Rahul Jindal’s Post

In the journeys of business transformation, despite the best of exploration, assessments and planning a lot of unknown variables come up along the way. Typically, what roadmap we design for at the start of the journey is most often not the one we end up actually traversing. New variables that get continuously introduced always challenge the neat sequence of levers, milestones originally planned for. As a young consultant, facing such barriers to an ideal path felt like encountering insurmountable walls, dampening my enthusiasm, and challenging my resolve. Yet, with time and experience of leading transformations across multiple organizations & industries, I learned that the essence of navigating transformation lies not in sticking to the originally designed path but in being strategically agile. I realized that this was not a compromise but call for an approach to evaluate and embracing next best alternatives while keeping the north star in mind. Real world transformations are about discerning levers which are crucial versus those which are peripheral. It is about differentiating which levers need prerequisites to be introduced vs. others that don’t need any. Most importantly, it is about knowing which levers can be modified vs. others that need to be implemented in their original form. When ideal paths cannot be taken, creativity in approach our most valuable asset. The art is to be agile enough to re-evaluate transformation levers while still being true to the spirit of transformation. I have seen that often interim solutions could function as bridges when ideal (and often long term) solutions are deferred, illustrating that progress is possible, even within constraints. By advancing in phases, employing temporary fixes, and keeping our long-term vision in sight, we pave the way for incremental yet impactful change. These scenarios underscore that adopting an alternate option isn't a compromise but a strategic step forward, acknowledging current realities while laying the groundwork for future advancements. Constraints, while defining our present, don't have to limit our future. I invite you to share your journey: How have you navigated the transformation journeys amidst a continuously changing landscape?

How come companies in Germany still underestimate the value of a proper change story/case for change? When I worked on my first change story around 20 years ago, it was my key goal to assure everyone with a key role in a program knows the rationale behind a change or transformation, knows the goals (qualitative and quantitative), knows what to focus on. We then decided on core topics of business design or culture change (the “what” to do) and developed an iterative implementation approach (the “how” to do it). That time the word "agile" was not commonly used, while we delivered our work already in many ways in a iterative manner with stand-ups, retros, backlogs etc. While working with clients from Nordic countries, the UK and US I quickly learnt at that time that having a proper change story in place was a very common thing to do already. Instead in Germany discussions had often played a role questioning, if this was money well spent. Companies in Germany often did not recognize it as a steering tool and mistook it to be “just communication” that needed not much attention. How wrong they were and are in view of success of their change! During the change processes I worked on in the past 20 years that were driven without a compelling change story, people would often lack a sense of direction. Building trust in the process was more difficult or even impossible. Today the good old "change story" remains one key steering tool to manage communication and engagement during organizational changes! 📯 20 years later the case for change remains one of the essential ground works organizations need to have in place when embarking on a change journey. Do it during the set-up of your transformation! If you try to do this work with delay during the center of implementation, be aware that it can be frustrating. Still, better late than never. 📯20 years later I still encounter organizations that massively waste time, energy and money by starting off with activism instead of putting a change story in place in the beginning. Be prepared to embrace the sunk costs that will incur as this will catch you later with disoriented people and an avoidable level of unhappiness. 📯20 years later organizations in Germany still wonder how it can be that a change story requires attention and time of senior leadership to massively shape it. Direction in more conservative and even innovative set-ups is requested from the top. Defining the core direction you wish to embark on and defining the rationale remains a leadership! The manner how an implementation works can be very much shaped bottom-up by engaging people in formats to run the “how”. As many org. changes still go wrong as they lack a change story besides other crucial change basics, I sincerely request to invest the time in the beginning of a transformation process 📯. Life will be easier to achieve success for all of the involved parties and keep this economy stronger.

Flipping the odds Why do your transformation champions insist on failing 75% of the time? In my Change Intervention training workshop I stress over and over to always: Nail the right question. Transformations result from a failure to decisively act, yet many programs are overly designed to address the symptoms, not solve the core problem. Win hearts (and minds) with a compelling vision. Financials are motivating to some, but the key to enduring change is a clear statement on “where we are going and why” that speaks to the broader team. Go all-in, make it personal. Demonstrating personal commitment and making it real with storytelling motivates others to do the same. Embrace disruption. “Win the next battle and not the last one” is a critical element of ensuring transformations stick. Fewer, bigger steps. Smaller serial change efforts fail. Focused, larger/sustained efforts significantly up the odds of success. Reinvest. The benefits of exclusively “cost out” programs very seldom stick; find ways to ensure that the channel and customers are at the heart of transformation efforts. While it’s true many large-scale transformation efforts fail to deliver the intended benefits within the budgeted time, some do succeed in capturing value and delivering their commitments to shareholders. The real problem, in our experience, is that the value generated by transformations too often is short-lived. Many companies are left “reeling in the out-years,” failing to deliver sustainable long-term shareholder and enterprise value—effectively rendering what they did a waste of time, money, and energy and squandering the opportunity to reset and reposition.

How to implement transformations for long-term impact. When it comes to implementing large-scale organizational change, the most successful organizations commit themselves fully to the effort from start to finish. “In an ever-accelerating pace of change in business and the broader world, executing and building capabilities in major transformation programs has never been as important as it is now. And guess what: we’re finding that it’s even harder to do this than we thought. Only one in eight survey respondents say their companies are managing—and following through with—top-performing transformations.” “While the early phases of a program certainly matter, the later stages—including execution—introduce the most risk to a transformation’s outcome. Rigor, skill, and passion are critical during execution and to the entire transformation journey, which can be long and involve lots of ups and downs. That is why the CEO and top management should remain committed from start to finish and ensure that their people also bring the same focus and commitment.” At a glance MOST POPULAR INSIGHTS With transformations, long-term impact is rarer than one may think. While 56 percent of respondents say their organizations have achieved most or all of their transformation goals, only 12 percent report that they have sustained these goals for more than three years. *Significant value is lost during the executing and sustaining phases. Respondents say that on average, 42 percent of the potential financial benefit from their organizations’ transformations is lost during the latter of four stages of a large-scale change effort. *There’s a big payoff for those who succeed with implementation. Respondents who say their companies have achieved their implementation performance goals and also sustained the transformation gains for more than three years report twice the rate of financial growth as their peers. *Commitment to executing and sustaining changes over time is crucial to seeing impact. Top-performing organizations are more likely than others to commit themselves to three imple­mentation practices: maintaining imple­mentation rigor in the later phases of the program; focusing on “people” goals, including employee experience and talent management; and devoting appropriate resources to every stage of the effort. Those organizations that commit to all three areas are 3.4 times more likely than others to achieve and sustain their performance gains for more than three years.

🔹Beyond Change: Mastering #BusinessTransformation as a Core Organizational Skill In the ever-evolving business landscape, the term "transformation" resonates profoundly. Business transformation isn't just a buzzword; it's a strategic imperative for organizations navigating the complexities of the modern world. 🔹What is Business Transformation? At its core, business transformation involves comprehensively reimagining and restructuring organizational processes, strategies, and culture. It's not merely about adapting to change but proactively shaping it to stay relevant in a dynamic marketplace. (check out McKinsey's insights on "What is Business Transformation" (https://lnkd.in/dDkm9S7B ).) 🔹Why is Business Transformation Critical? : As markets shift, customer expectations evolve, and technological advancements disrupt the status quo, organizations find themselves at a crossroads. Embracing transformation isn't an option; it's a necessity for survival. It's about staying agile, innovative, and responsive in an ever-changing environment. 🔹The Rise of the Chief Transformation Officer (CTO) : Enter the Chief Transformation Officer – the visionary catalyst behind an organization's metamorphosis. They are architects of strategic initiatives, orchestrators of cultural shifts, and navigators of uncertainty. (Explore McKinsey's insights on "What Chief Transformation Officers Do"(https://lnkd.in/dHCmtuiy) 🔹Building Capabilities for Transformation: The transformation journey demands not just a change in strategies but the cultivation of capabilities within the organizational DNA. It's about empowering teams with the skills and mindset needed to thrive amidst ambiguity. The CTO stands as a beacon in this process, steering the development of these capabilities and fostering a culture that embraces and accelerates transformation. Business transformation must evolve beyond isolated projects; it needs to become a core competency ingrained in the organization's identity. No longer residing in silos, but pulsating through every department, every team. The CTO, with their strategic vision and leadership, becomes the driving force behind this evolution, ensuring that the practice of transformation becomes second nature rather than a sporadic initiative. Thanks for reading. #transformation #transformationalleadership #businessagility

Transformational change... what do we mean??! Regardless of what you call transformation (be it business, digital or whatever), the point of transforming your organisation is to bring about a step-change in operation and performance to deliver better outcomes, first and foremost for your customers but not forgetting the organisation itself, its people and investors etc. But what often tends to happen (particularly for 'digital transformation) is for the outcomes to be defined in terms of solutions i.e. the implementation of technology becomes the end in itself, rather than a means to an end. Any discussion about outcomes i.e. what (and why) you want your organisation to do and look like, shouldn't involve technology - that's just an enabler. The focus should be on understanding the outcomes required to satisfy the needs of your customers (and regulators etc). Once you understand these, then you can determine how your organisation can best address them... and that means looking at and finding a happy balance between: - how your organisation is structured (departments and teams) - what functions these teams perform (peoples' roles and skills and the processes employed) - what data is needed, by who and when to provide insights and improve decision making - the governance framework that underpins the operation and how information flows up and down the organisation - Leadership and management styles and capability - The culture of the organisation (is it healthy and open or toxic?) - how technology can help (the art of the possible) Transformational change touches all of the above and requires a shift in mindset and, if this isn't recognised, then the transformation programme that's been set up with best intentions will soon run into problems as its priorities are likely to be wrong and its focus too narrow (and this is before we've even started to talk about how well or not the programme itself may be led and managed!) The video below looks at the root causes of transformation failure and is just one of the topics I cover in my book, "A Transformation Lens" - https://lnkd.in/eSTsQqse #transformation #transformationalchange #strategyandtransformation #leadership #decisionmaking #operatingmodel #businessmodel #businesstransformation #digitaltransformation #changemanagement #peopleandculture #programmemanagement #programmanagement #failure

part 2 DEFINING YOUR TRUE NORTH"; A ROAD MAP TO SUCCESSFUL TRANSFORMATION This means making the transformation the new business as usual rather than treating it as a limited-scope side project Treating strategy as the true north In McKinsey’s early experience in transformation work, going back to 2010, the majority of efforts revolved around delivering rapid performance improvement at companies facing significant operational and financial challenges,The focus was on survival—freeing up cash and resources to resolve liquidity and balance sheet issues. With cost efficiency as the primary aim, strategy rarely entered the discussion. Indeed, in the 2016 article, the word “strategy” appears only twice.Today, CEOs are expanding the definition of transformation, aiming to turn middle-of-the-pack performers into dominant industry titans. In these ambitious transformations, strategy plays a leading role In ambitious transformations, strategy plays a leading role As the scope of the transformation grows, the approach to execution must also change. Most successful change programs move through several distinct horizons over multiple years. With each horizon comes a set of objectives plus defined resources and investments in capability building. The full strategic agenda is also sequenced in stages. This helps ensure that the organization isn’t overburdened at the start, which could stifle its ability to deliver the rapid impact critical to building internal momentum, as well as external confidence and support. While each transformation context is distinct, the journey often begins with a focus on stabilizing and improving the fundamentals of the business.This is followed by accelerating growth, organizational design, and digital enablement, all of which lay the foundation for a strategic and operational repositioning: Horizon one: all about the fundamentals (first three to 12 months). The priorities during this period are typically grounded in tactical improvements, including cost optimization, cash flow generation, and filling capability gaps. Speed is of the essence: our research shows that in successful transformations, initiatives executed within the first six months deliver 57 percent of the total program’s value.3 Companies must quickly prove to their boards and investors that their strategic plans have substance and can generate bottom-line impact. Being able to celebrate early improvements is also essential to building momentum and mobilizing the entire organization. Horizon two: growth and scalability (next 12 to 24 months).Having established early momentum, business leaders shift their focus from driving incremental improvements to fortifying their companies’ operating systems and setting up the conditions to fully realize the long-term strategic vision. Such initiatives typically have longer implementation road maps and timelines and substantial investment requirements. It’s critical to remain vigilant about timely execution and to validate impact

Learn how the right end-to-end framework can lay the groundwork for successful execution and get a stalled transformation programme back on track. https://bit.ly/3xb9mmp #strategy #organisation #performance #business #transformation

5️⃣ + 6️⃣ + 3️⃣ = Transformation. "Easy as A, B, C...?" Well, not quite... To unlock the secrets to a successful business transformation, read our blog that outlines the 5️⃣ pillars of transformation, 6️⃣ key areas of scope, and 3️⃣ categories of investments needed for success. Accelerate your transformation journey 🚀 avoid transformation pitfalls 📉 and position your organisation for sustainable success 📈 Read more below via the link below. https://lnkd.in/eaP2j_ws

Business Transformation, how do you conduct one successfully. What caused the need for a company to transform their business? It could be a variety of things as: * The market has significantly shifted due to a new competitor entering with a disruptive model. * A technical innovation has greatly simplified the production thus increasing the number of competing companies entering the field. * A technological shift has rendered your product out of date or out of sync with market demands. * The company has grown out of proportion during good times and thus in a more tight market place is not sufficiently profitable. * Inability to attract the right employees with the right skill set combined with the drive and mindset tuned towards success. And so on… From my experience from working with driving transformations, I have encountered various strategies to try to tackle the challenge. This ranged from practical outlooks with mindsets of “let’s change what we have and from where we stand” to “let’s remodel everything and create a new business”. What many companies mainly miss out on though is the question Why do we need to change and Who do we have onboard to help us with the change.  One other important factor is the aim to solve everything through engineered plans that will mystically create a much more successful company in a 2-5 year plan. Here’s my take based on my experiences for creating a sustainable change: * Set a vision, create targets, set up a plan, follow it but make sure you can quickly adapt to current market changes. Nokia had a great plan but they missed out on getting a feel of where the market was heading. So did numerous other companies trying to adapt to new realities in a fast paced market. * Get the right people onboard. To transform a company for success, and sometimes for survival, with the same people who managed it to where it is today will definitely fail. The right people who bring on the right tools and capabilities plus a fresh mindset set for success. * Give them the right incentives, mandate and responsibilities to drive the change. If you must, do it in an environment closed off from the main business, although my recommendation is not to create companies within companies but rather use incentive models to drive the “want” and avoid having managers steering in opposite directions. * Give them advocate time to set the foundations up to the get wheels spinning. A majority of the world’s most successful companies did not just become pop-up over a night. They worked resiliently, they set the right parameters in place and then let the wheels start turning to, with time, slowly gather momentum. When that momentum entered a critical tipping point, it looked from  the outside as if they just emerged out of nowhere and couldn’t do anything wrong. If you are on the verge to start planning a transformation get in touch with me here on LinkedIn and I’d be glad to give you my advice on your specific challenge.