blogspot.com/2007/11/webinar-defining-cm-nov-13-2007.html
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The Elevator speeches on change management was a new addition to the fall series. In the webinar, we focus on the 30 second conversations you will have about what change management is and why it is important. While one of the keys to effective elevator speeches is practice, the webinar looks to lay the foundation for the story you will tell.
Aileen Pincus provides a number of keys for crafting an effective elevator speech. A couple to keep in mind for the webinar include:
Know what you're trying to achieve
Know your target
It's not about you
Keep it real
Be specific
Solve a problem
You can see her whole list and read the article at:
http://www.businessweek.com/careers/content/jun2007/ca20070618_134959.htm
The audience is key. As with any communication, you must take into consideration the "receiver's perspective". Before you end up on the elevator, be sure to understand what your cares about and how you can connect change management to their concerns. Be able to answer WIIFM (what's in it for me)! What keeps them up at night? What do they think of when you say the words "change management"? Are there misconceptions you must address? How do you create a desire to engage in change management?
Do you have an elevator speech about change management to share with the community? Use the "Post Comment" link to add your own speech or reflect on the webinar.
Enjoy!
TimC
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5 comments:
Here are two that I've written but am not necessarily thrilled with - Cheryl in Toronto.
"Insurance Common Client is essentially a sophisticated database that will bring together all of the information we have on our Insurance clients into a common client profile to be able to see the whole relationship our clients have with us and be able to serve them even better. But it’s not about the technology, it is about the harnessing the power of that information. ICC lays the foundation for many possibilities to make things easier for our clients while growing and transforming our business."
"here is work underway in Commercial Markets that involves taking a comprehensive look at our sales and credit processes to better understand how we can improve the client experience. We want to develop a clear picture of what our clients and sales force experience today so we know where to focus on making improvements to our processes and partner interactions to add the greatest value."
Steve makes a great comment about anticipated responses - thinking a couple steps ahead. What are the responses you anticipate to your elevator speech?
To Steve's question:
One common response I've seen from execs/decision makers...is more of an attitude: "You don't know my business, so how can you help as an outsider?"
As a consultant, my job is to be an expert on the tools and techniques I use (i.e. change management). It's the clients job to own the change.
The response to the exec comment is framed similarly. While it may be true that I do not know the specifics of their business, I do know that the CM tools and techniques we talk about on the webinars are universal. If I'm truly partnering with my client, my job is to understand how to use the techniques and tools and to be able to transfer that knowledge to the client so that they can effectively move forward with future change projects. Although it may be desirable, it's not necessary, in my opinion, to have to know the business.
What do you think?
Monique says:
Here's how I prepare my elevator speeches to clients:
1. State the person's name and job position - this gets me thinking about what matters most that person - what do I know based on my experiences with past General Managers, Maintenance Managers, HR Managers, Engineers, Health and Safety Specialists, etc., what are their key drivers? What kind of personalities usually go for these types of jobs - e.g., more data less data? visual or mathematical?
2. Think of a business issue they might be facing - based on your own experience, what physical symptoms might the client be experiencing? Phrase yur comment like a question/hypothesis to test and get input and describe the potential consequences (e.g., production or revenue issue, people impact, etc.) An example could be "Mr. (Shift Supervisor), based on my experience when working with refinery operators and engineers in a design process, I notice there can be quite a lot of friction between the 2 groups. If this friction gets carried into the project, these improvement initiatives (like implementing this new LP Model to integrate refinery planning) may get implemented but they don't really work after the consultants leave. People just go back to their old way of working and the refinery has wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars and everyone's time on a partially used tool. In your experience as a shift supervisor, have you seen this kind of thing happen before?"
3. Ask if they would be willing to explore further or take action on something - based on the previous example, "Would you be willing to let someone from my team walk around with your guys for a few days, see what it's like to be in their shoes, and then, using both our experience and yours, we can explore some ways to prevent this kind of thing from happening before we get started on the new LP model design?"
If I am describing "change management" in general to a consulting colleague, I would be more casual and say "Have you ever been on a project where you had a really great tool that you knew would help your client but for some reason or another, they found a workaround process to avoid using it? Wasn't that frustrating? Well what I do, change management, is about focusing on how to make those changes stick. We look at things communication about your great new tool (why should they use it? What happens if they don't? Who needs to learn how to use it? What's the timeline of activities? Do others have tools they like better? Why?), we get managers involved to show the importance of the change and their commitment, we make sure people are trained and coached on how to use the new tool (they can share why they might want to go around using the new tool too), and most of all, we help to put things in place that will reinforce using the tool long after we're gone."
The main points for me are:
1. Make it relevant for the person I am speaking with
2. Avoid jargon unless I know the person knows what I mean and its relevant or builds credibility with my audience
3. Flatter the listener and acknowledge they might have something to add to the equation as well, and
most of all,
4. Be my positive self - I'm here to share and learn
I commend TimC and all of the contributors for their submissions.
The only potential issues I had with some of them were:
1) I thought most of the pitches were way too long. I learned long ago that a good rule-of-thumb for 30-seconds is 1/3 of a page, double-spaced, using 12pt font, and in all capital letters. Unless you talk very fast, some of the pitches seemed like they would take minutes.
2) None of the pitches seemed to have any form of transition. If an executive said "Good morning," you wouldn't come back with: "All organizations continually strive for to improve. Those improvements represent objectives that the organization wishes to reach…." Even if it was someone you knew, and the executive started with, "So, what have you been up to?", you wouldn't jump into the pitch in the ways they were laid out.
Also, if I was the person on the other side of the elevator, I'd zone out before you got to your second sentence.
I think they would be more effective if they were conversational and started with a "yes" question, such as:
Conversation starts, "Hey Joe. I heard you are leading the new initiative to launch the new widget application. How's that going?"
Joe: "It's going slower than I expected."
Me: "How would you like to increase the adoption rate and get to your ROI quicker?"
Joe: "Is that possible?"
Me: "Actually, I have been working with a methodology that manages the people side of change....."
This could probably be better, but is just an idea for illustration.
I'd caution that the elevator pitches need to sound natural, even if they are written out and practiced so they don't "sound" like a rehearsed pitch.
I think this was a great Webinar -- as were all of them in the series -- and was the most successful in gaining engagement with those of us who participated.
Again, nice job Tim.
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