Budget Season Foundations  #7:  Final Preparation, Launch Date Excitement, and Analytics

Budget Season Foundations 7:  Final Preparation, Launch Date Excitement, and Analytics

For the final installment of my budget season Foundations series, we will focus on three key tactics to drive success when you deploy your big Idea.   I like to think of these tactics as “execution excellence”.

1.      Make sure that your extended team members have adequate tools and training to execute your big idea prior to launch.

The absolute worst thing that can happen is on your day of launch, your execution teams are ill equipped and don’t know about your big idea.  Regardless of the reason why that might happen, ensure that your project manager builds in a workstream specific to frontline tools and training.   Remember, you have revenue growth tied to your big idea, and you MUST hit the ground running with your performance.  

2.      On the day of your launch, make it an event filled with fun and excitement.   

Lets’ face it, your big idea is change management and there will be grumbling from your frontline teams.   Whether it is a new process or new product, this is change from “the way we always used to do things”.     Counteract this grumbling by making your launch day fun.   Find creative ways to build awareness and excitement prior to the day of launch, and on the day of launch, make it an event.   Order food for your teams, giveaway prizes, or both.    In short- make change management a FUN thing.

3.      Make sure you have analytics set up to monitor performance on day 1!

This is critical.   I have never seen a “perfect” launch of a new big idea.   There is always something that doesn’t go quite right (operations, technology, or frontline behavior) on launch day.   As the project leader you need to quickly identify any potential issues and adapt/fix your implementation strategy as necessary.   This is where analytics comes in.   If you have your analytics set up on day 1, you can:

·        Identify anomalies/issues quickly.

·        Build mitigation strategies (and communications) to keep your frontline teams informed.

·        Proactively manage your message UP to your executive sponsor and leaders on early results (the good and the bad)

On this last point, this is a friendly reminder on communications:   you always want to play offense with communications, not defense.

By following these three tactics, your big idea will be on the road to success.   There might be adjustments that are required to your big idea to achieve execution excellence, and that is ok.   The key is to capture  these issues early, quickly adapt, and achieve your revenue expectations as planned.