Many studies over the past decade reveal the high rate of failure in business transformation initiatives. I think that’s a daunting record that signals risk for companies considering transformation. Even so, I’ve worked with companies that succeed in major transformation. So, I blog frequently about some of the most significant principles for approaching these initiatives, de-risking the journey and the factors influencing success or failure. Recently, I spoke with an executive who is driving a major, company-wide transformation initiative at an energy company. What they’re doing is noteworthy and a model your company may wish to follow.
The company’s transformation initiative arose because the CEO realized the business needed to be more agile to survive and prosper in this new age of flexible energy production. In addition, except for the IT group, bench marking revealed gaps in departments and business units compared to world-class performance.
Principle: Go Slow To Gain Buy-In And Build A Culture For Change
As the executive explained to me, the CEO understood that successful transformation would first necessitate building a culture of change into the organization – a belief in their ability to transform. Rather than starting with large structural changes, they first created a simple but powerful framework to build the capability for change. The framework focused on starting with smaller initiatives that allow employees and leaders to learn how to drive projects, succeed and build belief in their ability to deliver.
