For the next major change you lead, how about creating a prototype first?

This is not a pilot test where you are actually implementing the change. In many pilot tests, there is pressure to perform and make sure this design works. The spirit of experimentation gets lost. Instead, I’m suggesting that you consider running an experiment – maybe a hands-on simulation – away from the pressures of performance. In this laboratory, you could try things out. Fool around. Ask the users of this simulation what their experience was. Listen to them and redesign.  

Here’s where I got this idea.

Fortune (3/19/07) tells how Apple became the best retailer in America. They earn $4032 per square foot. The also-rans aren’t even close.  Tiffany, the number two retailer earns $2666, and Best Buy, the third best, earns $930 per square foot.

From the start, Apple knew this would be risky. After all, what did they know about retailing? They got advice from a retail expert who told them to rent a warehouse and build a fake store so they could learn about retail design. As Steve Jobs says, “. . .and not, you know, just design it, go build twenty of them, then discover it didn’t work.”

When they looked at this fake store, they realized that it wouldn’t work. Everything was arranged by product. It was boring. And that definitely was not Apple’s image. They saw that the world of computing was changing – digital music, movies, cooler features on phones, and the list went on. So they decided to make sure the real stores would be designed to focus on people’s interests.  They also looked at the customer experience. They found that people loved the concierge feature in fine hotels. So Apple added a Genius Bar. The so-called geniuses were there to answer questions – not to sell products. And it would be a free service. Can you think of any other place where you can walk in and get help for free without feeling like you are wasting a salesperson’s valuable time? Me, neither.   

From the Apple experience you can learn to create a mock-up of the new computer system, reorganization, merger integration plan, or whatever change you’re contemplating. Take the plan off the floor, so that people can experiment and play with it without feeling they need to prove anything. Try things out. See what the user experience might be like. People could tweak, adapt, change. 

I’m not talking about a canned workshop, where you play at creating a factory. Those can be great learning experiences, but the Apple experiment was something quite different. I’m talking about building something so you can see what it looks and feels like.

• It would allow you to understand its operation so well that you would see the glitches and places where things might bog down
• People could experience the unintended consequences that come from making this type of change. They would feel the power struggles. They would see where they had to fight for resources. They would get it in their guts why people might resist this change – or why people might love to be part of this new initiative.
• You would experience the viewpoints of the whole range of stakeholders and learn what makes them crazy about your plans.
• You begin to see the amount of money and other resources it would take to pull this off.