A global machine and plant manufacturer wanted to change the order processing procedure. The lead times from project inquiry to commissioning for large-scale plants were up to three years. The average project volume amounted to 25 million euros. In view of the numerous process interruptions, the calculated profit often melted away completely over the course of a project.
In a change project launched as a result, a 30-strong project team created new processes from the request for quotation through engineering, purchasing and production to global logistics and assembly on the construction site and mapped the processes in SAP. Due to the size and number of people involved, this was a task that required a great deal of communication as well as specialist knowledge. Nevertheless, the steering committee and an external consultancy firm had not considered a communication concept for cost reasons. After around two years, the project was on the verge of failure. The managers were no longer prepared to take their employees out of their day-to-day business and make them available for the project. At this point, the current interim manager, then Head of Marketing & Communications, was tasked with breaking the deadlock and saving the project.
Inadequate communication had led the project to the brink of failure
After intensive interviews with the project management and some team members, the interim manager quickly realized that a lack of communication from the project to the company had become a key problem. After more than two years, even the managers were not clear which processes were to change with the change project and what impact this would have had. Instead of reaching the "acceptance" phase on the so-called change curve, the project got stuck in the "rejection" phase at the very beginning. To ensure the project progressed, the interim manager had to overcome this resistance and bring the affected employees to the phase of insight and emotional acceptance.
When developing his communication strategy, there was no question for the interim manager that conventional measures such as info markets, newsletters or team events were not suitable for making progress in this difficult situation.
The problem with presenting something, usually as a slide presentation to a large group, is that people only consume the information - and then forget it again. The process of critical analysis does not take place. The marketing manager's solution therefore had to be aimed at forcing those affected to engage with the new processes and, ideally, to talk about them with colleagues.
Exceptional communication strategy actively involves everyone involved
He therefore opted for an unusual communication strategy to actively involve everyone involved in solving the blocked situation. As a central tool, he chose so-called dialog pictures. They are best known as hidden object pictures on posters in children's rooms or in children's non-fiction books. A hidden object picture is a large picture that shows many different scenes at the same time, for example a large marketplace. Due to the large number of detailed scenes, it is almost impossible to see everything at the same time. You have to look at each individual action depicted separately. It is precisely this diversity and complexity that comes very close to change projects in companies. Dialogue pictures are therefore very well suited for visualizing processes and changes, not only in a crisis situation, but also as an instrument in regulated change communication.
Dialogue pictures juxtaposed the status quo and new processes
The interim manager therefore had a dialogue picture created, on which the 30 or so most significant problems and process breaks in the previous project flow were depicted in a comic drawing. This also included unpopular things, such as when money was wasted. The target image of the new, ideal processes was also drawn and contrasted with the previous processes on a large poster. The presentation as a humorous comic was intended to irritate and eliminate the obligatory defensive reflexes.
Creative method overcomes resistance on all sides
In the second step, the interim manager presented the resulting dialog picture to small groups invited to the meeting without further comment. Initially, the participants were irritated. Silence spread. However, to break the uncomfortable situation, someone finally took heart and began to talk out loud about what they saw on the poster. It didn't take long for a lively discussion to begin. That was the decisive moment: the participants overcame the blockade and were fully engaged in the topic. A keynote speech or a PowerPoint presentation could not have achieved this.
The dialogue pictures were first used to raise awareness among managers in several meetings. A manual was also created for the scenes and the posters were hung up in the departments. Even after some time, employees continued to gather in front of the posters to discuss them. The blockade was broken and the project was brought to a successful conclusion.
