In response to the challenges anticipated over the next ten years, in 1998 the Board of Directors of the Ann Arbor Transit Authority (AATA) decided to use a collaborative effort to create and implement Destination 2010 – a plan that would respond to the growing needs of the many surrounding diverse communities needing public transportation. The University of Michigan was growing and needed a coordinated transportation system for students and faculty outside the campus. The suburbs around Ann Arbor were growing and needed commuter service and there was need for direct service to the airport. The challenge for AATA: how to maintain excellent on-time customer oriented services and respond to the myriad demands to expand for rapid growth.
AATA chose Real Time Strategic Change to provide a path for people to collaboratively envision and actively create their preferred futures faster and more sustainably because it’s about both strategic planning AND strategic doing.
RTSC events have brought together as many as 2,000 people where they make decisions and take actions during a single meeting – all in real time. But unlike other large group processes, RTSC is not just about events. The work is guided by six principles that can be used to successfully drive change without any large group meetings. It adapts to the needs of the organization. We like to say “RTSC plays well with others.”
RTSC involves working on many fronts at once. The process is based in the practice of simultaneous planning and implementation. Follow through is not an issue as it is with many change approaches. Some commitments to do business in better ways are acted on immediately; others as soon as possible.
A Core Team, comprised of a microcosm of AATA employees, was charged with guiding the effort. This team included a board member, senior executive, mechanic, driver, route guide coordinator, financial analyst and marketing director.
Employees from all parts of the company were involved through cross-functional task teams and large group meetings in a process that included:
Within the first year, AATA had increased ridership by five percent, expanded service inside the city and out to suburbs, tested an innovative free-pass program for downtown workers, and strengthened its partnership with the local University of Michigan campus bus system.
Long-term results included:
In 2010, again AATA looked to RTSC to help shape the next phase of work: laying the groundwork for developing a 30-year Transit Master Plan for the region. The work began with the executive team that was going to be called on to provide a whole new level of leadership to a larger, more complex organization. Because RTSC “plays well with others,” it was easy to integrate these efforts with experts from an external transportation consultancy.
A Transit Master Plan was completed in 2012. Months of feedback from the community through public forums and online polls led AATA officials to a clear verdict: county residents were overwhelmingly in support of a robust plan to expand transit services. The Leadership Team for this effort - a group of business and elected leaders from throughout the county - voted unanimously to move forward with the most comprehensive and most expensive of three Transit Master Plan scenarios. Later a similar group guided AATA’s efforts to expand the Authority, focus on a Five Year Transit Improvement Plan and secure additional local, state and national funding.
The Six Real Time Strategic Change Principles were AATA’s guide throughout this 16-year and counting journey. The more they lived them, the faster change happened and the longer gains made have been sustained over time.
The Six Real Time Strategic Change PrinciplesThese principles are based in Polarity Thinking©, an approach that got the energy in AATA working for the organization instead of against it. Polarities are interdependent opposites that need each other over time to be successful. Decentralizing AND Centralizing, Action AND Reflection, and Long Term AND Short Term are all examples of polarities that can be leveraged. Focus on each to the get the benefits of both; avoid the costs of over-focusing on either. For example an "upside" benefit to Decentralizing is faster responses to customer requests but over-focusing on this "pole" or point of view will get you redundant work. This leads you to pay attention to Centralizing to gain efficiencies while an over-focus on Centralizing results in bureaucracy. Instead of getting caught in "either / or" debates about "both / and" situations, AATA used Polarity Thinking© to get the best of both points of view and minimize the costs of over-focusing on either one in the RTSC principles below.
Know both the inside AND outside of your organization in order to make informed decisions and take strategic actions.
For example, senior leaders ensured that the transit experts considered the organization’s internal culture in developing the master plan. Equally important were the dozens of public meetings and industry research that informed the plan.
Provide clear direction when needed AND invite participation to gain further insight.
For example, the board provided clear direction in defining the work that needed to be done during their December 1998 meeting. Then they and others involved every member of the organization and many key stakeholders in shaping the strategies and action plans.
Include the best of your past and present AND create a compelling vision for your future.
For example, the AATA vision included growing to become a regional transportation organization while retaining its best practices and remaining true to its culture.
Focus on the achievement of the organization as a whole AND find ways to support individuals in achieving their full potential.
For example, people throughout AATA care deeply and take great pride in the very best services they can each provide. This energy was channeled into a “we’re all in this together” approach that continued to build trust and momentum for the entire organization to be the best it can be.
Be in your future AND plan for it at the same time. Live in your preferred future as if it were already happening in real time.
For example, people in AATA and their key stakeholders began working together in new and better ways immediately at the start of their strategic planning process in 1998. Mechanics and drivers partnered with board members and senior executives on the Core Team, all having equal say in guiding this effort.
Stand up for what you believe in AND be curious about what others think in order to continue to learn and develop – individually, in your teams and as an entire organization.
For example, students and staff at the University of Michigan, customers, and employees from all over the organization had different points of view on AATA’s future direction. Politicians, citizens and other transportation organizations across the region had their own desires of what should be included. This RTSC principle ensured all stakeholders shared their diverse perspectives so that decisions and actions came from the broadest and deepest possible understanding of the issues.
Use these six principles to guide your decisions and actions in any change work -- individual, team or organization -- and create strategic change in real time.
