Risk Management - Preventing Reversion
Change is not always gradual...
There is a common assumption in productivity projects that the change that occurs will be gradual. This assumption is not always correct, as the change that occurs when implementing a productivity solution phase often produce a sudden step change, not an incremental change.
When there is a sudden change, the measures in most businesses often do not immediately track and reveal the impact of the change (the measures lag the change and this lag conceals the cause of the gains later scene).
Many business owners or managers struggle to prevent productivity gains from being 'undone' once they are achieved. They are in disbelief or unaware as to the sudden change that is about to happen, and they are, therefore, unable to capture the change in the metric performance.
A reversal of fortune occurs when:
- The customer is not aware that there is going to be a step change
- The customer is unaware why the change is necessary, and
- The customer 'undoes' the implemented solution when negative effects occur
Implementing this lesson will decrease the risk of your solution being undone (and thus the benefits) because negative effects have occurred.
