Dynamics 365 projects fail for many reasons.
In ‘Series Intro - Top 10 Governance Structures to Guarantee Dynamics 365 Success’, we outlined how we define a failure in Dynamics 365 (D365) & Power Platform (PP) projects.
Without the correct governance structures in place, common symptoms start to appear and imminent death, project death, is just around the corner.
This death is avoidable through good governance structures, our best practices for which we’ll be sharing throughout these posts.
Each governance structure identified in our series has its own requirements and impact.
In this monthly series, one of our lead consultants, Richard White, shares his real-world experiences of how these structures affect the organisations that use, or fail to use, them correctly.
Following our last post on Business Process Reengineering (BPR), the next strategy to avoid project death is The Corporate Mindset.
Once again, we will look at what it is, the symptoms you will notice from its absence, how you embed it within an organisation, and the benefits that come from its existence.
What is corporate mindset?
By corporate mindset, we mean the shared goals, values, and unwritten rules of an organisation. It’s closely linked to an organisation’s culture. The right corporate mindset is united, sees people pulling in the same direction and is conducive to project success—in this case, the success of the D365 & PP implementation.
Without it, you’re unlikely to see other governance structures fully embraced. While I stated in the last post that doing without business process re-engineering has the most disastrous effects, corporate mindset is simply essential to success—without it, failure is guaranteed.
What are the risks of not having a good corporate mindset?
There is a reason we’ve saved this post till last. While it’s the key piece of the puzzle, it’s better understood in the context of the other governance structures—it relates to all of them. That’s because organisations that don’t have the right corporate mindset will often struggle to get any of the previous 9 structures set up properly.
There’s a big difference between technically having a steering group, a design authority, or a change advisory board, and actually making use of those structures. A huge part of that comes down to mindset. You need to have the foundation to properly govern all these other best practices.
Is there a culture of supporting users, a desire to share successes, or adherence to Agile principles—in short, is the entire organisation, from top to bottom, invested in the success of the project? You can have all the groups in the world in place, but if no-one cares about the outcome, they’re not going to deliver results.
The symptoms of failing to embed the right principles in your corporate mindset read like a who’s who of our previous posts. You’ll experience every negative symptom of each of the governance structures before—from departmental infighting and expensive maintenance issues to disengaged users and bad reputations.
But in short, your project death will be defined by three things:
It won’t be willingly adopted by users because it doesn't make their lives better.
It will fail customers who do not learn to love dealing with the organisation through the technology.
It will fail in a material way by not accelerating the business.
Essentially, the system doesn’t become truly embedded and never feels like a seamless part of the business. From personal experience, I can tell you that working in these organisations and trying to move them forwards is exhausting!
What are the benefits of having the right corporate mindset?
But there’s good news too. When an organisation does get its corporate mindset right,
the results can be incredible. Everyone shares the same vision of success, buys into the long-term goals of the project, and understands both the short-term objectives and the pathway to get there.
Organisations with the right mindset are often buzzing with a positive vibrant energy that cannot be mistaken. I can sense very shortly after walking into an organisation whether they have it or not.
I had the pleasure of working with one such organisation where their D365 & PP system ran like clockwork. It was magical. Was it because of the software itself? Well, you’ll know by now that I do love Dynamics—a little too much at times!—but I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the very ugly sides of it in my career.
This smooth-running operation wasn’t down to the software. It wasn’t even the way it was implemented—dig deeper and it was all down to the mindset of the organisation.
The leadership team were aligned. They had a vision for greatness and efficiency that embraced creativity, empowerment, and communication. They set incredibly high standards and sold their vision to the managers, who in turn sold it to the staff. Everyone knew what they were doing and why.
Yes, almost all of the other 9 governance structures were in place. But why had putting those in place been so easy for them? Because of their mindset. It felt like it was embedded in their DNA. As a result, they had produced the best system I’ve ever seen, and they were a joy to work with. Getting things done was easy because everyone was pulling in the same direction.
How to put the right corporate mindset in place
If only there was a simple gauge for this, I would’ve been saved a lot of stress over the years! But corporate mindset isn’t something that’s as simple as right or wrong. It covers everyone within the organisation and every organisation is somewhere on a spectrum.
That said, looking at the leadership gives you a good idea. It starts at the top, where alignment is the ideal. Leadership should agree on what great looks like and commit to leading the organisation there. They should craft a vision and communicate it effectively down the chain. Even without top-level alignment, mindset improvement is possible. One person in the leadership team can become an advocate of the changes that need to happen.
That vision will differ between organisations, but most will be close to what we promote at 365 InHouse, a simple summary of what an organisation’s mindsets should be focused on: Giving sufficient priority in terms of time, budget and importance to ensure the D365 & PP implementation is adopted by users, loved by customers and accelerate the business.
From there, managers are the key next step. Management guru John Kotter points out that the managers are the ones that implement leadership’s vision. They can enable or block it, so you need them on side. Empower them and other influential leaders within your organisation to chase quick wins, celebrate success, and disseminate information to build on those changes. Fostering that alignment and supporting managers will reap dividends.
The challenges of building the right corporate mindset
There’s a certain chicken and egg nature between mindset and the other 9 governance structures—it’s easier to implement them with a strong corporate mindset, but each structure you implement will improve the organisation’s mindset.
As with most of these posts, I’d just recommend starting somewhere. Don’t be discouraged if you’re far from the ideal—see it as an exciting challenge and begin with a small change. Changing an organisation’s mindset takes time, but with great leadership empowering those changes, successful implementation is closer than you think.
That all but wraps up our ‘Top 10 Governance Structure to Guarantee Dynamics 365 Success’ series, but I’ve got a bonus post planned for you: a documentation checklist to help you on your journey to a better D365 & PP implementation.
Documentation is often the hardest thing to stay on top of. It can be a pain to update, and sometimes the benefits of it aren’t always apparent. It can feel like a burden and it’s easier to forget about or think of as someone else’s problem instead of keeping it up to date and on track.
But it’s also incredibly important. In the bonus post, I’ll walk through why you need it and the issues you may face by not being on top of it, as well as the specific documentation your organisation needs and how to stay up to date.
I’ve felt compelled to include it as its own post, as I’ve seen companies become very stuck without getting this right. I’ll explain more in the post, so if you want to get that and other useful content straight to your inbox, then be sure to sign up to the mailing list below.
If you want more of a one-to-one discussion, then I am always happy to learn about your specific situation and do anything I can to help. Feel free to direct message me on LinkedIn.
Richard S White
365 InHouse Founder & CEO
A seasoned Digital Transformation Executive renowned for leading high-performance teams towards innovative and strategic technology solutions. Specialises in steering organisations through complex digital transformations, fostering productive and accountable partnerships. Known for effectively guiding projects to success, aligning them with business objectives, and enhancing organisational self-sufficiency. Skilled in blending technology with business strategy, adept at facilitating candid discussions, aligning stakeholders, and crafting strategic roadmaps, positioned as an invaluable asset for organisations navigating the complexities of digital transformation.
Want help with your specific situation? Connect with Richard on LinkedIn to setup a free no obligation virtual coffee: http://linkedin.com/in/richardswhite/
Comments