Want Fluid Transformations? Master the “Tweening”!
One of the biggest hurdles of transformation is actually seeing it through to realization. Either the vision gets lost in translation, or funding is squeezed, leadership commitment wanes or gets reorganized, things get hard and people lose motivation, or the prevailing culture restrains or diverts the necessary changes.
Transformation too often focuses on the technology to be employed, or the metrics to achieve, or program structure. All of these are needed, yet transformation at the core is about a change in form -- a metamorphosis of value, products, people, and process.
Metamorphosis: a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one
Even when it’s clearly articulated where you start, why and what you are intending to change into, the middle of a metamorphosis can be awkward and messy.
In navigating the messy middle of transformation, I turn to one of my favorite types of hand-drawn or classic cel animation. Also known as an animation transformation, it’s the seamless flow of one object or image turning into something completely different. The movement is so fluid that in seconds it goes from an image you know into another completely different image you also know. The magic is what happens in the middle, or what is called inbetweening or “tweening”, a technique to ease the changes from one state to the other.
In a business transformation, like animation, mastering the “tweening” requires a focus on identifying the critical pivot points and orchestrating the movement, flow, and timing to reach the future state reality.
Hierarchy of Business Transformation
A common technique for leading transformation is to build an As-Is state definition or map and a To-Be state definition or map, and then set out to go from As-Is into To-Be. Extremely critical is at what level are the As-Is and To-Be states being defined? In business transformation there is a fundamental hierarchy for unpacking the current and future states, and establishing critical pivot points the transformation flows between.
Always start at the most important part of a transformation, defining Business Guiding Principles. These are the basis of what drives value for the business. Things like minimize inventory, optimize for revenue, optimize for margin, maximize capital utilization, or optimize LTV:CAC. Changing from current to future state might involve a shift in business guiding principles. Getting clear on business principles for current and future state is fundamental for establishing and maintaining vision and motivation for any transformation.
Next in the hierarchy is Process Flows. Be selective on what process flows matter most to achieve the business principles. Not every flow needs to be mapped, and often is where transformations start to go off the rails. Getting too much detail in less important places makes the “tweening” more complicated.
Then breaking down Procedures for just the most critical parts of the process flows, and then once you have line of sight on being close to a future state, look at where Tasks need to be further defined.
Why follow this hierarchy? It keeps focus on the value drivers of the two states you are moving between plus minimizes energy and time spent on redefining detail that keeps changing as you learn through the transition or “tweening” stages. Something I learned from leading business transformation and in drawing animated transformations.
A Lesson From Drawing Animation Transformations
Below are a few cels from an animation I did a while ago to transform an actual butterfly into a swimmer doing the butterfly. The current state (butterfly) and future state (swimmer) are recognizable, while if you only look at the middle cels it’s hard to recognize what they are and where the story is going.
Animation From A Butterfly To A Butterfly Swimmer
I started out by drawing the first and the last cels, or key frames. Then chose what anchor points to use for moving between the key frames. The butterfly’s body becoming the swimmers head, the top wings becoming arms, and the bottom wings becoming water.
Note that the middle cels or “tweening” don’t have a lot of detail. The details are removed from the current state butterfly as the transformation starts, then added when getting closer to the future state swimmer. Much like framing the business principles, defining pivot points, and only focusing the process parts that matter most while letting the other areas be fluid. Then getting the details of procedures and tasks (like goggle and facial features) when we are close to the future state defining the swimmer.
I could have added more details in the middle frames, but it would not have added to the story and could even distract the viewer in following the flow of the major points, as well as wasting time with all the extra drawings and steps. A wear-out factor in long business transformations in teams driving process flows and procedures at too detailed levels, which need to be redone when value is off-course. Or the extra detail hardens the process too soon at a space that limits achieving the intended value or vision of the change.
Sequence for Navigating Transformation
If we take a playbook from animation transformation, it is quite analogous to how one might navigate business transformation. As depicted in my model below, the sequence is applied along with the hierarchy of transformation in moving from the current state to the future state.
Story Foundation
This is the animation theme and vision, subject matter, character design, key images, and background style and colors. Part of the story foundation for a business transformation are the Business Guiding Principles. Also important are the subject matter, characters, and backgrounds which frame the case for change, establish who are the stakeholders and those carrying out the change, clarify the business environment and ecosystem context, and establish changing culture and mindsets.
Story Boarding
This is the sequence of key frames that show a flow of events, primary plot points, and character evolution that forms the storyline. In business transformation it is mapping of High Level Process Flows. As in animation, only the major scene changes are depicted, like where key decision points happen, or changes in players or collaborators, major stage gates that anchor the flow of value creation or delivery.
Identify Key Frames
In animation, a key frame defines the starting or ending point of a smooth transition. The Key Frames in a business transformation are the anchor tenets, key decision points, critical process steps, changes in culture or expectations, or other aspects that set apart the current state and future state. Go back to the process flow maps and simplify and highlight the key frames. Focus on charting the path of these key elements, and let the other blocks be fluid to take shape and be built out in “tweening” along the transformation journey around these key frames.
Add Tweening
These are the frames that don’t look recognizable on their own and may feel out of place or awkward, but flow naturally between key frames. This is where you intentionally stay agile to smooth out the changes along the way to keep the motion fluid and progressing forward. If the initial “tweening” steps feel too big of a jump, be willing to adapt while keeping focus on flowing into the next key frame. Also in business, making changes to a very different state will seem disorganized and not always recognizable in the middle of the journey. By being disciplined on the pivot points and letting the other areas develop naturally, the transformation effort will be steered where it's most impactful.
Align Timing and Pacing
These are the choices on how many “tweening” drawings or steps are needed, and how much time do you allot to each, for the movement to be fluid and realistic. It’s critical to implement changes at the right pace, and level of complexity, or amount of change between each key frame so that people can align and adapt to pull the transformation forward, rather than being confused or resisting and holding back the changes.
Remember to stay true to the Business Transformation Hierarchy, and place the most emphasis from the top downward. Consider the lessons of animation, and become a “tweening” master navigating transformation to the next level!
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