AI will transform Transformation

I spent a decent chunk of time (c15 years) working in and on Transformation at large multi-national companies. Change is about to change dramatically (pun intended).

Despite the fact that human elements of transformation (influencing leaders; getting buy-in from different business unit leaders; breaking through prioritisation) are the hardest... the thing that drove costs most where the complexities in planning (i.e. interdependencies) and the sheer quantum of reporting and communication needs.

Transformation offices usually have large teams just focussed on the meeting cadence and information flow. Getting updates from project and business unit teams, capturing it into weekly & monthly reports; reporting it up to the exec team, the board, the regulators and more.

This burden of planning, replanning and updating information is so large that companies tend to spend millions on external consultants to help manage this.

Surprise. There is something now that is way better, faster and cheaper at consolidating, summarising, repurposing information that humans... Hello ChatGPT / Bard / ...

Imagine the AI simply listening in to 'update meetings & calls' and by the end of the update meeting it has already summarised the update, updated the risk ratings, action points, plan changes. Voila. No templates to fill in. No endless recommunicating of the same info, twisted by each human's unconscious biases, adjust to fit their agenda for the day...

Transformation is being transformed right in front of our eyes.

This is both an opportunity & threat.

The change management consultancies that embrace this technology and augment their ability to assist clients to get stakeholder buy-in whilst using AI to speed up information management and planning - they will be able to be undercut their competitors whilst delivering a better service. Those asleep at the wheel will lose market share.

That's the theory. Here are a few practical examples (not an exhaustive list - just those that come to mind)

1. Mergers & Acquisitions - imagine integrating businesses much faster and cheaper
2. Cloud migrations - faster planning & management of all the detail changes
3. Application development - this is changing daily. Code assistants. No-code writers. Engineers are always looking for faster and easier ways to get to good code. This is happening in large organisations also.
4. Cost reduction programmes - AI will not only automate and replace certain human tasks, but it will be able to look at business processes and recommend where further automation and cost reductions are possible.
5. Finance transformation - this is notoriously difficult. Many organisations have been on 'finance transformation' programmes for decades (not years) and still going. Part of this is the risk aversion of the finance department, part of this is the sheer volume of work and checking that is required to safely transition. AI will unlock this.
6. Digital transformation - this is probably the most spoken one currently. How chatbots are going to replace call centres, and give new digital engagement models. I agree with that, but I think that's just the surface. Understanding customers better, therefore pricing better, creating better and more relevant products, selling it better via the right channel at the right time - this is where the future lies.

Interested in any of the above - drop me a message!