Carlsberg [CPH:CARL-B]

Large scale, technology-led, manufacturing transformation programs, especially when it involves new technologies, are difficult to plan because of inherent unknowns; Can the technology fulfill its promise? Are the business objectives realistic? Will employees and business partners adopt new technology?...

If such a program is not meeting the business objectives, the pragmatic answer is to cancel it.

But there is another answer: a pivot

A ‘pivot’ is start-up jargon for resetting objectives based on learnings or assets from a past initiative. In start-up circles, a pivot is a badge of honor; it’s proof that the team is entrepreneurial; focused on results as opposed to the process. The likelihood of success of a team that pivoted is deemed to be higher than for a team that has not.

Pivots can be a source of competitive advantage because it builds on the team’s unique investments and experience of what works and, critically, what does not work.

A good pivot is executed with planning and consensus. Pivoting is not and should never be treated as “shooting from the hip” or “trying something to see if it sticks.” To successfully pivot, consider the following approach:

Be your strongest critic.

Closely track the program’s performance. Regularly review the risk register. Question everything constructively. Be a bit suspicious--if everything is going well, assume you’ve overlooked at least one big issue and find it!

 If you are a project leader or project sponsor, instill a team culture of honest, supportive dialogue; get the team to embrace and expect that not everything goes according to plan.

Pick the right moment to pivot

Pivot at some point between having evidence that things are not working as planned and before things start going very badly; it is subjective. Don’t flinch at the first sign of difficulties, but do not keep doing what is known not to be working.

Some indicators that it’s time for pivot include

• the team appears to be spending more time dealing with problems than progressing, and
• the technology is working, but the business impact targets are not being met.

Plan the pivot

Find the root cause for not meeting targets. Restate the program’s working assumptions to date; reassess what they were based on and identify which assumptions are being disproven. Use data to be very clear about what is not working.

A pivot is a significant change to the program’s goals. It requires a new scope; approach; business assumptions, cost estimates, and impact analyses. Getting the whole team involved helps to build a robust pivot plan, ensure buy-in for the need to change, and to enable the team to pivot quickly.

Make the case to pivot.

Build a case that convinces senior stakeholders that the pivot is required to meet the existing (or new) business objectives. Explain what assumptions changed; what was learned, and how the pivot will be executed. Summaries the expected benefits-- ideally, compared to the business impact of not pivoting.

Is there greener grass?

Pivots need not only be done in the case of issues. A pivot can be done if the program exposes more lucrative business opportunities.

In this case, the approach to pivot is very similar to the one above except that it requires a wider scope of attention. Some indicators that it’s time pivot include

• some business targets are being easily exceeded and
• users are finding unforeseen applications of the technology.

In other words, when it comes to successfully pursuing a large-scale, technology-led, manufacturing transformation program, always be on the look-out for a pivot.