Business TransForMaTioN Starts ‘In the Mind’
‘Business transformation’ is used as a broad term for making fundamental changes in how a business or organisation runs. Some Big consulting players define Transformation as “improving performance”. This includes people, practices, processes, products and technology. These transformations usually help organisations compete more effectively, become more efficient. In the era of the Fourth IR, the transformation agenda is also a strategic pivot, for existential purposes. Post-covid, organisations world over have entered a stage of “Thrive to Survive” mode. It’s no longer about keeping the lights on and business as usual, but about innovating or transforming.
Organisations embark on business transformations to create additional value, usually of a financial nature. It may mean harnessing and scaling the potential of employees, developing robust IP and optimising resources for maximising the overall sense of performance. The nature of any transformation is not a catwalk or a cakewalk. Most of the Transformation initiatives are a systemic shift for the stakeholders involved. Incrementalism is a tick-mark of non-serious transformation initiatives.
Business transformations are bold, seismic shifts that organisations make to accelerate change and growth beyond typical incremental advancements. They might even necessitate shifting to newer business models and even product lines.
Business transformations, to be truthful to their objective, are typically large-effort, multi-quarter initiatives, requiring core changes to fundamental aspects of the transforming companies. This, as expected, would be driven by the very top of the organisation; depending on the nature of the project, either by the CEO or the Board of Directors. For example, in governance related projects or culture related efforts, the boards get involved actively.
*It’s in the mind
Malcolm Gladwell defined it beautifully when he said, “Transformation isn’t about improving, it’s about re-thinking”.
The word “transformation” gets used and also equally abused (as a fashionable lingo) at many instances. It is also an one-up behaviour in business club circles to talk of running or championing various business transformation programmes.
For any transformation programme to be successful, organisations need to adopt a transformational mindset. The sooner your leaders internalise the lingo, the better and smoother the journey is going to be. In a world of unprecedented disruption and market turbulence, transformation today revolves around the need to generate additional value ‒ to unlock new opportunities, to drive new growth and to deliver new efficiencies. And a good transformation will also make you agile, and ready to face uncertainties.
In other words, all transformations require you to think audaciously. Because incremental improvement is not enough to win in the disrupted business environment we live in. It’s not enough to win today. You have to be able to continue to evolve in the future.
Transformation in any organisation is more about mindset. We get carried away by most transformation projects ‒ be they HR, digital, business, ESG etc. We get distracted by initial euphoria of announcements (bluntly more of ‘song and dance’).
The “why” we do is more important than what’s potential outcome. Let’s see the contradictions amongst our midst:
• Enterprise owner or founder or the CEO wants change, but does not want to leave the mantle to someone
• We celebrate tech startups and the ease of living they add and yet the traditional businesses’ value age and experience versus impact and achievement of younger demographics
• And more importantly we hold onto our roles in some fashion or the other, even after retirement
Your mind plays an important part in your decision making process. Staying rooted or calm is one of the ingredients of a successful Leader. We all live in a stressful and ever changing world, and staying connected and being of strong mind is a pre-requisite. As a leader, not only are you responsible for making decisions, but you are also accountable for the large number of people who work in your team and their decisions.
One of the best examples is being Open to Change. Keep your antenna always switched on and make sure it stays tuned into the right frequency.
So any transformation project has to start with questions:
• What will you do eight hours of the work day when someone else replaces you or does your current role? (We will get awkward silences most of the times for this question!)
• What will you do to communicate regularly with all the stakeholders?
• How do you rally up your stakeholders for any pain caused during the change in management efforts?
• What all could go wrong if this project is abandoned midway?
We should further encourage the questions:
• Why are we doing what we have just started as a project?
• What’s measure of creating positive impact?
• Have we communicated the pros and cons and the candid chat about the change journey?
• Have we spoken to all stakeholders and not just the board room ones?
*VUCA world
The first quote that comes to mind, “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn”…Alvin Toffler
Whether you have heard of the term “VUCA” or not, the fact is that we are living in a VUCA world. We are all living in a world that is fast changing, the future is not exactly clear, there are limitless possibilities, quite a lot of risks etc. This is taken. The question is, “What now?”
The idea of "five year plans" seems irrelevant at times. It sure was a popular B-school learning. It worked for most of us, most of the time. In the VUCA world we live in now, changes and disruptions across social, business, financial and economic, technological, cultural, and educational aspects are so rapid. Yet the focus of any organisation has to be the consumers. Everything else has to be used or levered to deliver value to the consumers. That’s the purpose of existence of the organisation.
The more complex and volatile an industry is, the harder it will be to predict its future and the more uncertain it is to plan for it. Innovation as a process has to factor in these issues. Expecting the entire organisation to be ready for a VUCA life is a harsh one. Working with all stakeholders in setting the tone and narrative of what’s expected and what cannot be estimated is critical. This is the world of unlimited possibilities and time for leaders to “Rethink the Impossibilities”. Whether it is the field of Financial Services, or Healthcare, or Retail, or Manufacturing, or Logistics, etc. the possibilities are endless and Infinite!
A Leader’s ability to think with a straight mind and not get ruffled, with so much happening all around is a key success criteria. Decision making gets more complex with the action all around you.
For a successful transformation project in a VUCA environment, the leaders of today must wholeheartedly accept what they don’t know, and also accept that what they know today can be irrelevant tomorrow! If this first-principle can be hard coded into the organisational planning ethos, the journey of transformation would be smoother.
Focus on the Change, be courageous to ask the right questions, do not be scared to take a few steps back if you have to, Pause and Reflect.
Saying “I don’t know” is acceptable in today’s leadership roles; but as long as the leader can also mention that she or he would use all the required resources to find the answer to the problem.
After all, transformation is in the mind! Business Transformation starts with and is in the mind! Purpose, after all is the key, for positive outcomes.
Srinath Sridharan, Corporate Advisor & Independent markets commentator
Twitter : @ssmumbai
Venkatesh Mahadevan, Global Technology & Transformation Leader
Twitter: @venkimahadevan
