{"id":42,"date":"2019-06-10T10:44:55","date_gmt":"2019-06-10T17:44:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/?p=42"},"modified":"2019-06-10T10:44:55","modified_gmt":"2019-06-10T17:44:55","slug":"raci-dads-and-wiifm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/uncategorized\/raci-dads-and-wiifm\/","title":{"rendered":"RACI, DADS and WIIFM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Barry\u2019s Guide To Accountability and Initiatives in Big Organizations<\/h2>\n

You\u2019ve just been given a new task: drive a significant change across your entire organization. Maybe that means driving all teams to a common reporting system or getting all the teams to use the new CRM system or even just getting everybody to use the same logo on their communications. <\/p>\n

I feel your pain. <\/p>\n

Sometimes, the organization readily adopts change, can\u2019t wait to change, actually. Team leaders welcome you at their door. <\/p>\n

But more often, it\u2019s harder. Conflicting priorities, deadlines, even personalities can throw sand in the gears of success. <\/p>\n

The RACI Chart<\/h3>\n

One of the most common tools that the initiative manager has at their disposal is the ubiquitous RACI chart, which lays out which people and which roles are Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and Informed. <\/p>\n

Imagine you\u2019re driving a new program. Who has decision-making responsibilities, and who can only speak out (but has little or no authority)? <\/p>\n

The RACI chart can help:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(There are many ways to draw a RACI. This is a very simple one to make the point.) <\/p>\n

In this case, the GM, at the end of the day, responsible for the product. It fails, and it\u2019s the GM\u2019s head. The CxO and SVP, as important as they are, are consulted for resources (etc.) and informed of progress, but do not have day-to-day decision-making responsibility as the GM does. The next level of management \u2013 development manager and so on \u2013 are accountable for getting their pieces of the project done, and various other folks may be kept in the loop and\/or asked for their opinions. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s usually bad if more than one person or role is responsible, for obvious reasons. <\/p>\n

Now this is just a review. If you\u2019ve worked in large organizations, you know all about RACI\u2019s \u2013 probably more than me. <\/p>\n

But the RACI is just a part of the picture. <\/p>\n

The DADS Chart<\/h3>\n

A while back I was managing a function that required the active participation and support of a large number of teams. (Yes, you\u2019re right: lots of responsibility and not a lot of, if any, authority.) <\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t going all that well, and I realized that certain roles and people had the authority to place roadblocks in the way of my initiative. <\/p>\n

Enter the DADS chart:<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a> <\/p>\n

Think of it as the \u201cdark side\u201d of RACI: it tells who\u2019s empowered to slow you down, and how much. Some people feel like they can disagree with you \u2013 but you can still get your way. Others will argue \u2013 at great length \u2013 slowing you, and your project, down and wearing you out.<\/p>\n

More seriously, some will deny you the resources to do your job. Maybe you need somebody\u2019s time for one day a week. Maybe you need to borrow some compute resources. What if they don\u2019t want to give them to you?<\/p>\n

And then there are those that can just say no and shut the damn thing down.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the DADS chart. Obviously, the more X\u2019s you see on the chart \u2013 the worse position you\u2019re in. <\/p>\n

Don\u2019t think your org \u201chas\u201d a DADS? <\/p>\n

Wake up and smell the coffee. <\/p>\n

Why Your Project Will Never Succeed<\/h3>\n

Over the years, incidentally, I\u2019ve cataloged many of the reasons why those people will tell you your project is hopeless and you\u2019re wasting your time and theirs. <\/p>\n

Here are some. How many have you heard?<\/p>\n

\u2022\tThis will never work in this organization.
\n\u2022\tWe tried that before, and it didn\u2019t work.
\n\u2022\tI don\u2019t understand it.
\n\u2022\tI can\u2019t see the benefit.
\n\u2022\tWe already have enough change going on.
\n\u2022\tIt\u2019s too expensive.
\n\u2022\tI don\u2019t have the resources.
\n\u2022\tIt requires retraining the teams.
\n\u2022\tIt would disrupt current work streams, which are critical.
\n\u2022\t[Some very influential person] hates this idea.
\n\u2022\t[Some very influential person] hates the person whose idea this was.
\n\u2022\t[Some very influential person] hates you. <\/p>\n

WIIFM<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s say you have a lot of X\u2019s on your DADS chart. How can you possibly make progress? <\/p>\n

Recognize that it\u2019s going to take a lot of work, and by work, I mean meetings, and by meetings, I mean politics. Cajoling, arm-twisting, threatening, begging \u2013 whatever tack you take, it all comes down to one simple phrase:<\/p>\n

WIIFM.<\/p>\n

WIIFM: What\u2019s In It For Me?<\/h3>\n

You can (almost) always change somebody\u2019s mind if you give them a stake in your goals. Some of these are easy: they help you, you\u2019ll help them get that promotion, or that raise, or that bonus. Or maybe you\u2019ll say nice things about them to the CxO in a big, visible meeting. <\/p>\n

More often, it turns into horse-trading. They help you, you loan them one of your best players for a week or a month. Or give their group priority on PC upgrades instead of your team. <\/p>\n

Failing all of those, there\u2019s always the Wall of Shame: that very public list \u2013 in a newsletter or on an intranet site somewhere \u2013 of Who Didn\u2019t Help. You have to be careful with this one because (obviously) you can piss people off \u2013 and the resulting grudges can last a long time. <\/p>\n

You May Want a New Job Now<\/h3>\n

All that having been said, the satisfaction of driving a successful change can be exhilarating. Some people live for it. Others hate all drudgery of it all (I fall somewhere in the middle). Regardless, knowing what you\u2019re in for \u2013 and not being surprised by all the DADS\u2019ers \u2013 can open your eyes and, if you play your cards right, accelerate your project.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re welcome. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Barry\u2019s Guide To Accountability and Initiatives in Big Organizations You\u2019ve just been given a new task: drive a significant change across your entire organization. Maybe that means driving all teams to a common reporting system or getting all the teams to use the new CRM system or even just getting everybody to use the same … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “RACI, DADS and WIIFM”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-42","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50,"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42\/revisions\/50"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.barrybriggs.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}