Flowcharts are standard tools for delivering projects. At an overall project level, it depicts, from left to right, what needs to be done and the rough sequence, with the project concluding when the goal is achieved in the final box on the right.
The goal is the box on the right. Every project, or change initiative, should begin by thoughtfully exploring what should go in that box. Some people call this “thinking from right to left”, and other people in various disciplines have used different language to describe what is fundamentally the same idea.
“Backcasting” is a term coined by University of Toronto Professor John B. Robinson to help in urban, environmental and energy planning. Backcasting starts by developing a detailed description of the desirable future state and then you work backwards to determine what needs to happen for that aspirational future state to become reality.
The key is detailed. The more detailed and specific you can articulate the desired future, the better.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is a Backcasting superstar and an inventor at heart. One of his brilliant inventions/innovations is the PR/FAQ document. His brainstormed idea was to make the traditional last step in a project, the first. To pitch a new project and have it embraced at Amazon, you need to write a PR/FAQ document – outlining the desired future state of the project, including the goal of the effort in the opening sentences of the press release.
The initial PR/FAQ document is shared with the leadership team, who meet and read the document in silence. Then they begin to provide input and feedback. People ask hard questions and engage in intense debate, discussing key ideas about the project, very focused on the goal and how it will help the customer.
The author of the PR/FAQ document then takes the feedback into account, revises the document and brings it back to the group. And this process unfolds again. And again. And again. Everything about the project is pressure tested and improved through multiple iterations. And the beautiful thing is that the concept that finally emerges is seen with equal clarity amongst the team and, importantly, everyone is on the same page from the start of the project.
Everything that happens after project approval is working backwards from the PR/FAQ – essentially backcasting from what’s in the box on the right.
The critical component of the approach is that the box on the right – the goal of the project/initiative or the desired future state – is a written narrative.
When you need to document your project using proper sentences and complete thoughts, it makes a significant difference to the quality of the idea/proposal. You can’t hide behind PowerPoint bullet points, and the thinking needs to be clear, concise and able to be understood by a critical team reading the document. This forces the project leader/team to think better. Getting people’s involvement and feedback through multiple iterations strengthens the narrative and helps to build commitment.
At Demand Clarity, when it comes to narratives, we’ve become Bezos disciples. We now use a 6-page written narrative for both our initial assessments of how well a retailer is in terms of planning and for outlining our future state recommendations – whereby we usually articulate how Flowcasting could work for the retail customer/client. The narrative approach has improved our thinking and the quality of the work we’ve delivered.
However, what’s inside the box on the right can also be used early during the project as a key change management mechanism for articulating the change and, more importantly, building commitment and ownership – especially amongst the senior leaders and sponsors.
The idea would be to document a future-dated PR/FAQ document to describe the end-state transformation to a Flowcasting-driven, integrated inventory flow planning process, whereby everyone in the extended eco-system was planning to a single set of numbers. The document should outline how the extended organization (including suppliers) would be working in the future and, importantly, contain quotes from all key stakeholders about the impact of the change. These quotes are building commitment for change.
This change-focused PR/FAQ document would be shared and referenced throughout the project teams and leadership/governance teams to help ensure people stay focused on the goal, understand the change and stay committed to the transformation. The written narrative about what’s in the box on the right becomes the rallying call for change.
I’m pretty sure you’ve heard the phrase “you need to think outside the box”. Sure, that’s good advice in many cases but to drive real, meaningful and lasting change you need to start by articulating, in detail, the desired change or future state.
You need to “think inside the box”.
The box on the right.