In the construction industry, there is a concept that is universally understood: “build to spec.” The definition of the concept is pretty straight forward. The owner of an asset under construction uses technical resources to help define the specifications of the asset to be built. Those final specs become the basis of the “blueprint” for the asset.

In order to adhere to the build to spec concept, the actual construction project is conducted so that the blueprint is followed and all the owner’s specifications are met. While there will most likely be unforeseen problems along the way, the constructors must problem solve and innovate in order to protect the integrity of the owner’s specs. Anything other than a “high integrity” build out would be unacceptable.

Build to spec is an accepted paradigm and mindset for construction. Organizational change projects are in essence construction projects (i.e., you are building or modifying an organization’s moving parts), so why not use the exact same paradigm and mindset?

If Build to Spec were the norm for implementing an organizational change, today’s business world might be very different. First, executives could count on the strategies and plans that they so carefully develop to be implemented with integrity. In other words, executives would be able to predict that their organizations would look and operate just the way they need to in order to fully and faithfully get a strategy in play. For once, there might be a real test of the validity of a strategy … rather than today’s automatic position of: “We had a great strategy; the organization just didn’t implement it.”

Second, knowing that strategies would be implemented fully and faithfully would serve as a  great motivator for executives who now know that they are fully accountable. Knowing that strategies would be implemented to spec would also require executives to develop the detailed specifications of their strategies to such a level that they can be built out to spec. In other words, not only would executives have to design valid strategies, they would need to know enough about implementation to be able to provide a blueprint of what they were looking for. And having detailed blueprints would certainly be a boon for the organization as a whole. For many, it may be the first time that they have clarity about what is expected in an organizational change.

Bottom line: build to spec is the norm in construction … and it could and should be the norm in leading an organizational change. Just think of the wasted time and energy that could be saved if executives had the build to spec mindset!

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