Benefits-Driven Change, Not Activity-Driven

Most transformation programmes measure the wrong thing.

They track:

✅ Workshops delivered
✅ Documents produced
✅ Milestones hit
✅ Budget spent

They don't track:

❌ Benefits realized
❌ Outcomes achieved
❌ Measurable improvement
❌ Return on investment

Result: Programmes that deliver activity but not value.

The Activity Trap

Example programme:

40 workshops delivered ✅
12 deliverables completed ✅
On time ✅
On budget ✅

Benefits realisation: 0%

Question: Did it succeed?

Traditional view: Yes (delivered what we planned). Our view: No (achieved nothing that matters).

Benefits or Bust

Our approach: If benefits aren't achievable, stop spending money.

Sounds obvious. Rarely happens.

Why? Because stopping a programme is politically difficult. Admitting a business case was optimistic is career-limiting. Continuing feels safer than stopping.

Reality: Spending £2M to achieve £0 benefit is worse than stopping after £500K.

What Good Looks Like

1. Benefits First

Start with the outcome, work backwards:

Bad: "We'll implement a new system and measure benefits later"
Good: "We need 30% cost reduction. What's the minimum system that delivers that?"

2. Measurable & Specific

Bad: "Improved efficiency"
Good: "Processing time reduced from 8 weeks to 3 days, measured by case management system"

3. Accountable

Bad: "Programme will deliver benefits"
Good: "Director of Operations owns 30% cost reduction benefit, measured monthly"

4. Tracked Throughout

Bad: "Measure benefits 12 months after go-live"
Good: "Leading indicators tracked from month 1, benefits measured from go-live"

The Hard Conversation

Month 6 finding: Benefits aren't achievable as originally scoped.

Options:

Continue spending money on unachievable benefits (politically easy, financially stupid)
Redesign to achievable benefits (politically difficult, financially correct)
Stop programme (politically very difficult, sometimes right answer)

Most consultancies: Keep quiet, keep billing.

Us: Have the hard conversation, recommend stopping if benefits aren't achievable.

Benefits Discipline

We bake benefits discipline into every service:

At business case: Challenge optimistic assumptions
At design: Validate benefits are achievable with proposed solution
During delivery: Track leading indicators, course-correct early
At transition: Measure actual benefits, compare to case
Post-implementation: Track sustained benefits realisation

If at any point benefits look unachievable, we say so.

The Uncomfortable Truth

Many programmes shouldn't start. The benefits case doesn't stack up. But political pressure, sunk costs, and optimism bias keep them going.

We'd rather: Tell you not to hire us than take your money for a programme that won't deliver benefits.

Example: Gibraltar health check case study - we recommended stopping 3 workstreams, saving £4M. Those workstreams would never have delivered their benefits. Most consultancies would have kept billing.

Measuring Success

Traditional metrics:

% deliverables completed
% budget spent
% milestones hit

Our metrics:

% benefits realised
ROI achieved
Payback period actual vs forecast

Activity matters. Benefits matter more.

Related: