Nick Bird Bsc,MA, MIDM
Prepare to succeed
Preparing to Succeed
Keep it simple Focus on Business Benefits Deliver SMART Embrace Change Deliver Value Fast and Frequently
Planning Success
Understand the here and now
The Process
Knowing what you need to do
Our Principles
Unless you invest time and thought into preparing to succeed, you should prepare to fail. Failing fast and failing early is a strategy followed by larger organisations with money to burn, but there are other options. In this brochure, I will explain how we help you avoid failure and get a return on investments. You do so by following the process I have developed and explain in these pages
Defining what needs to change
Delivering value means defining clear, specific achievable, and relevant actions to measure the success of your project. Without these, it will always be in danger of getting blown off course. In this Virtual workshop, I take you from Vision to the SMART actions you need, to deliver value for your business.
Turn Objectives into Specific Actions
Why is that a problem
Turn each objective into Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timed actions. Use these to manage your project and keep on track to deliver value for your business
Organise the thoughts of you and your team about what your vision means and create clear objectives to deliver value for your business
Knowing what you want to do
"The whole process made sense, and seeing all the teams' thoughts in one place was beneficial. It was also constructive to be able to post documents and diagrams on Miro and keep everything together."
My workshops are managed virtually and use Miro. This means your team can be geographically dispersed.
You know that you need your software to work better for you. It needs to deliver more leads, more business from clients, and keep them longer..... That is great as a Vision, but it isn't specific enough to lead to actions that will deliver the value you are looking for.
Identify Clear and shared Objectives
Marketing Manager
Why is that a problem?
Discover how this works with your IT Infrastructure
It is tempting to think that a project to improve your IT stands in isolation. But these projects rarely are in isolation, and you need to know from where you are starting. Without that you have no direction
I also discover how the systems you want to improve is integrate with your overall IT Architecture, e.g., what data flows where and how. At this point, I also analyse your existing data for completeness and accuracy.
I carry out a thorough systems review so that I know where you and your people are coming from as a firm foundation for my recommendations.
The Systems Audit was much more detailed and thorough than we had anticipated. It also indicated areas of our systems that we need to start using, which led to some quick wins for us. We also identified areas of weakness in our current setup, which was very helpful.
IT Manager
I investigate each functional area of your systems to see how you have set them up. From this, I use traffic light reporting to give you an "at a glance" picture of your current setup based on Best Practices.
Discover how you use your systems now
Understand the Here and Now
The real strength for me is that the people who will have to use the system engage from the start in designing it. The team also saw the project as a chance to do things differently rather than as a criticism.
Hows is this going to work?
Team Leader
Creating your Functional Requirements
I manage this virtual workshop with Miro so that your team can contribute wherever they are. The Miro board is then available for review at any time and is a living record for the Project
But this will look different when you deliver your objectives. We plot both. because thinking about how this happens ensures you don't forget something important - the REAL World
The first step is to consider what living your objectives means for you and your people. There is often a way that you are doing this now. And that has worked, at least to some extent.
From what I uncover, I identify the functional areas in your new or existing ZOHO system that are in need of configuration. That gives us your list of requirements tied back to your objectives and the specific, measurable actions we also identified .
Defining what needs to Change
Projects can't start until you have defined your requirements. Normally these are thought of as technical requirements or specifications, written by experts that you have to sign off - often without understanding the implications. Our focus is delivering business value so we define functional requirements instead tied to SMART actions that measure success in delivering business value
I work with the information collected throughout the process. From this I create a clear Work Break Down structure you can use to purchase my services and or plan your project
The Business Leader
Click on the image
Fixed Cost and Delivery
When I know that the foundations are sound, I plan the delivery of the functionality that we identified in the Defining Change workshop. This plan comprises standardised elements designed to meet your functional requirements that you can find in my online store. The Plan organises these into a clear Work Breakdown Structure which helps you to decide what services to purchase and when.
I have invested a lot of money and resources in IT projects that always go over budget and are delivered late. I often wonder whether they have been worthwhile and how I know they have given me the expected return. Nick has thought about how you measure success and is happy to work at a fixed cost. We also have the flexibility to invest when we want.
First we ensure your system is in good health
It is so easy with technology projects to disappear down rabbit holes. That is because you find shiny bright new toys and exciting gizmos which are outside your plan. You get seduced by their long flaxen hair, and suddenly they become a must-have and end up being solutions looking for a problem to solve. A plan tied back to specific actions that achieve your objectives keeps you focused and aligned.
There is little point in introducing solutions into a broken system. So first, I think about what we found in your existing ZOHO systems that needs improvement or if you are upgrading to ZOHO - plan to get the basics right in your new system.
Visit my Online Store
nick@successinbusiness.co.uk
07983784816
About Me
Call Me
I bring 35 years of experience in Sales and Marketing in every position gained in more than six different Industries, from Laboratory Supplies to Specialist Print, HR and Payroll Outsourcing, IT Infrastructure, and others. I have also run my own business twice and been a registered director of a third which we turned around and sold for £2m. I also bring 15 years of experience in implementing CRM and Marketing software, initially being a Microsoft Certified Professional working with Dynamics and for more than five years as an Authorised ZOHO Partner. During this time I have also spent time building on my education, gaining both academic and professional Marketing, Change Management, and Project Management accreditations
https://www.successfulcrmstore.online/
Nick Bird Bsc(hons), MA, MIDM
