Working with a Business Transformation Consultant
Transformation is a hot topic among business leaders pulling their companies out of a season of pandemic. McKinsey Global research firm senior partner Harry Robinson shares the difference between true business transformation, and the kind that doesn’t last:
“Our research says that over 70 percent of all [business] transformations fail. And while some use transformation as code for ‘slash and burn’ on costs and structure, that’s not real transformation. The business models haven’t changed and the costs have come back.”
So if real transformation isn’t as simple as quick fixes or cost-cutting measures, then what is it and who can best help you to achieve it?
What Exactly is a Business Transformation Consultant?
The best leaders benefit from outside insight. Business transformation consultants are primed with decades of knowledge and experience to help build successful sustainable companies with proven techniques for transformation. A consultant can see what you cannot. They know the criteria that causes real transformation—and through the value of insight— what changes are necessary to improve the way you do business.
As your consultant observes your product offerings, asks questions, and gathers data about your revenue, they implement a process that has worked for hundreds of other companies. Consultants have perspective into many types of businesses to see what’s working and what’s not. They have broad expertise but can just as easily dive into the nuance of daily operations and the challenges you face. Business transformation consultants act as coaches, helping you work in the present with an eye toward future transition, whether your goals are to grow, scale, or sell your business.
Being Too Close to the Problem Won’t Transform Your Business
Learning how to transform and react to change in your industry is rarely easy. There is no better case study on change than what the airline industry faced at the outset of March of 2020. Delta Airlines, known for its leadership in customer service, responded immediately to its passengers’ hesitancy around traveling in close proximity to strangers by blocking out the sale of middle seats.
The problem? The company’s disjointed technology systems for booking made ruling out the middle seat a technical as well as an organizational challenge. So the company went back to basics. They distributed laminated reminder cards at departure gates and to flight attendants to spread the word. Eventually, Delta worked on resolving the issue via software. But the airline saw a stabilization in its revenue which was 12 percent higher than three of its competitors combined, and their customer satisfaction received a sizable boost from the change. Instead of being too close to the problem, Delta leaned on what was strongest about their brand: customer loyalty. And it paid off in the end.
One of the benefits of a consultant is in their neutrality. They aren’t held back by legacy ideas or institutional barriers. They aren’t beholden to the demands of the status quo, but they are loyal to you. They do understand leaders and the pressures exerted on them to make a bevy of decisions, from determining KPIs down to deciding what goes on the company letterhead. Leaders at the top and on the frontline of organizations often have fantastic ideas. They just don’t have the time to distribute and standardize the change they want across locations and business units. In short, it is a massive effort that requires a highly coordinated and skillful plan. They want to help unburden leaders at the top by distributing decision-making to the right people at the right time. Business transformation consultants know that the key to organizational transformation is bringing the entire team along.
The Process of Business Transformation Gets Results
A key facet of business transformation is always accountability. What are your goals? Are they clear enough? Does everyone in the organization know what they are and how they play a part in fulfilling those? How well are those ideas being communicated and to who? This determines how fast your organization is capable of real transformation. Change only happens when you have defined what progress means and are plotting the course to it daily.
If you’ve employed a business transformation consultant, the results should be self-evident. Productivity will go up. Teamwork and transitions will run more smoothly. Distributed workloads and adequate staffing will unburden those at the top from making all the decisions. The effect should trickle down and begin to add value, monetary and otherwise, to the total health of the business. This isn’t a slow, plodding incremental kind of change, but an overhaul in the way business is done for you.
Leadership often misses opportunities because of the tyranny of the urgent. The problem is that most leaders usually know what needs to get done—they just don’t have the time, energy, or space to dedicate to it. And even if they did, how would they get everyone to row in the right direction? Heading up change initiatives requires an enormous amount of energy and time, two things that many CEOs and executives of companies have in short supply.
Business Transformation Consulting from Coachwell
Is it time to seize a new market opportunity from the competition? Add headcount to tackle an important business problem? Shift your brand to match new customer attitudes and desires? Scale back on a process that is falling behind and put investment toward a new technology that will bring a more competitive edge to your brand?
All of these are important questions around business transformation. And much of growing is about knowing when it is time to put your foot on the gas. Scale too fast and you may create a top-heavy organization that is unsupported by its sales revenue. Scale too slow and you might miss a strategic opportunity to lead in the space, and attract offers from competitors who see you as an asset.
Leaders can’t do it alone. And they shouldn’t. Operating in an increasingly competitive and changing landscape for businesses, CEOs and leaders need to be focused less on the daily execution in their companies and more on the wider scope of strategic challenges presented by the market.
Coachwell is uniquely primed to help in all of these areas. Driving change, scaling up to serve a market that is outpacing you or preparing your business for a future sale are all needs our business consulting services meet. Contact us or schedule a call to get a free consultation on how our business helps you do change.
