Even if all of the numbers, costs, timelines, etc. are in line with your business, adopting an entirely new workflow platform can still be a daunting task. For example, with Studio Bridge we’ve talked to potential clients in the past who have obvious efficiency gaps within their process that the platform would solve. The cost analysis shows that there’s a clear ROI, the team has tested and are confident, yet the business is still hesitant to move forward, which has often made me wonder, “Why?”. While I’ve come to know that each situation comes with its context and set of challenges, it got me thinking about how much courage it takes to make big changes within your existing workflow platform.
Signing up to work across multiple departments, users, and change the status quo takes real guts. Below I’ve included a few things to think about that can help mitigate the risk, and help rationally find the courage to make the case internally that the goal is worth pursuing:
What Do You stand to Lose vs. What You Stand to Gain?
What’s the worst-case scenario? Most likely it’s wasting time, money, and resources pursuing an option that doesn’t give you what you need. At Studio Bridge we help mitigate the worst-case scenario in a few ways:
Project and Product discovery to understand and present clear, achievable solutions to existing problems. This ensures your problems can and will be solved. We also look into your transition of moving onto a third party studio SaaS solution.
Clear project breakdown and timelines. With Studio Bridge, as with any third party, you’re working with, you should have a clear outline and understanding of the timelines of the project. With Studio Bridge, you don’t have to pay until you start using the product, which works to incentives both parties’ interest in getting you what you need in the timelines that they’re expected.
The vendor assumes the majority of the financial risk. With Studio Bridge if there’s extensive work required to build, customize, and integrate upfront we only take a deposit that covers the work required, there’s no margin baked in. If there’s little to no integration/customization work, then you only pay per product as you use the platform. This means that there are no long-term contracts and you only pay for what you use.
We’re so confident that our clients will be happy with using our product, that we don’t require long term contracts for our standard per product rates. It’s that simple. And it also puts the onus on Studio Bridge to ensure we’re offering you the best product and best service.
Lastly, when it comes to costing often the numbers can be broken out in black and white by comparing your current costs and productivity against the expected outcomes by implementing the change. With Studio Bridge we have an ROI calculator that we share with potential customers where they can plug in their current costs and see what a minimum, average, and high-efficiency outcome will impact their current operation. This is a really helpful exercise that any vendor worth talking to should provide you
Analyze How the Last Big Change Was Handled
- What was the good?
List out the things that went well on the project, and how can you ensure success in these same areas on the new project that you’re considering? This could be identifying POCs who stepped up last time and proved that they can be trusted to guide and lead on the next project. Or maybe during the last project you found specific avenues and POCs within other departments that could help make the new one more smooth from the start?
- What was the bad?
List the parts of the last project that didn’t go so well. Think about why they didn’t go so well, and what could’ve been changed or adjusted to potentially change the negative outcome? Often by making minor adjustments or just having the experience to avoid pitfalls can make the second go-round of a large project exponentially smoother.
- How is this new project similar and how can you apply the learnings?
Let’s say the last project attempt was a disaster, which now has everyone a bit nervous about moving forward. It’s important to remember that if you compare everything to that failed project, you’re essentially cutting yourself off from progress. Big wins come from taking risks. It’s often the big projects that push the boundaries of what you think your team/department is capable of that pushes everyone into accomplishing something that they didn’t even realize was possible. As an additional benefit, big projects where teams achieve the impossible, often have a positive byproduct of team bonding and camaraderie.
- How do you eat an elephant?
When I was growing up, any time I was faced with a big challenge that was going to take time and many steps to complete, my dad would say, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer? “One bite at a time”. This is important to remember when working on a large-scale project that’s going to come with a lot of change. Sometimes it’s easy to envision the end goal, but when you start working backward to see how to get there it can feel overwhelming. This is where it’s important to break down the project into actionable and measurable timelines. With Studio Bridge, we aim to start with the basics of your workflow first. Attempting to reduce the grade of the learning curve as much as possible. This is achieved by first building a solid foundation that supports your existing workflow, then using that foundation to build scalable features and improvements on top.
These are just a few areas to consider when contemplating a big change to your workflow platform. I hope that if you find yourself in the process of taking the risk to make big changes, that you’re able to find the courage and support to make it a reality. I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments about where you’ve had the guts to make big changes or maybe other aspects that have prevented big changes from happening? As always if you’re looking to improve your Studio and Content operations for your website, we at Studio Bridge would love to chat about how we can help. www.studiobridge.io