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Business Hierarchy of Needs® – A Change Management Framework

BUSINESS HIERARCHY OF NEEDS

The Business Hierarchy of Needs® , in use by Group50® Consulting since 2013, is a change management framework for achieving a company’s strategic objectives and developing a culture of strategic execution.  It consists of three levels of activities that make up an effective change management process for creating strategy, optimizing the organization and implementing change.  Every organization does the things in the Business Hierarchy of Needs® to some degree.  The difference between organizations that have a culture of strategic execution and others who don’t is the disciplined change management methodology they follow. The diagram below outlines the activities in this methodology we call the Business Hierarchy of Needs ®.

 

 

As shown, there are three levels of activity that are required. The three levels are:

 

Level 1 -Data Analysis and Planning
Level 1 identifies the information required to fully understand the current state and to lay the foundation for building clearly defined strategies that achieves a defined future state. While Mission, Vision and Values are the well-known components, the Business Hierarchy of Needs ® adds three elements that are not routinely discussed:  Leadership Traits, MIG (Most Important Goal) and Value Proposition.  Companies have many goals and objectives, but they must all be part of a single most important goal. That goal becomes the quantitative measure of all strategies and tactics, while the company’s value proposition keeps focus on the reason customers prefer them over others. Once strategies have been designed and put in place, identifying strategic gaps and operating gaps, and the development of KPI’s, tactical objectives provide the basis for identifying what needs to be done to successfully execute strategy.

 

Level 2 – Knowledge and Change Management
Once goal setting has been completed, cascading objectives (we use the OGSM approach), throughout the organization to deal with operating gaps and strategic gaps defines the required organization structure, skill maps, training requirements and performance management objectives.  Many companies spend a lot of time in level two creating a change management plan and preparing the organization to be successful. Short stepping this level will handicap the organization and jeopardize strategic execution.  This is where most organizations fail.

 

Level 3 – Implementation
The strategies are completed, the organization prepared – now comes the easy part – Implementation. Few strategic plans are radical in nature and are more incremental in reality. Implementation techniques are dictated by rate and magnitude of required change, how big the strategic gaps are and the level of automation and technology that is required to support the company’s strategic plan. Level 3 requires answering the following questions:

  1. Have we established the appropriate steering committee, governance structure, reporting methods and meeting cadence for this implementation?
  2. Do we have the roadmap in place?
  3. Have projects charters been properly defined and are project teams established?
  4. Are well thought through and interrelated project plans in place?
  5. Do we have the right communication plans in place?
  6. Are our skills development programs on track?

 

Continuously improving business processes, products and services to meet the needs of all of the company’s stakeholders including shareholders, the board of directors, customers, employees, contract workers and suppliers is a critical component of every successful business, and it is a Group50® strong suit. We have all the supporting frameworks and methodologies to help a company achieve a “Culture of Strategic Execution™”.

 

 

You can read more about how to utilize this framework in Jim Gitney’s recently launched book: Strategy Realized – The Business Hierarchy of Needs®- Turning Strategy Into Results.

 

At Group50® Consulting we apply this process to every project we undertake and use the Business Hierarchy of Needs® as the underpinning for every strategic plan and implementation workshop we facilitate with our clients.  We continue to use it through implementation. You can read more about Group50’s Business Hierarchy of Needs ® here.

 

Schedule a Call Meeting with our Subject Matter Expert

 

You can request more information here, email us at info@group50.com, or call (909) 949-9083 for more information.

 

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