Back in the 1990s, the Department of National Savings was struggling. Its very survival depended on radical change.  Simon Hall and Mark Goodridge provided expert facilitation to create and implement a new strategy that helped to transform the once ailing government backed savings company into the success of what is today – National Savings and Investments

In the useful, but strangely titled book, Strategy and the Fat Smoker,* author David Maister demonstrates that when it comes to strategy we often know what we should be doing, why we should and how, but like the fat smoker, the professional challenge is actually doing what we know to be good for us. He correctly points out, that in a world where information is easily accessible, it’s not the actual strategy we come up with that will result in the desired outcome, but that gap between knowing and doing; that gap between intention and delivery, that will determine its success or failure. In other words, it’s the gap between the intolerance we place on those not prepared to accept heroic goals and the tolerance of excuses when they don’t deliver.

So how do you get managers to accept and understand the created strategies, and secure their commitment?  Expert facilitation from professional services firms like ER Consultants can help managers to not only own and understand the strategies, but build their resolve to make them happen. The Department of National Savings (DNS) now known as National Savings and Investments (NS&I) is a case where expert facilitation was key to making radical change happen.

In the 1990s, DNS, the government backed savings provider, was struggling. The problem with DNS was that it was addressing lots of surface issues (such as staffing and maintaining multiple operation centres), but not dealing head-on with fundamental problems (such as how it could competitively deliver retail funding to the treasury). Consumer research showed that many felt it was old-fashioned and no longer relevant to mainstream savers and investors. Its survival depended on radical change. That meant enlisting the help of external experienced facilitators that specialise in strategy and organisation change, to get both the rigour and the commitment building that is so vital to strategy execution. Simon Hall facilitated the strategy development with the top team and Mark Goodridge led the facilitation of the organization change resulting from that strategy.

Going back to your roots
The first part of the facilitation process was about reminding everyone about the organisation’s purpose.  Many public sector organisations find successful progress difficult to achieve because of continuously moving or unclear goalposts. For DNS this meant going back to the true service it provides to society and articulating clearly its ultimate purpose. It wasn’t an easy exercise to go through, but external facilitation helped to clarify this purpose much quicker. We helped DNS through this process with a methodology called ‘Mission and Vision’ (see diagram below).

Diagram 1: Controlling Destiny – Starting with the Mission

 

The diagram illustrates a way of thinking about business strategy and design. The pyramid has ‘mission’ at the top, followed by ‘vision’, then ‘business design’. The vision is about painting a picture of the future world and of the successful organisation within it. Business design is about creating a consistent top level plan that brings strategy, organisation, people and technology together.

Of course, there’s a lot more involved to get all the components (products, pricing, etc) in place to create a plan that will help the transition to the new world, optimise operational processes and develop the culture, values, beliefs and behaviours that are required in the changed organisation. All of these are vitally important, but they tend to have limited impact if the top three levels have not been developed well.

Finding a mission that makes a difference
In our experience, it helps to establish a clear understanding of the objectives, especially in the public sector, where the generic ‘maximise profits’ concept doesn’t always apply. At its heart, the question behind ‘mission and vision’ is very simple – if we don’t crystalise what we are really here to do, then how can we ever develop a strategic plan of action that is stable and will come to fruition? That is why getting the mission right from the very start is imperative.

For too many, the word ‘mission’ means meaningless waffle stuck on walls – but such statements are just aspirations or motivational tools to help move a business forward. An organisation’s mission is, ultimately, the reason why it exists. There were around 15 ‘mission’ components tabled and discussed at DNS. But after about a dozen sessions, and by staying rigorous to the process, we found that we were able to reduce the ‘mission’ down to one meaningful page.  Getting there and reaching an agreement on what they were wasn’t an easy task.

So what did this look like on paper? The first paragraph outlined the core mission of NS&I, and the second paragraph outlined three high level strategic objectives that are essential to fulfilling this mission. From these flowed everything else, such as a new brand, new products, new operation, new organisation and so on.  Without this blueprint, nothing would have developed in a consistent and stable manner. And 10 years on, the resulting words remain the foundation for NS&I today.

Creating a vision for the future
Of course, the creation of a mission and vision does not guarantee a desired outcome. Leadership that can not only engage hearts and minds, but also gains the commitment of all employees is vital. Peter Bareau, the then CEO, had the drive and vision to reposition the business and the wisdom to know that his success would be dependent upon his ability to persuade his stakeholders and, more vitally, his executives that a different future was possible. To that end he enlisted outside expert facilitation to help achieve his quest for radical transformation quicker. ER Consultants facilitated workshops with him and his team to set the agenda for change, and win hearts and minds to achieve it.  This was done through focused exercises that challenged the top team, through a series of questions, such as:

• What will the future world look like, with regards to parameters that are relevant to us?
• What parts of this picture are fairly predictable and certain, and where do we see big uncertainties?
• What will we look like if we are to be successful in a future world?
• What components do we need to own, and how can we leverage others to get there?
• How do we stay flexible in order to deal with the major uncertainties that exist?

Such top-down, vision-based, strategic exercises not only helps to complement, but challenge, bottom-up processes.

The results
As a result of the collaborative facilitation work, DNS as it previously was, has transformed itself into a successful, modern financial organisation with a clear purpose that is today better known as NS&I.  Everything has changed – the organisation, the identity, the brand, the operations and the products. It is a success story in the public sector as it managed to outsource around 3,000 people to the private sector without any fuss.

The organisation has moved from being viewed as an unfortunate leftover of war finance to a respected, valuable stream of funding for the Government today.  It is no longer perceived as a savings scheme for grannies and children, but is instead a highly regarded part of the modern financial services community.  Another sign of success is the fact that it survived a change in government. The clarity of mission allowed the work to progress smoothly despite political change, as the CEO was able to explain how it was contributing to society to the new administration – i.e. society has to finance itself with national debt as cost effectively as possible. This is a stable mission that all governments are likely to support. Without such clarity the newly formed organisation’s future could have been in jeopardy, but a clear mission actually gave the transformed NS&I control of its own destiny for the first time in decades.

Of course, there is much more to this story. Our facilitation work provided guidance and expertise in the following areas too:

The vision and determination of the leader;

• Engendering the deep engagement of the top team and subsequently each level of management in creating, designing and rolling out a new and different business;
• Strong decision-making where difficult decisions were confronted and resolved;
• Excellent implementation that kept true to that deeply held and understood strategic vision and mission.

Ultimately, external expert facilitation, ensured that tough decisions got made and implemented, and that strategic change was delivered. The result is a reinvigorated and focused business that is today NS&I.

For more information, contact: Mark.Goodridge@erconsultants.co.uk

REFERENCE
*Strategy and the Fat Smoker, David Maister, Spangle Press, 2008

© er consultants Topics Issue 1, 2009