Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.
—Albert Einstein

How do you know if you are creating strategic value? Here are some things to look for:

Force fan out. How far do the forces of change fan out through the organization?

Quantitative evidence. To what degree can the forces of change be quantified and verified?

Impact on financials. Cash is still king—even in change leadership. The quantifiable evidence must ultimately increase shareholder wealth through increased revenues, lower costs, and lower risks.

Impact on critical success factors. Every organization has a handful of factors upon which its success hinges. How much do those factors depend on the change?

Duration of impact. The longer the impact, the more strategic the value.

Self-aligned value. The ultimate strategic value is derived by satisfying both the organization’s internal needs as well as the internal needs of the highest executives.

Be creative and build a checklist of all the ways you could possibly create strategic value for the customer. Use the list on the previous page to stimulate your thinking. Then, build as much value into your change proposal as possible.
Also, refer to Michael Porter’s Five Forces model for additional strategic value metrics:

Maximize your value by creating strategic value for the customer. Try to quantify and verify the value whenever possible. Make sure the customer takes ownership for realizing the value, or she won’t recognize it.