The top 5 mistakes to avoid in business transformation programs that they don’t want you to know about

Without the support of an unbiased second opinion in business transformations these days, things can get crazy fast, unless you have bottomless pockets.

With price tags for transformation programs now reaching the hundreds of millions, it wouldn't be remiss to think the world has gone completely mad.

So, what do I mean by an unbiased second opinion, you might be thinking?

It is kind of like getting a personal health diagnosis on a problem, where a specialist suggests you take drastic action, that might see you say, ‘Hang on a minute I might get a second opinion first before I make any decisions’.

Heading into what can be a very expensive business transformation program, without the right advice, can potentially pose the same risks to your business as the wrong medical advice can for your body.

Making the wrong move or not knowing the right questions to ask a vendor during a selection process can cost millions and valuable time that many organisations simply don’t have.

In these circumstances, organisations often rely on the vendor to guide them in the right direction. This can be problematic for both parties or beneficial to the vendor and extremely problematic for your business.

If you are lucky enough to find a vendor who gets the guessing game right, without taking advantage of the money-making opportunity to lead you right up the garden path, so to speak. You might want to go out and buy a lotto ticket because the odds are very low.

Technology is big business. If you step into transforming your business aided by technology, without your wits about you, it could cost you your business, and then some.

Here are my top 5 key things you absolutely must do to protect yourself before you sign any contracts with a vendor or transformation business partner consulting firm.

Number 1 — Know clearly what your business’s current state is in detail

Have a clear understanding of the current state of your business including clearly articulating your weaknesses, pain points and the problems you need to solve.

Stepping into a relationship with a consulting firm or vendor agreement at this time could be suicide for your business because no one knows your business as you do.

If you are not clear on where you are and what you want, you will either get what a vendor or consulting firm thinks you want at best, or at worst you will get the most expensive option they can sell you. Unfortunately in the technology environment today the latter is far more commonly the experience.

The top 5 mistakes to avoid in business transformation programs that they don’t want you to know about The journey of business transformation is kind of like taking a road trip in your car metaphorically speaking.

To chart a course in your car’s navigation, the system first needs to know where you are. For, it is impossible to predict with any accuracy how long it will take to get to point B, where you want to arrive at your final destination if you have no point A.

Taking the time to understand where you are clearly as a business will mean that you step forward in deciding what you want to achieve, with an understanding of the distance needed to travel.

With this baseline in mind, it is much easier to become clear on the time and effort it will take to achieve your objectives.

If you don’t do the current-state work, you will be muddling through options from multiple vendors blindly, leaving yourself wide open to expensive additional costs later to rectify problems. These cause additional work through change requests that magically are not included in your contract, and can become incredibly expensive and very unpredictable.

Some vendors and consulting firms like to take the ‘we got you kind of approach’, and tell you there is no need to waste money mapping out your current state, because it’s going to change, and ‘we know what you need’. If someone says this to your organisation, run for the hills, and I am not kidding either.

If you don’t heed this piece of advice, don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Number 2 — Know what you want to achieve through a business transformation program

Decide clearly what your vision is that you want to achieve from the transformation program. The clearer and the more detailed the vision is articulated the more likely you will have success.

Beware of going in unprepared, because in today’s technology marketplace, it can feel like stepping into a cage with a pack of hungry wolves. If you are unsure, a consulting firm or technology vendor is more than happy to recommend the most expensive options to the least prepared clients.

It happens more often than anyone would like to admit, as does the rate of failure in business transformation programs.

Like a good boy scout or girl guide it is always worthwhile to do the work to be prepared. Being prepared by knowing what you want clearly, can greatly reduce the costs in delivering business transformation programs. The statistics of failure of business transformation programs speak loud and clear for themselves.

Number 3 — Never allow one vendor to manage another vendor relationship on your behalf

This is absolute suicide to your business when you allow one vendor to manage another. Both vendors are in the business of making money. Allowing one vendor to manage another vendor simply allows them to work together to extract the maximum they can from your business, this is called vendor coupling.

Closely monitoring vendor engagement from within your organisation is absolutely essential. I cannot reiterate enough that never, ever appoint an internal person to manage a vendor delivery program that was recommended by a vendor or consulting firm that is going to make money from the delivery program. It is delivery suicide. Instead, the person must be a trusted internally appointed person who has no conflicts of interest and is held to account by a solid governance structure, to ensure that the program is being overseen with absolute impartiality and your organisation’s best interests in mind.

Don’t be fooled by all the assurances in the world by consulting firms or vendors selling you pitches with big stories about how they can get the best out of the vendor for you. I have seen this go pear-shaped more times than I can count. It is a very costly and often a nearly impossible thing to roll back once vendor coupling has taken hold.

Number 4 — Engage with your business to develop a specification document that details exactly what you want from a vendor

Before you sign a contract with any vendor to engage in any product delivery, make sure you have a clear understanding of what the vendor’s product can do for your organisation.

Engage those in your business who will be impacted in the process of vendor evaluation to help all parties understand what is possible so that together you can create a specification document that details exactly what you want from a vendor.

When you step forward with a vendor this way, all parties become much clearer about expectations and then the water is not so murky so to speak.

It is important to call out that many vendors think they know the best for your business for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they suggest this through experience, yet sometimes dare I say, it is for their own interests, rather than the interests of your company. It is important to recognise this and cut it off at the pass early.

No one knows your company or your people like you do. The success of technology product integrations into your business are reliant on the support and uptake from your people because technology doesn’t transform businesses, people do, when they engage and support new technologies as part of a new way of working.

Don’t be afraid to expect even the largest of technology delivery companies to deliver on your terms. You are the customer and it is OK to hold out for a vendor who is willing to deliver a product that meets your specific terms. Your organisation’s culture and your bottom line will thank you for it.

Many people have said to me that this is how the vendor does it. Yet vendors only deliver their way because you haven’t specified your own way. I have personally negotiated and known many other businesses to negotiate different delivery approaches very successfully. It is up to your organisation to take the lead and be specific with your expectations if you don’t want to be taken for a ride in more ways than one.

Get independent advice if you are unsure of how to step forward in vendor negotiations.

Number 5 — Get a non-biased business transformation advisory organisation to be your second opinion

There is an important distinction between a consulting firm and an advisory organisation. If you seek advice from a consulting firm that stands to make money either directly or indirectly from the advice, you will not get the unbiased advice you need.

When choosing a separate advisory organisation, that doesn’t stand to gain anything except the fee for the advisory service provided, you are gaining invaluable advice that can potentially save you ten times the fee for their advice.

To get the right advice you need an organisation that can quickly understand your business, including problems to be solved, to help you consider the right options in your business transformation.

This advice mustn’t come from any organisation that will be or is aligned with the vendor delivering products or services as part of your business transformation, to ensure impartiality at all times.

At Enterprise Evolution we have more than 50 years of combined experience, with skin-in-the-game delivering business transformation programs.

We have seen all the mistakes that cost organisations millions of dollars, time delays and people impacts. Many of these could have been resolved with the right advice upfront, before engaging with a consulting firm or vendor.

If you are about to embark on a business transformation, or yours is going pear-shaped, reach out for a free 30-minute conversation that could lead to gaining important advice, that may be the difference between success or failure, and help you to avoid the hidden costs that will blow the budget on the way.

We can save you wasting time and money, causing an impact on your people and bottom line, allowing for clarity in vendor engagement and a smoother ride through business transformation for everyone.

Believe it or not, there is often a smoother and easier way through your business transformation program, that can be engaging, enjoyable and profitable for your entire organisation in the long run.