{"id":4672,"date":"2019-04-19T18:28:59","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T23:28:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=4672"},"modified":"2020-12-20T22:26:40","modified_gmt":"2020-12-21T03:26:40","slug":"how-to-sustain-momentum-in-business-transformation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/how-to-sustain-momentum-in-business-transformation\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Sustain Momentum in Business Transformation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In today\u2019s exponentially disrupted business environment, incremental improvement is not enough. It is not enough to win today. We<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-4688\" src=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sustaining-momentum-200x300.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sustaining-momentum-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sustaining-momentum-768x1152.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sustaining-momentum-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/sustaining-momentum.jpeg 867w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/> have to be able to continue to evolve today and in the future.<br \/>\nIn the world of unprecedented disruption and market turbulence, <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/business-toolkit\/business-transformation\">Business Transformation<\/a> today revolves around the need to generate new value. We need to unlock new opportunities, to drive new growth, and to deliver new efficiencies.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, the reported failure rate of large-scale change programs has hovered around 70% over many years. The <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/business-transformation-sustaining-momentum-3706\">momentum of a Business Transformation<\/a> has not been sustained and bad habits keep on reasserting themselves.<\/p>\n<h2>Unlocking the Process of Business Transformation<\/h2>\n<p>Business Transformation is a process of change that enables the business to cope with shifts in the market. It is the process of fundamentally changing the systems, processes, people, and technology across a whole business or business unit. This is needed to achieve measurable improvements in efficiency, effectiveness, and stakeholder satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p>Business Transformation may need to be undertaken when there are external changes in the market. It could be that the company\u2019s products or services are out of date. It could be that funding or income streams have changed. There might new regulations that are being enforced and market competition is becoming more intense.<\/p>\n<p>Either way, Business Transformation has become today\u2019s call of business as companies need to sustain momentum in a world of unprecedented disruption. However, when transformation fails, companies revert back to old habits causing performances to lag. We underestimate the difficulty of kicking old habits and developing a healthy new approach.<\/p>\n<p>Getting Business Transformation right and sustainable requires more than an A-to-B roadmap. It requires an integrated approach that links business strategy to transformation ambition to executional discipline.<\/p>\n<h2>The 5 Critical Actions to Sustain Transformation Momentum<a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/business-transformation-sustaining-momentum-3706\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-4689\" src=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/1st-slide-Sustaining-Transformation-1024x768.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/1st-slide-Sustaining-Transformation.png 1024w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/1st-slide-Sustaining-Transformation-300x225.png 300w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/1st-slide-Sustaining-Transformation-768x576.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/h2>\n<p><strong>1. Take an independent perspective.<\/strong><br \/>\nCompanies continue to look for fresh facts rather than accept the status quo. We need to guard against falling back on negotiated targets that Managers will accept easily.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2. Think like an investor.<\/strong><br \/>\nThinking like an investor focuses on and creates value. There must be a constant challenge and a pursuit of new sources of value.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Ensure ownership.<\/strong><br \/>\nBusiness Transformation can only be sustained if there is buy-in from Management and centrally owned initiatives are embedded in budgets.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Focus on execution.<\/strong><br \/>\nFocus on execution is continuing the pace of execution even if initial improvements have already been achieved. Focusing on execution ensures that targets are sustainably achieved. It is essential that the vibrant pace of executing change must never falter even when initial improvement targets are met.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Address underlying mindsets.<\/strong><br \/>\nAddressing underlying mindsets begins with the understanding of the end in mind. Managers must instill meaning and not just challenge employees. Employees must be able to understand the reason why change is being undertaken. With understanding comes the willingness to change. And this is essential.<\/p>\n<h2>Mastering Business Transformation. Is it Worth the Investment?<\/h2>\n<p>Is Business Transformation worth the time, human capital and financial resources invested? Is it just a waste of time? Anyway, oftentimes organizations lose momentum after transformation and revert back to old ways.<\/p>\n<p>Business Transformation fails because companies often just focus on short-term gains and get to neglect long-term imperatives. Companies fail because we succumb to common pitfalls in Business Transformation. It is ending transformation prematurely, losing financial discipline, or succumbing to change fatigue.<\/p>\n<p>But, if companies regularly apply the 5 disciplines in its daily operations, companies can unlock the greatest value that Business Transformation brings. It can be both <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/greiner-growth-model-stages-of-evolution-and-revolution-2660\">revolutionary and evolutionary<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Interested in gaining more understanding of <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/business-transformation-sustaining-momentum-3706\">sustaining momentum in Business Transformations<\/a>? You can learn more and download an <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/business-transformation-sustaining-momentum-3706\">editable PowerPoint about <strong>Business Transformation: Sustaining Momentum<\/strong> here<\/a> on the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\">Flevy documents marketplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Do You Find Value in This Framework?<\/h2>\n<p>You can download in-depth presentations on this and hundreds of similar business frameworks from the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/pro\/library\">FlevyPro Library<\/a>. <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/pro\">FlevyPro<\/a> is trusted and utilized by 1000s of management consultants and corporate executives. Here&#8217;s what some have to say:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;My FlevyPro subscription provides me with the most popular frameworks and decks in demand in today\u2019s market. They not only augment my existing consulting and coaching offerings and delivery, but also keep me abreast of the latest trends, inspire new products and service offerings for my practice, and educate me in a fraction of the time and money of other solutions. I strongly recommend FlevyPro to any consultant serious about success.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u2013 Bill Branson, Founder at Strategic Business Architects<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;As a niche strategic consulting firm, Flevy and FlevyPro frameworks and documents are an on-going reference to help us structure our findings and recommendations to our clients as well as improve their clarity, strength, and visual power. For us, it is an invaluable resource to increase our impact and value.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u2013 David Coloma, Consulting Area Manager at Cynertia Consulting<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;As a small business owner, the resource material available from FlevyPro has proven to be invaluable. The ability to search for material on demand based our project events and client requirements was great for me and proved very beneficial to my clients. Importantly, being able to easily edit and tailor the material for specific purposes helped us to make presentations, knowledge sharing, and toolkit development, which formed part of the overall program collateral. While FlevyPro contains resource material that any consultancy, project or delivery firm must have, it is an essential part of a small firm or independent consultant&#8217;s toolbox.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u2013 Michael Duff, Managing Director at Change Strategy (UK)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;FlevyPro has been a brilliant resource for me, as an independent growth consultant, to access a vast knowledge bank of presentations to support my work with clients. In terms of RoI, the value I received from the very first presentation I downloaded paid for my subscription many times over! The quality of the decks available allows me to punch way above my weight \u2013 it&#8217;s like having the resources of a Big 4 consultancy at your fingertips at a microscopic fraction of the overhead.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u2013 Roderick Cameron, Founding Partner at SGFE Ltd<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;Several times a month, I browse FlevyPro for presentations relevant to the job challenge I have (I am a consultant). When the subject requires it, I explore further and buy from the Flevy Marketplace. On all occasions, I read them, analyze them. I take the most relevant and applicable ideas for my work; and, of course, all this translates to my and my clients&#8217; benefits.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">\u2013 Omar Hern\u00e1n Montes Parra, CEO at Quantum SFE<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In today\u2019s exponentially disrupted business environment, incremental improvement is not enough. It is not enough to win today. We have to be able to continue to evolve today and in the future. In the world of unprecedented disruption and market turbulence, Business Transformation today revolves around the need to generate new value. We need to&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/how-to-sustain-momentum-in-business-transformation\/\" rel=\"bookmark\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How To Sustain Momentum in Business Transformation<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":4688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[82,81],"tags":[1537,1535,1536],"class_list":["post-4672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-operations","category-strategy","tag-5-critical-actions-to-sustain-transformation-momentum","tag-business-transformation","tag-integrated-approach"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/111"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4672"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8163,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4672\/revisions\/8163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}