1. EMBED &
GROW
DESIGN
DIAGNOSE
LEARNING
LEARNING
ENGAGEMENT
ENGAGEMENT
CHANGE
SELF
TEAM
ORGANISATION
IMPLEMENT
30
E
arlier this year, the East of
England branch of APM
and the Enabling Change
specific interest group
(SIG) held a joint event where project
management professionals learned about
GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK’s) programme
to improve its business performance.
Jacqui Alexander, vice-president
of GSK’s Accelerating Delivery &
Performance (ADP) approach and her
colleague, lead consultant Margaret
Huggins, explained why GSK had
adopted the ADP approach and how
it fitted with Lean Sigma, project
management and organisational
development principles.
BACKGROUND
Pharmaceutical companies face
continual external challenges including
regulatory issues and pricing restrictions.
In 2008, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)
appointed a new CEO, Andrew Witty,
who proved to be a catalyst for change.
Witty, and other senior GSK executives,
realised that the company needed to do
something different to enhance its ability
to face challenges and execute strategy.
GSK was already using three disciplines
to good effect to manage change
within different parts of its business.
These disciplines were Lean Sigma,
project management and organisational
development. So, with the sponsorship of
the new CEO in place, it was a short step
to combine these three disciplines in
order to create greater impact across the
organisation. Together the three disciplines
became known as the Accelerating
Delivery & Performance approach.
STARTING OFF
The journey began in mid-2009
when a small team drew some simple
approaches from each of the three
disciplines in order to produce a
structured and consistent approach to
change. This became known as the GSK
Change Framework (see diagram, right).
The team facilitated 10 projects in
the first phase, which developed the
approach, demonstrated the benefits,
and created a ‘pull’ from the business
that resulted in more than 40 projects
starting in 2010. But by the summer of
2010, it became apparent that one of
the target metrics – the development of a
large number of ADP practitioners – was
at risk, so the team pulled together a
‘Kaizen Event’ to identify what needed to
be done differently. For those unfamiliar
with a Kaizen Event, it is about bringing
everyone involved in the process together
to find a better way of doing it.
Out of this was born the second
component of the ADP approach: the
GSK Fundamentals of Delivery. This is
a fusion of components and behaviours
from Lean Sigma, project management
and organisational development.
In 2011, the focus of the ADP team
shifted to applications at business-
unit level, rather than more contained
projects. Key requirements for success
included generating sufficient self-
motivated development of expertise
across the business and the delivery of
tangible, quantifiable business benefits.
By 2012, more than 350 expert
practitioners across GSK, as well as
more than 3,000 employees who were
actively applying the approach in their
day-to-day work, were supplementing
the central ADP team of 20 people.
The programme has continued
since, and the plan is to further expand
the approach across GSK, while
continuing to adapt and improve it.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT: CASE STUDY
31DECEMBER 2014
ELISABETH
GOODMAN
leads the Capabilities
and Methods pillar
of the Enabling
Change SIG
By 2012, more
than 350 expert
practitioners
and more than
3,000 employees
were applying
the approach
ENABLINGCHANGE
ATGLAXOSMITHKLINEHow does a pharmaceutical giant transform itself in order
to overcome all the challenges that it faces? Elisabeth
Goodman reports on an Enabling Change SIG event
DESIGNING ADP
Organisational development
(OD), Lean Sigma and project
management principles were key
to the overall design of ADP and
were drawn from a number of
sources. These principles include:
1. Co-creation of the
ADP components with
specialists, internal
customers and sponsors.
2. Involving and building working
relationships between team
members with a diversity of
skills, practices and mindsets.
For instance, Lean Sigma
and project management
could arguably epitomise
logical-rational and critical
thinking, whereas OD comes
from appreciative, socio-
emotional thinking with a
focus on behavioural and
human systems. Being open
and receptive to each other’s
different ways of thinking was
critical to the success of ADP.
3. Applying the ADP way of
working to the ADP team’s own
work, and applying the GSK
Change Framework to each
project built credibility and trust.
4. Building leadership belief and
trust through the use of visible
and impactful ‘beacon’ projects.
5. Adopting an appropriate style
on the expert-teacher-coach-
consulting continuum to build
capability within the business.
6. Working with leaders together
with their teams to embed the
new ways of working.
7.Applying a ‘forum, fieldwork,
feedback’ approach so that the
new practitioners are applying
what they learn as they learn it,
and so retain it most effectively.
FURTHER INFORMATION
To find out more about the GlaxoSmithKline
event, see www.apm.org.uk/news/changing-
how-we-change#.VEjh3r64mX0
A follow-up webinar will take place on Tuesday
13 January 2015 from 12.30pm to 1.30pm. To
find out more, visit tinyurl.com/p28po7v
Full details of the ADP approach, which GSK
has been adopting since 2009, can be found
in the publication OD Practitioner, Vol 44 (4),
2012, pp4-10
The GSK Change
Framework consists
of the following steps:
DIAGNOSE – understand the current
situation and what needs changing;
DESIGN – establish clarity on what
is to be achieved and how;
IMPLEMENT – execute the plan,
supported by testing and trialling;
EMBED AND GROW – to ensure
that the change is sustained and
continuously improved; and
ENGAGE AND LEARN – to ensure that
individual, team and organisational
learning and engagement are part
of the change process.
The goal of the framework is to be
simple and accessible to leaders
and their teams, and also to reinforce
the principle (number one of six
below) that change begins with
the individual.
The six core principles are:
1. All change starts with self;
2. Active, committed and visible
sponsorship by key stakeholders;
3. Simple, time-bound measures tied
to financial/business results;
4. Involvement of people as owners
who are affected by the change;
5. Focus on the few vital things
that can be changed; and
6. Fit-for-purpose solutions that
address customer needs
(rather than wants).
WHAT IS ADP?
ADP combines the GSK Change
Framework (a set of six core
principles of change), the GSK
Fundamentals of Delivery (which are
synthesised from Lean Sigma, project
management and organisational
development) and a focus on
metrics – all of which are driven and
supported by the central ADP team.
© GSK 2011
THE GSK FUNDAMENTALS FOR DELIVERY ARE:
DIAGNOSE
I seek the voice of the customer to understand what
they really need and value. (Typical tools and practices:
Gemba, interviews, strategy deployment)
I ‘go and see’ to understand processes, accountabilities
and performance. (Typical tools and practices: Gemba
walks, process mapping)
I carry out problem-solving in order to identify root
causes and implement sustainable solutions. (Typical
tools and practices: change framework, problem statement,
root cause diagnosis)
DESIGN
I effectively define the benefits and scope of work
to ensure alignment with strategy. (Typical tools and
practices: project charter, project mural, key performance
indicators, return on change)
I make a conscious decision about the ‘approach to
change’ to ensure successful implementation. (Typical
tools and practices: change approaches, change curve)
I carry out implementation planning to accelerate
execution and deliver benefits. (Typical tools and practices:
joint planning session, risk and issue management)
EMBED GROW
I take responsibility for
continuously improving my part
of the business. (Typical tools
and practices: sand-pebbles-
rocks, standard work,
change framework)
IMPLEMENT
I carry out visual performance
management to engage and align
teams. (Typical tools and practices:
key performance indicators,
communication cells,
accountability boards)
LEARNING
(Change self, team, organisation)
I am personally accountable for my own effectiveness,
learning and development. (Typical tools and practices:
reflection, journaling)
I coach individuals and teams to improve performance.
(Typical tools and practices: feedback, coaching,
inverted triangle)
I focus on our ‘ways of working’ in order to increase team
effectiveness. (Typical tools and practices: input-process-
outputs, advocacy/inquiry, ‘fist or five’, after action review)
ENGAGEMENT
I effectively engage the right
stakeholders and sponsors to
accelerate delivery. (Typical tools
and practices: stakeholder map
and management plan)