Youth Month Special: Hearing from the Youth at The CRM Team.

Youth Month is tied in with remembering the young people who partook in the Soweto Uprising and celebrating the young people of today. To end off youth month, we spoke to the youngest member of The CRM Team, Johan Nel, to hear his thoughts on the present status of the young people of South Africa and what he trusts the future will bring for youngsters in this country.

What has kept you headed to prevail quite early in life?

I would give a great deal of credit to my father. My father has been my wellspring of motivation to succeed – he imparted in me that nothing comes free in life and that hard work pays off.

What does success look like to you?

Success to me is waking up every day and looking forward to going to work. Money does not measure success – a sound working environment means the most to me.

Being a young person with a job and knowing how high youth unemployment is in South Africa, how does that make you to feel?

Privileged without a doubt, yet additionally sad. Having a steady work and a rooftop over my head causes me to feel special yet miserable that there are individuals out there who do not have similar privilege.

How would you think the government needs to fix the unemployment rate among youngsters?

The government, first and foremost, has to make a more straightforward way for individuals to become business visionaries. There has to be a simpler way for individuals to begin their businesses.

Secondly, the community should work together to drive employment. Perhaps if the community would help the less privileged to apply for work, help the less fortunate to get access to sites such as LinkedIn and help them apply for work then surely that will make some sort of difference.

Tertiary institutions also need to furnish studies with experience. When we finish our studies all we get a piece of paper, meanwhile organisations insist that we should have experience, even for entry-level positions.

There is no guidance to prepare students for what comes after finishing your studies, you are left in the deep end to fend for yourself.

In your opinion, how does the future of youngsters in this country look?

Difficult. There is insufficient support for young people in this country. Employment seemingly will become more difficult. The competition in the workplace is becoming tough, employers now seek individuals with multiple expertise to do various tasks rather than employing many people to do those duties.

In the event that you could offer the young people of South Africa any advice, what would it be?

1. Do what you excel at. Play on your strengths and be open minded to enter the unknown and to learn new skills.
2. Understand what you are great at and learn what is else you need to excel along the way.
3. Try not to fear change.
4. Follow your passion.
5. Be creative. Utilise every asset you have, if all you have is a cell phone and internet use it for your potential benefit.

What change do you want to witness in the young people of South Africa?

I might want to see youngsters be versatile. To face challenges and advance as much they can.

Where do you see yourself in the future, and how do you intend to get there?

I want to further my studies so I can bridge the gap between being a delivery manager and a developer. Developing is what I am currently inclining towards.

Like Nelson Mandela once said, “The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.” At The CRM Team, we celebrate our young people and seek to uplift those who are struggling to find direction. We hope you will be inspired by this article.

Johan Nel – Delivery Manager

Johan is a Dynamics 365 Delivery manager with experience in various industries in the last 5 years. He specializes in Agile processes and has been running projects with this methodology for the last 5 years. He has played various roles ranging from Analyst to Project Management.

Assimilating Change Management and Project Management

Resistance is futile…

(A tribute to the “Trekkies” out there)
When the Enterprise first engages the Borg, Locutus says: “Resistance – is futile. Your life, as it has been, is over… Strength is irrelevant. Resistance is futile. We wish to improve ourselves. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own.”
Captain Picard’s response? “I will resist you with my last ounce of strength.”

Every organization has its own biological and technological distinctiveness. When we are invited to make changes to this distinctiveness, be sure, we will encounter varying degrees of resistance. It is therefore absolutely essential that we meticulously plan and execute both the project and the people aspects of any systems implementation.

We could engage potential system users with an aggressive “Resistance is futile – you will be assimilated”, but in my experience, the human is an obstinate species and our aggression will be met with a resounding “I will resist you with my last ounce of strength.” In my experience; we are doomed to lose that battle. There is a better way.

Complementary Disciplines…

Project Management is focused on the Technical aspects of systems implementation, while Change Management is focused on the People aspects. Project Management seeks to design, develop and deliver technology. Change Management seeks to engage users to help them adopt and use this technology to the benefit of their clients, their organization, their team and themselves. Success can only be achieved when we give enough attention to both.

In a recent article entitled “Change Management and Project Management: A Side-by-side Comparison” Tim Creasey – Chief Innovation Officer at Prosci – states: “Each discipline brings the critical structure needed for effectively implementing change and achieving the results you want. Yet, Change Management and Project Management must work together to achieve successful change. Doing so creates a unified value proposition, which sets the foundation for tactical integration and delivers value across all aspects of the project, including both the people side and technical side.”

The bottom line is that there is immense benefit in assimilating these two disciplines. However; this is much easier said than done. You will have to plan your approach carefully and with some degree of agility, knowing that each project will present unique challenges and rewards. Learn to adjust your course on the fly, without losing focus of the milestones and the desired outcomes.

Assimilation…

According to merriam-webster.com/dictionary: ”Assimilation refers to the process through which individuals and groups of differing heritages acquire the basic habits, attitudes, and mode of life of an embracing culture.”

Project Management is already a universally accepted discipline for introducing new systems in an organization. Change Management – not so much!
Traditional Project Management approaches often do not account for essential elements like effective communication, sponsorship, coaching, training and resistance management.
It is only when we successfully integrate Change Management disciplines into our Project Management activities that we help the people in the organization to ”understand, internalize and support a change throughout the project’s lifecycle”.

“Research shows that the earlier Change Management is started on a project or initiative, the more likely the project is to meet or exceed objectives.” “… when Change Management is started at the beginning of a project, the activities can be fully integrated.”

The calamitous reality is that Change Management is too often slapped on in an attempt to cauterise the wounds on an already injured and dying project. These wounds are most often inflicted by employees, supervisors and managers resisting the changes imposed on them. The wounds could be in the form of a decline in productivity, point-blank resistance to change, and even a possible loss of valued employees. So; when we stand at ceremony to lay to rest our beloved systems implementation, we cannot help but think that this death was so unnecessary. We could so easily have prevented this tragedy – if only we had acted early.

Having said that – with all the prior hyperbole added merely for emphasis – it is important to add that Change Management can add value even at a late stage in the project. Obviously, the earlier you start with Change Management, the greater the chances of success.

My Advice…

Develop an assimilated strategy where both Project Management and Change Management strategies can be managed in the optimal sequence, to ensure that the users, their teams, the organization and its executives, and customers can derive maximum benefit in as short a time as possible. You would need a good understanding of the Project Management processes and the Change Management process. Then begin to merge the stages and steps to create a hybrid process that works for your team and your customers. Good luck.

It might not be an easy or enviable task, but it will not do itself. To quote the great body-builder, Ronnie Coleman, just before attempting to lift 800 pounds with his legs: “Ain’t Nothing To It, But To Do It”.

You might instinctively resist the call to exert all this effort, but might I remind you that “Resistance is futile!”

Mark has been a Microsoft Certified Trainer for many years and has been training Dynamics since CRM version 4.0.

He specialises in Dynamics 365 end-user training and has trained across the UK, Africa, and the Middle East. Mark is proficient in Microsoft Dynamics 365: Sales, Service, Deployment, and Customization & Configuration.