In the kick-off session of "The USM Revolution" webinar series (https://ow.ly/1Stl50SqH3b) on the Unified Service Management method, we received more live questions than we could handle online. Let's now answer Live Question 4:
"What is the most important consideration when implementing USM?"
The hashtagshort answer is "Unlearning". Service management experts are rather stuck in the past, as they've been fed practice-based ideas for decades.
The hashtaglonger answer would be "Unlearning and then re-learning, using simple logic to simplify Service Management".
In some peculiar way, most service experts (at least those involved in IT) seem to be stuck at level 1 or 2 of the USM Value Maturity Model: hashtagtechnology-driven or hashtagsystem-driven levels where hashtagOperational hashtagExcellence thrives (https://lnkd.in/ejkWf59n). Some are trying hard to climb up towards level 3 for a hashtagService hashtagExcellence strategy, but hardly anyone reaches that phase - let alone the hashtagcustomer-driven level 4 where hashtagCustomer hashtagExcellence is the ultimate strategy.
This is largely caused by the fact that 'we' have all been learning how to use (best) hashtagpractices to set up our service organizations. And practices should have been the hashtagresult of that exercise - not the beginning. The beginning should have been based on a hashtagfundament, a foundation, that is created by an hashtagarchitecture. This architecture should have been used to create sustainable hashtagsolutions for the management of service delivery. If you want to create sustainable solutions, you begin at the beginning, not at the end. That is the message of USM. And it is a simple message, that can be deployed with a simple approach, making everything much simpler in the Service Management domain. It only requires hashtagunlearning.
But when the whole hashtagtraining market focuses on teaching practice-based approaches, who can resist that? When the whole hashtagconsultancy market focuses on advising practice-based approaches, who can resist that? When the whole hashtagtooling market focuses on supplying practice-based tools with a module for each practice, who can resist that? This created an economy where practice-based thinking has been the only option on the table. And by now, it may be clear: this was not really 'best practice'.
So, we learned to deal with that. We struggled with expensive trainings that we couldn't apply the next day. We hired the next and the next consultant when improvement plans didn't deliver what we expected. And we replaced our tooling every 4-5 years, because it didn't work as we hoped. And we paid the price.
Which caries us back to the short answer: "Unlearning". 🙂
Unlearning is a very painful experience, but if you succeed, you'll be highly rewarded. And if you're a provider of training, consultancy, or tooling, your customers will benefit.
Please join the next sessions on USM. On August 20, we'll discuss the concept of a hashtagservice, a hugely misunderstood 'thing'. Details are here: https://ow.ly/hi5v50SJO4O.