As a busy consultant, I’m often asked about the tools and techniques that I use when consulting with my clients. So, I’m pulling together a list of my favorites that are the go-to ones I can’t live without!
The first one on my list of change tools is pretty classic – the Roadmap. Many clients, leaders and projects use some form or fashion of a Roadmap. Here are my tips and tricks for both creating and using a Roadmap effectively.
- Tip #1 – Fit it on one page. Anything over one page is way too much detail and will take way too much time to update going forward.
- Tip #2 – Create swim lanes to break out key activities into their own paths. For example, on my change projects, I make one “row” called communications and a second “row” about education & training.
- Tip #3 – Include the dependencies. Show how things might slip or change if one key activity gets pulled up or pushed back.
- Tip #4 – Socialize it and use it for all your key reviews with sponsors and stakeholders. Think of it like it’s an old fashioned map getting you to your destination. It shows you where you are relative to everything else, gives you a sense of how much further you have to go and tells you when you’ve “arrived.” Use it every week and keep it simple – reduce the complexity for your leaders and keep them focused on achieving your ultimate goal.
- Tip #5 – Don’t make it one size fits all. I often create separate Roadmaps for different audiences – a “development” map for my team showing how the things that each of us are working on come together to an integrated deliverable for the client and I have a separate roadmap that shows what the users or leaders will experience as they go through a process of change.
Sheri Browning is a Partner at PeopleResults and is passionate about managing change to create business readiness for her clients. You can reach her at sbrowning@people-results.com or on Twitter @sbPResults.
