Views in Verse on 'realisation'

"How is the transformation going...?"

"Clearly, a lot is happening but...

I'm not seeing a lot of change!"

The secrets to 'successful' business transformation

(Transformation + Governance = Value Realisation)

Don't confuse cost management projects with transformation

they are not the same thing...

Transformation drives growth, productivity and a better bottom line

Focussed on a fixed period of dynamic 'change' across the business

Driven from the top, enacted within and around work-groups

Getting the governance structure right ...before you start

Transformation should not be about the journey ...it's all about the destination!

Articulate the vision, goals, expected returns very clearly from early on

Foster an understanding of the hi-level 'line of sight' objectives

Add some internal branding to this and maintain it

Plan to get out in front early and stay there!

Realisation will require input from right across the organisation

Building the expected benefit returns right into the budgeting process

Managing the delivery of business outcomes in 'commitments',

controlled via programme management

Don't compromise on short term planned benefit return ...this is critical!

Featuring a strong 'programme management office'

Reporting to the Executive Office

Maintained by the active sponsors


Fact: An organisation that can't really see the value of the central PMO doesn't as yet see the challenging breadth of transformation




Governance thereby demands that a formal hierarchy

of controls, standards, programmes and projects be recognised

The end game is to deliver your 'change' programmes to meet planned objectives

A well tuned project portfolio management process makes this possible!


PROJECTs                                                  PROGRAMMEs

deliver capabilities                               return planned benefits to the business

linked with planning custom dates          linked with business fiscal cycles

decentralised and within tiers                centralised and across whole of business

resource and activity focussed                governance intensive

portfolio of solution alternatives             reflective of changing strategies

stepped approach to change                   transformative approach to change

delivers to time and budget                    ensures operational change


Think agile, sure ...but consider projects as enablers or assets

they are not business outcomes

Technology and process play a core role but lead with your 'people' people

Maintain your related IT projects in an IT project office

but they must link thru the Programme Management Office

Never forget the lessons of the 90's where process and technology were 'king'

Systems should enact policies to achieve desired results...

Policies should in turn drive behaviour

Policies should thereby be the centre piece of your communications strategy/project

Corporates struggle with this concept...Public entities just see it as fundamental


Redefining your 'managers' as 'leaders'

Experienced people, filling vital roles,

A Change Manager should be a Programme Manager

Ensure all of your leaders are intent on helping build the new culture

Focussing on continuous improvement (to help reinforce the culture of change)

Outsource packets of work only where value is seen

Prepare to manage outsiders within your structure ...not theirs!

Remembering all processes are customer facing

Intruding into the culture is mandatory in order to address behavioural change

Recognising the need for active supervision and the management systems that support it

Ensuring clear accountabilities in all roles


Featuring social leadership skills designed to help develop engagement and trust

Reinforced by coaching in the workplace

Measurement is essential but is only a part of a much bigger people focussed agenda

Performance management too must be a social process

Remembering that "work turns intention into reality" (Elliott Jaques)

'Work' is indeed a pathway to achieve desired results

...not the related (hi level) launches and coffee meetings!

(although they do help with the morale at a time of unsettling change)

"Human nature plays a bigger role in business benefits realisation than any other factor" - John Thorp (Chair ITGI) and author of 'The Information Paradox'.






Clarity in purpose, role, authorities, systems, policies and in hi level objectives will all help to ensure that behavioural change 'sticks' if understood where 'the work is actually done'


Above all, ensure that governance is not just a buzzword in your organisation

Otherwise, all your money, effort and best intentions will preface failure

...possibly of your business at large!

Requisite Uncertainty (Jaques)

as shown here as a sample platform

counter balanced

with elements of

Programme Management &

Project Portfolio Management


“Under requisite uncertainty, a well-functioning governance hierarchy is differentiated by the degree of strategic uncertainty addressed at each level and integrated through a cascading series of strategic commitments as those uncertainties are resolved” - Michael Raynor ‘The Strategy Paradox’

Enterprise risk management ensures that the above value return cycle is constantly turning

It is vital to have absolute integrity in every element of the processes and controls as shown.

There are no short cuts to effective governance in ensuring sound value return on investments.

Funny thing how governance can appear to be something that is 'optional' or 'dispensible' or, even more frightening, 'not very well understood'.

                            Transformation + Governance = Value Realisation

Good luck with yours.

Grahame J Flynn

FAICD CGEIT (ISACA)

The Troubadour

He came to us
as one of us
With a want to try to sing
His songs
were not 'the usual'
but long complex things

He spoke out
on looking out
from beyond your own back door
His call was to lead
not follow ...as before

With no concession
to class or place
as our fathers readily bore
But as an uncompromising
bringer of change...
revolution at the door

Using words
Powerful words
That spoke of freedom and truth
Thoughts he shared
with a growing army
of anxious wide-eyed youth

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

Luther King
The Kennedy's
All praised in their own way
For their part
in social change
the heroes of their day

Yet no engine starts
without a key
The facts are plain to see
A new dialogue
the ready basis
for open thought to breed

Dylan surfaced
He provided that spark
in his shrill compelling voice
Truth spoken out
again and again...
it serves enlightened choice

Establishment frowned
...in time gave way
leaving Richard Nixon dethroned
We all answered
in the western world
J Edgar took a long walk home

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

From my I-pad - Grahame J Flynn

Views in verse on the change-bringer - Waratahs win at last!

Views in Verse on 'change bringers'

Waratahs win maiden title in Super XV competition

on their belief in a mission!





Last Night in front of 62,000 people at Homebush Stadium in Sydney, the NSW Warataths beat the Crusaders 33-32 in what was a rousing game of rugby.

The latter being many times champions and recognised as the toughest team to beat in a final. The former a side of (well) 'showponies' who loved to perform but were often not committed to win or so it seemed to their long suffering supporters ...until last night.

What brought about this change? They always had good players. The club was always well funded. But over time they lost their fans owing to their erratic performances and a revolving door of players. What changed?

Last year they enlisted the help of a European Cup winning coach. An Australian as it turned out - Michael Cheka. He came to the table with an uncompromising style based in player belief and a mission to play the game as it is intended to be played - 'openly' and with firm regard to the fans enjoyment. One would follow the other as this resulted in the biggest Final crowd in Super XV history.

The key to it all : Cheka taught them to believe in their own success.

If in doubt go back to what you believe gets you there. As they struggled through the second half last night and the Crusaders began to spin their tight web of control on the game, it was refreshing to see the open 'trust in what we know' style return as they stormed off with the win.

I had of late heard Cheka's talk of trusting to 'let the head go' as the only thing that will deliver the required outcome. A lesson to any long suffering golfer who tries to steer the club-head onto the fairway only to be later found trudging off into the trees. I heard one of his key players reiterate it this week and then again Bernard Foley mentioned it after the game last night as one of their key success factors.

Cheka brought about a common belief (previously missing) among a group of what must be called 'star players' who will now go on to form the bulk of the Australian team to meet a lot of again common faces in the Crusaders team who will very soon roll up as "All Blacks" to meet the Wallabies.

However when asked to comment on this, the 'Tahs' captain Michael Hooper (also the Australian Captain) quickly corrected the reporter with "This is all about the Tahs mate ...all about the Tahs". Absolutely correct, as the common bond found here amongst these "star players" was the mission and the strategy shared by this group of players, provided by an uncommonly inspirational coach.

Cheka was later seen wandering around the ground in a very unpretentious way; in fact he could have been any of the fans who had wandered down from the stand. Well, every one of those fans (and not just the ones who were there) thanks you for delivering on what has been in many past years a painful leaderless mission.

You made the difference 'Chek'. A real Change - bringer!!!

You hear the word 'transformation' loosely thrown around these days in the corporate world in which I dwell. One of the latest management 'weasel words' used politically to reward faceless people who do sometimes very little towards real change in a loosely prescribed initiative. The team is often refreshed quietly every few years (see National Bank this week) for purposes of continuing the reward stream without too much fuss. Much in the way the Waratahs had been!

Perhaps trusting in "letting the head go" might resonate with the new team there if they're remotely interested in pursuing any clear objectives!

The Troubadour

He came to us
as one of us
With a want to try to sing
His songs
were not 'the usual'
but long complex things

He spoke out
on looking out
from beyond your own back door
His call was to lead
not follow ...as before

With no concession
to class or place
as our fathers readily bore
But as an uncompromising
bringer of change...
revolution at the door

Using words
Powerful words
That spoke of freedom and truth
Thoughts he shared
with a growing army
of anxious wide-eyed youth

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

Luther King
The Kennedy's
All praised in their own way
For their part
in social change
the heroes of their day

Yet no engine starts
without a key
The facts are plain to see
A new dialogue
was required
for open thought to breed

Dylan surfaced
He provided that spark
in his shrill compelling voice
Truth spoken out
again and again...
it served enlightened choice

Establishment frowned
...in time gave way
leaving Richard Nixon alone
We all answered
in the western world
J Edgar took a long walk home

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free


From my I-pad - Grahame J Flynn

JFK et al ...how did they really bring about change?

Views in Verse -

On change agents

JFK et al ...how did they really bring about change?

Politicians sometimes can get remarkable credit for their chosen social mandates; but how is real change actually delivered at the coalface? It cannot be done without immense support from all layers of society - the arts included. Even, dare I suggest ...rockstars?

The Troubadour

He came to us
as one of us
With a want to try to sing
His songs 
were not 'the usual'
but long complex things

He spoke out
on looking out
from beyond your own back door
His call was to lead
not follow ...as before

With no concession
to class or place
as our fathers readily bore
But as an uncompromising
bringer of change...
revolution at the door

Using words
Powerful words
That spoke of freedom and truth
Thoughts he shared
with a growing army
of anxious wide-eyed youth

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free

Luther King
The Kennedy's
All praised in their own way
For their part
in social change
the heroes of their day

Yet no engine starts
without a key
The facts are plain to see
A new dialogue
was required
for open thought to breed

Dylan survived
He provided that spark
in his shrill compelling voice
Truth spoken out
again and again...
it served enlightened choice

Establishment frowned
...in time gave way
leaving Richard Nixon alone
We all answered
in the western world
J Edgar took a long walk home

Enter the Troubadour
Let him sing
for he has something to say
We yearn for change
we're pained by war
He's brooding there back-stage
A tidal surge
of youthful thought
We need this better way
The guards are sleeping
The tower rests
We'll leave this very day
As we go
we won't look back
There's little good we see
When they awaken
The only clue given
Will be one hand waving free


From my I-pad - Grahame Flynn