“Implementation Intelligence”©

The intersection of three powerful factors - capacity, competence, and confidence, creates implementation intelligence. Unfortunately and more often that not, organizations as well as product, program, practice, or service providers fail to assess, develop, monitor and adjust for each of these to determine whether or not their “solution” will be implemented effectively.

First and foremost, too many assumptions are made. 

One very common assumption is either under or over estimating “change”.  Teetering on the obvious, organizations are in constant change but very few actually have a change management plan or a theory of action for change.  This in part explains why change and “changing” runs the gambit of emotions, feelings, and experiences not to mention success or failure of implementation.

Why is this?

Lack of implementation intelligence is my quick and easy but not so simple to do response.  Change management is well documented.  As we have each experienced, there is no linear, predictable, or tried and true path for change or changing.  Yet, there are factors that, if addressed and planned for, can reduce or minimize the deviation that so often undermines the best of intentions with implementing “new” or “different”. 

Previously I shared a very cursory look at the capacity factor.  In this piece, I will share in a like manner, the competence factor.  As it suggests, competence connotes “an ability to do something successfully or efficiently”.  Words like adequate or sufficient are associated but lack, I think, the quantitative nature of being competent.  Being competent is where acquired and learned skills, knowledge, and application collide to produce results or evidence of competence.  

Akin to the difference of an educator being highly qualified versus being high effective, the designation of highly qualified by its definition has little to do with the “effect” of the educator.  Rather, it was believed that a college degree, state certification and a subject matter or grade level test equaled “effective”.  We now know that what constitutes high qualified is just the starting line not the finish line.

We learned that being qualified does not mean being competent according to my definition.  To be competent would require the degree, certification, and test score producing an “effect” - the “effect” being learning growth and improvement as a result of instruction.

Many folks get uncomfortable with the term or concept of competent.  Let me dispel one association many make with the antithesis of competent – incompetent.  When we are learning to do something for the first time we are incompetent.  It doesn’t mean we are unintelligent it means we have not acquired the skills, knowledge, or application to successfully and efficiently use, do, employ, or etc. whatever it is we’re learning.

Competent as it relates to the implementation of product, program, practice, or service is similar.  When an organization is learning  “new” they are incompetent.  Shifting from incompetent to competent does not have to be complicated.

Central to the shift is learning if, and to what extent, the organization has a change management strategy or theory of action?  Have they used it successfully in a previous implementation?  If yes, how?  If no, do they know why it didn’t work? What did they learn?

This is not about the company’s theory of action or change management system.  Rather it is the organization that is implementing that is of paramount importance.

How pervasive within the organization is the awareness and understanding of the “what”, “why” of the new product, practice, program or service?

Lastly let me suggest that seldom do organizations authentically and transparently change what they know to change what they do.  Asking, “What must the organization ‘un’ learn or suspend to learn something new?” will provoke different thinking – a first step in learning.

To increase the likelihood of implementation success begins with understanding myriad assumptions about individual and organizational competence. When it comes to implementation intelligence the commitment to recognize, assess, and plan for competence is critical.