What is it and how can it be so effective?

ACP is a distillation of a lasting and sustainable process for change. ACP is the methodology which delivers the key activities set within a sequence of carefully timed events to produce deliverable and implementable results.

Can the results be that fast?

Yes. The process requires people at all levels to commit to performance issues and monitor metrics which they develop themselves. The events are closely led and facilitated. Because ACP has such a high profile, energy expended by all members of the ACP teams is focused initially on ‘working on a short term fix’ in order to put a preventative ‘error free’ solution in place.

Isn’t a short-term fix the wrong way to go?

Time is not always on our side but commitment is – by doing something, no matter what, to fix things in the real world demonstrates a strong desire for action. Taking action with a firm committed drive to prevent persistent problems arising again has to be the best way. Using the talents of the people who work the process is central. People who do the work, rather than those who manage it, probably have more than 80% of the solutions!

What about the scale of projects – are they all Manufacturing issues?

No. There is a great deal of progress, which can be made in many businesses especially in the service or support functions. Often ‘functionalism’ blinds people to the real benefits of working together, across boundaries for the best results – in any environment!

Cross Functional Teams drive change – is that the norm?

ACP drives close co-operative action plans between functions – synergy will never arise while people stay comfortable in their functional silos.

Give examples of typical projects!

They range from Customer Service and Manufacturing problems to Post Acquisition integration, Cross-functional working on R & D, Customer Service delivery, Sales, Marketing, Quality Improvement and HR issues. ACP is mostly used in environments that need a rapid improvement to deliver tangible results – often where there is a deviation from the ‘planned performance’ that needs to be desperately corrected – yesterday.

Is ACP a panacea?

The methodology is probably as close as you will get to one – it can drive any change. The key requirement is the commitment of the project Sponsors to open gates and devote resource to those who work the process - the core people. And ACP can be applied to any organisational problem, which brings the core constituents of problem issues .

How does it work?

Prior to the event, those who commit to drive a solution to a corporate or business problem meet with the ACP trainer to focus upon agreeing resource to achieve results. Pre ACP Workshop material is presented and work starts even before the ACP Workshop session. People who are critical as ‘knowledge resource’ in resolving the issues are quickly identified to become part of the team to drive and more importantly implement results of the event.

Core constituents are brought together for 72 hours to apply ACP to their problem. The Workshop involves all constituents focusing entirely upon actions and implementation issues. The final half-day of the three days is invested in focusing upon implementation plans and presenting these to the top teams of the business – together with detailed action plans. It is our stated goal that the Implementation Plan has to be accepted in its entirety by the rest of the organisation within 48 hours of leaving the Workshop. This ensures practical solutions and constant communication between the ACP teams and those back at the ranch. The plan will then be monitored over a six week period and installation completed.

Six weeks – is that long enough to work on projects?

If projects last more than six weeks, people lose interest. It is critical that change is sustained and improved over this short period. If a solution takes too much longer then the problem was probably not defined closely enough – and was therefore too big to defeat with a six-week burst of energy.

What does the ACP work so well?

It is a high energy, high profile event driven over a six-week time span. An investment of 72 hours is required to really work the problem. As many as 30-50 people can be incorporated in an ACP event. Selection of high-energy contributors is essential.

How many issues can be tackled at once?

Because of the six-week time span many issues can be driven at the same time because of the development of multiple teams. As more issues are clarified and loops closed, more and more people are trained in the process.

Who drives the process?

It is best to work with the managerial and supervisory group first to test for commitment. A diagonal slice of the organisation can then be committed to the training process. Critical mass for implementation can take place with a surprising number of trained people. Sponsors, those senior in the business, must commit some of their time to make the process work. Their involvement makes things even better.

If we want ACP to become the dominat culture after the initial event does the ACP Trainer training take long?

No. If you want your own army, your own resource of Trainers it can start tomorrow. It depends how long you want it to take – it normally should be complete within 6 days, best delivered in 2-day sessions, over a three week time span, with action plans being completed between sessions. Developing a selection of line managers and others as Trainers ensures that you have the internal capability for driving any change, any time!

What about the ACP teams – are they reliant on super confident contributors?

No. The enthusiasm of those undertaking the training helps accelerate events – but realistically this can be very low in many organisations. We know that some people will attend who may not be normal team drivers. It is our first project to develop their skills and competence to manage change. If some participants lack confidence – this is the right process for them. At the end of the 72 hours they will leave the Workshop far more focused and brimming with ‘self esteem’ ready for their next project.

What does the ACP ‘72’ hour session cover?

It is very focused and concentrates upon initially creating short-term fixes – with a commitment to prevent the problems arising again within 6 weeks. Training covers the methodology and techniques of the 6 stage ACP model. Emphasis is on results and implementation using the approaches there and then to resolve the core problems.

Why was ACP developed?

Many organisations cannot cope with the pace of change – it comes thicker and faster than ever before. Companies need methodologies that will work and are easy to understand. They do not want to analyse and detail everything chronologically. They need action and people who are committed to act to positively drive for radical performance in the business.

Many small improvements achieved at all levels in the organisation in six week time frames beats the large scale investment associated with recruiting an army of highly cost usually associated with BPR. With the support of an external ACP Trainer the norm of using a self sustaining improvement process through using in-house, well trained leaders soon becomes business as usual.

The ACP process trains your people to drive change so that the tools and approaches they use will become ‘the norm for accelerating solutions to long term problems’. Change is not to be feared but grasped as an opportunity to grow the business

While others are talking themselves into recession and negativity, release the potential of your people to develop a stronger and resilient business in an uncertain climate. The competitive edge of any business is measured by how fast the right actions are implemented. The purpose of ACP is to do just that provide certainty and rapid improvement at a strategic level.

Philip E Atkinson

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