"The longest journey begins
with a single step" (Ancient Chinese Proverb)
Be serious about sponsorship.
As I mentioned in the introduction to Dig for Victory, an intranet portal project may well be the first and last project
in your organisation that truly touches everyone.
Such a change is not to be toyed with, and getting your sponsorship right is very important. Two mistakes are often made:
Do not lead from middle management
We can lead this as an information or
knowledge-based initiative, out of middle management, right? Wrong!
You are embarking on a significant investment, both financially and culturally. You will need board level sponsors to support your case.
Don't start small and hope it will 'catch on'. You'll never make it work!
Do not look for a single sponsor
A single sponsorship – say from our IS
Director – is all we need to get this going.
Wrong! A portal s a truly cross-functional investment, with benefits in several areas. You need multiple sponsorships or risk falling foul of the "not-invented-here" syndrome.
Furthermore, if your IS department makes all the running, you risk positioning the project as a technical piece, rather than as the truly transformational business and
process change initiative that it is.
Alternatively, if seen as a knowledge based initiative, it may be perceived to lack a hard edge in terms of benefits.
Natural Allies
Although you may not realise it yet, there are many
natural allies out there, just waiting to be pressed to your cause.
HR Director
Needs to improve service quality and/or reduce
service costs. Attracted by self service people processes.
Finance Director
Wants the business
to manage for shareholder value creation. Attracted by real-time business intelligence to decision makers.
Commercial Director
Cheaper transaction costs, supply chain management
efficiencies and collaboration are all of interest.
Wants to bring management and the workforce closer together
through targeted, timely and interactive comms.
Marketing Director
Wants the workforce to live the brand values and to fully
understand products, services and competitor activity.
This is not, of course, an exhaustive list,
but it does give you an idea of just how many senior executives within your organisation are likely to be receptive to your message.
Natural Opponents
Operational Managers (say for example in Call Centres) may
perceive a portal as an expensive toy which will distract their staff from their work.
In fact, their people themselves will confirm that a portal can make a vital contribution to
their productivity and their ability to better serve their customers. Much of this is about trust!
Do not underestimate opposition, but be confident; you can turn them to the
dark side of the force!
Research your Executive
Try to research your executive team. One or two may have experienced a world class portal or intranet in a previous company. Such individuals tend to be pivotal to the decision.
