Orchestrating Transformation - Preview

Orchestrating Transformation

Chapter 3 addresses the crucial issue of setting the company’s stra- tegic direction and the context for its transformation. Getting this right is necessary for successful transformation. No matter how perfectly a program may be executed, if the business model and strategy are wrong, the transformation will be a dud. We chart how organizations must conceive and enact clear “guiding objectives” that prioritize customer value creation, and a “transformation ambition” that can galvanize efforts across the business. In Chapter 4, we present the conceptual anchoring of the book, the Transformation Orchestra. Conceiving of the organization as a sym- phony orchestra made up of “instruments”—the organizational re- sources it needs to bring to bear to drive change—allows us to frame the execution of organizational change in an entirely new light. We maintain that every major transformation challenge practitioners face—whether that be creating a new customer experience or chang- ing company culture—is an intrinsically networked activity that involves many different organizational resources working together. These re- sources include the people, data, and infrastructure of the company. Organizational resources aligned to address a particular challenge are what we refer to as a transformation network, a key construct that allows the organization to move quickly, and in lockstep, marshaling resources from wherever they might reside in the organization. In Chapter 5, we explore what it means for the agents of change to orchestrate in this context—mobilizing resources and enabling their connections—through a series of concrete activities, driven by the orchestrator. Here, we describe eight “orchestration competencies” needed to mobilize resources and enable the connections between them. Building these competencies is a clear call-to-action for trans- formation practitioners. In Chapter 6, we examine how companies should organize them- selves to drive strong orchestration. We explore how transformation programs are governed in large and midsized organizations, including who acts as the “orchestrator,” the person who “conducts” the Trans- formation Orchestra and is responsible for how the transformation program is executed. We describe the orchestrator’s charter and the responsibilities of the transformation office he or she leads.

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