Tackling the Complexity Creep

Initial success leads most organizations to strive and repeat the success on a larger scale, in more complex situations. It implies higher turnover of existing assets plus addition of new assets. These assets could be in the primary areas of physical infrastructure, monetary resources, technology, systems, information and most importantly people. The route taken most often by organizations is to use a similar, if not the same success formula of combining the old and new resources to achieve further success.

Such actions imply that the earlier framework is now stretched to include new resources, tackle new operating situations and deliver expected results. This initial stretch though more complex, with some push delivers the results, albeit in a less efficient manner. As with any system, such stretches would be effective till a point; after which the operating framework would start to fail and result in a tangled mess. It is not too uncommon to see successful, high growth organizations having people across all levels working in ambiguity, isolation and exhaustion, simply because they are unable to comprehend the new complexity of working towards the expected results. Clarity is difficult to come by as it is in short supply. Confusion prevails as this complexity slowly increases over a period of time and past successes. Lets call this process as Complexity Creep.

How to tackle such a Complexity Creep?

A process centric, back to basics approach initiated by the top management can serve well to reduce the complexity creep. It involves asking a few simple questions, collectively answering those and following these with action. The primary aim is to change the existing way of working and simplify operations for higher effectiveness and efficiency.

The first and foremost thing to do is to build a clear understanding of the new organization objectives and the available resources, with their strengths and limitations. It would need to be supplemented by gaining better insight and acceptance of current operating problems. A multi team participation from all stakeholders is recommended to foster ownership and enhance teamwork.

At this stage, it is very helpful to rely on BPM methodologies and build various operating models like Strategy, Business Interactions, Communication, Process, Workflow, SIPOC, Roles, Metrics etc. to consolidate a common understanding of the mentioned activities. Such models necessitate the participants to have a common understanding and acceptance of the new operating framework. There are change management techniques available which help such teams to collectively arrive an accepted way if working.

Once this part is agreed upon, then the time comes to define the manner in which the new approach would be carried out. It can imply decisions regarding the scope of change i.e. product lines, projects, business units etc. and the manner in which such change would be effected. Once the scope is in place, timeframes need to be associated to the plan along with required resources. Metrics also need to be decided to measure organizational performance and arrive at benefits achieved. Finally, establish a clear methodology of implementing the plan and have change management chamions to drive the change.

To ensure the success of such initiatives, some thumb-rules seem to work very well. They are:
• Regular involvement of the organizational leaders and their proven commitment to change
• Ensuring high participation from the scarce pool of top performers
• Professional involvement to provide change management expertise and a third party view