InBrief: Transformation

What It Is: Transformation is the process of reshaping a way of working in the interest of achieving a significant and measurable impact in business results

Why It Matters: When faced with changing market conditions, competitive threats, technology advancements, etc., it is critical for organizations to reinvent themselves.  This typically involves changes to process, organization, and technology and doing so in a thoughtful manner is critically important

Critical Dimensions

• A Compelling Vision – The desired future state should be clear enough to create emotional investment and the commitment required to overcome the inertia that naturally resists change
• Clear Business Outcomes –There should be tangible goals established (along with key financial and operating metrics) to inform prioritization and guide critical decisions throughout execution
• Courageous, Committed Leadership – Transformation efforts are complex and require resilience, decisiveness, persistence, and determination to work through adversity along the way
• A Supportive Culture – The environment and culture within an organization will have an impact on the degree of change that is possible to achieve overall and the rate at which it can be done
• A Thoughtful Approach – It is tempting in larger programs to initiate too much work, too quickly, causing significant disruption and suboptimal results (or even programs to fail overall).  Given that a lot of learnings tend to occur in terms of processes, standards, and governance in initial delivery efforts, it is often the case that incubating large programs with a smaller, expert team and extending and scaling afterward is a more effective way to build momentum and reduce risk
• Results-Orientation – Another problem in large transformation efforts is taking on too much, too early in terms of scope that can substantially defer any benefit realization, by comparison with a consistent, incremental delivery environment that is both predictable and repeatable over time
• Adaptability and Agility – Transformation efforts are messy, involve complexity, and typically run into a host of issues throughout execution.  It is critical to maintain a high level of transparency into ongoing work, have an active and engaged governance process, and to make decisions efficiently and thoughtfully as they are needed during execution.  Roadmaps produced at the start of large programs rarely remain unchanged for very long, and it’s important that every inflection point is taken as an opportunity to learn, improve, and respond versus react
• Patience and Discipline – Sustainable change takes time.  While it’s possible to force a level of change in the short-term and achieve incremental benefits, systemic and holistic changes to the way an organization operates take time.  Managing the process in a disciplined way both helps achieve overall results faster as well as mitigate risk

For Additional Information: The Seeds of Transformation, The Criticality of Culture, On “Delivering at Speed”

Excellence doesn’t happen by accident.  Courageous leadership is essential.

Put value creation first, be disciplined, but nimble.

Want to discuss more?  Please send me a message.  I’m happy to explore with you.

-CJG 01/28/2026