Harvard Business Review LogoRigid change programs often fail. A more experimental approach can build momentum—and increase the odds of success. by Evgeny Kaganer and Christoph LochErin DerbyMost corporate transformations fail because they’re approached as fixed, top-down programs with predefined goals, timelines, and financial targets. But as the environmentAll companies recognize the need to adapt as technology, society, and geopolitics collide to produce multiple competing futures. But attempts at systemic change often fail. Typically, a CEO sets a bold, monolithic transformation goal and then launches multiple initiatives to achieve it. The trouble is, that goal is constantly destabilized by shifts in the environment. As a result, early projects fail to deliver expected results, new initiatives proliferate, and the transformation journey becomes increasingly fragmented, leading to employee fatigue and shareholder frustration.
Transformation Should Be a Learning Journey
Most corporate transformations fail because they’re approached as fixed, top-down programs with predefined goals, timelines, and financial targets. But as the environment changes—because of technological disruption, for example, or new customer expectations—those assumptions quickly become obsolete. That’s why companies should treat transformation as a learning journey: an evolving process in which strategy, priorities, and even the destination are continually refined. Drawing on research into large-scale transformations and contrasting the experiences of DBS Bank and GE, the authors identify four types of transformation initiatives—pilots, options, established business improvements, and ventures—that together generate critical learning and sustain momentum. They also recommend three leadership practices to keep transformation efforts coherent over time.
