Strategic Transformation Research

Strategic initiatives help organizations realize their vision and goals—to bridge the gap between strategy design and delivery. Transformation refers to a more fundamental change—a quantum-leap cultural or operational shift that pervades the entire organization.

With this foundation in mind, organizations that want to stay relevant in an evolving business landscape must master both.

In this report, we examine the correlation between strategy implementation success and transformation effectiveness and speed. We also dig into factors such as adaptability, the adoption of formalized processes, and how frameworks are correlated with strategy and transformation success.

Contents

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

3. LEADERS OF STRATEGIC TRANSFORMATION
3.1 Strategy implementation performance
3.2 Effective transformation

4. TRANSFORMATION 101: THE SYLLABUS FOR SUCCESS
4.1 Transformation at speed
4.2 Talent and teams
4.3 The power of frameworks
4.4 Adaptability and course correction
4.5 Technologies enabling transformation

5. NAVIGATING THE TRANSFORMATION JOURNEY
5.1 Challenges to implementing strategy and successfully transforming
5.2 Areas critical to transformation
5.3 Leadership characteristics for successful transformation

6. CONCLUSION
6.1 Acknowledgments
6.2 About Brightline Initiative

Foreword

Every day, organization leaders walk a tightrope to maintain existing revenue streams, deliver seamless customer experiences, and enable efficient internal operations. Additionally, they strive to forge new pathways for their organization to succeed in an everchanging environment.

In an increasingly complex and fast-moving global economy, organizations and individuals are more focused on delivering discrete projects instead of operating around rigid job descriptions for employees. These organizations and individuals want to remain relevant in what we call The Project Economy–an environment in which people have all the skills and capabilities they need to turn ideas into reality–no matter what kind of project they’re working on.

Through the Brightline Transformation Compass, we understand that transformation at its core must be driven by people in order to be successful. However, by working with leaders across various industries, we know that organizations driving strategic and transformative initiatives are, unfortunately, more likely to fail than succeed.

What factors allow organizations to successfully complete change initiatives and swiftly transform? How do these organizations change their way of working while, at the same time, leverage technological advances like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning?

We all know change is hard, but what if it is for the better? Leaders need to embrace change and create cultures where change is not a one-time thing but is instead embedded in the daily agenda of the organization. If we can accomplish these two points, we have come a long way down the road. Let’s make change happen!

Sunil Prashara
President and CEO, Project Management Institute

Preface

Transformation risk is the new chief concern for business leaders. For organizations seeking to keep pace in a rapidly-evolving technology landscape, strategic transformation is a must. And yet a majority of organizations fail in their efforts.

To find out what organizations need to succeed, we conducted an extensive study with more than 1,000 global C-level executives. We wanted to know: What does it take for leaders to drive transformation? And what can we learn from organizations adept in strategy implementation?

The resulting executive report explores the correlation between successful strategy implementation and transformation. It provides a roadmap of best practices that organizations can use to shift their own strategic transformation journey at full speed.

This report will be especially helpful if you are a:

• C-suite executive involved in monitoring and delivering a transformation initiative
• Strategy executive or team member planning a transformation initiative
• Leader looking for resources to learn about the success factors of a transformation

At Brightline, we have made it our mission to help organizations transform the way they transform. We hope this research report will help you to drive the conversation forward and create the right conditions to master your organization’s strategic transformation.

Ricardo Viana Vargas
Executive Director, Brightline Initiative