Too close to the wire…?

Nature likes redundancy.  That’s why we have 2 eyes, 2 kidneys, even 2 brains.  If one fails, we can still keep going.  I’m not entirely sure why we don’t have 2 hearts, or two livers, but maybe they’re protected behind thick cage because there’s only one of each.   That’s nature reducing likelihood of risk, because the impact of damage to these organs is so high.

So, consider a business change to a new target operating model (TOM).  Does the new TOM have some redundancy built in, or is it always working at 99% capacity?  If so, what happens if 5% of the staff leave suddenly, and there’s a struggle to replace them? What will you compromise on then? Quality, cost, time?

Of course the umberella may have other uses, too

Or a change programme – are there enough people of the team to deliver all components, to plan? If not, regardless of dedication and heroics  from the team during the delivery of the change, the risk of failure can be very high, damaging the investment, the benefits, as well as the morale and reputation of the delivery team.

So, work the team hard, but not unreasonably; get good value from the members, but make sure you can cope if something happens.   Like taking an umberella on a cloudy day – it’s often better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

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