It amazes me how difficult it is for clients (and most of the consultants I have observed) to put themselves at the end of an initiative or project and look back toward the present. Doing so is an entirely different perspective-which feeds an entirely different approach. It surprises those clients and consultants to see that this simple change of viewpoint can reveal many of the human obstacles, illustrate gaps in the fabric of the organization and pave the way to a much straighter path to success.
Pick any change, stand at the end state and ask yourself what it would take to be there. Remember you have to be looking back. This isn’t about the steps to get there; it is about how it is different and why.
Some things to consider-
Was it a transformation to get there or a gradual process of adaptation?
Did the journey seriously get in the way of the day to day; or did it actually make some things easier?
Were the covered deficiencies of your organization and its culture uncovered?
What did the path to get there do to the way the stakeholders interact to accomplish business objectives?
Anyone get promoted along the way?
Can you draw a horizontal line anywhere in your org. chart that did not exist before you started?
Anyone dig their feet in the sand only to release them and lead the charge?
Could you have someone do a case study for this that would bring you more talent?
And finally- Are you patting yourself on the back or rubbing your eyes?
Added note: I looked for a picture looking from the horizon to the sand of the beach to compliment my previous post and out of over 14,000 beach, wave and sand pictures there was not a single shot toward the sand (minus deserted tropical islands, but that is a different analogy). I am not sure what that says other than reinforcing the fact that standing on the horizon and looking back rather than filling in the present to future gaps or being a “futurist” is not an easy thing to do.