In Good to Great, Jim Collins espoused the importance of getting the right people on the bus. You can then assign the appropriate seats on the bus, and then you can take the bus wherever you want to go. The point is, the hardest part of being successful, and the most important component, is the people.
As I mentioned in my last post (insert name), each and every project, especially early on, will be critical. You can’t afford failures, and that starts with the people. Marginal Change Management practitioners are a liability and certainly will put your project at risk. Failure can be disastrous, not just for the project at hand, but the impact that it can have you on your practice.
Secondly, every project is different. In more than twenty years of project work, I’ve never come across the same project twice. Each and every one has unique elements, regardless of how “cookie cutter” it may seem at the outset. Sharp, experienced Change Management practitioners will have the ability to think, assess, strategize, and execute on their project, incorporating their uniqueness and also changing project conditions.
Thirdly, on each engagement, and again especially as you are building and growing your practice, you need to over deliver. You clients and colleagues alike need to see that they’re getting more return and ultimately more value than they had planned or even expected.
Finally, having the right people will allow you to grow your practice. If you’re like me, you aren’t able to hire a large number of practitioners out of the gate. No, your success will breed demand and allow you to build supply. The people who you have onboard in the beginning will be those you build around going forward.