Insights from the 2024 Business Transformation Summit in Amsterdam

October 28-29, 2024 | Amsterdam, Netherlands

The Business Transformation Summit held in Amsterdam on October 28th and 29th, 2024, brought together industry leaders, innovators, and thought leaders to discuss the evolving landscape of business transformation. The event was a melting pot of ideas, strategies, and experiences aimed at navigating the complexities of modern organizational change.

Opening Remarks by Anu Pujji, Amazon

The summit started with an inspiring opening note by Anu Pujji Principal Operational Excellence at Amazon, a seasoned expert in business transformation and cross-cultural diversity. She emphasized the importance of embracing diversity and fostering inclusive cultures to drive meaningful change within organizations.

Session 1: From Projects to Holistic Transformation

Speaker: Susanne Parry, Cumberland Society of Investment, UK

Susanne Parry delivered a compelling session on shifting from isolated projects to a holistic approach to transformation. She highlighted the significance of listening and curiosity in leadership, sharing how her organization transitioned from a toxic culture to becoming one of the UK's most rewarding employers.

Key Challenge: "Have you thought about your people?" Suzanne stressed that 70% of transformations fail because leaders overlook their people.

Takeaways:

Cultivate a forward-looking culture.

Unleash the power of trust.

Uncover and address passive resistance.

Session 2: ESG Through a Human-Centric Lens

Speakers: Milan Lakhani and Gillian Nuttall @ KONICA MINOLTA, INC.

Milan Lakhani and Gillian Nuttall explored Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks using #VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) and #BANI (Brittleness, Anxiety, Nonlinearity, Incomprehensibility) models. They contrasted the shareholder versus stakeholder economies and discussed transformation as a driver for sustainability.

Innovations: AI Diagnostics: Using technology for remote diagnostics, reducing fuel costs, and increasing operational efficiency.

Takeaway: Mapping ESG efforts directly into financial value.

Session 3: The Evolving Role of AI in Business

Speaker: Dr. Philipp Korherr, 拜耳

Philipp addressed the rapid evolution of AI and its role in supporting—not replacing—humans in the workforce. He emphasized the necessity of quality data and robust governance in AI initiatives.

Key Points:

Make or Buy Decisions in AI: Understanding when to develop in-house solutions versus outsourcing.

From Experimentation to Industrialization

Data and Model Challenges:

With the rise of Generative AI, organizations face not just data issues but also the need to monitor and manage AI models effectively.

Roundtable Discussions

Accelerating Stakeholder Buy-In

Facilitator: Robert Newland, Chief Revenue Officer @ Pandatron

Robert Newland led a dynamic roundtable on gaining stakeholder buy-in for transformation success. Participants utilized the Pandaton AI app to explore why stakeholders resist engagement and strategies to overcome these barriers.

Insights:

Systemic Coaching: Addressing challenges faced by stakeholders through reflection-based methods.

AI as a Non-Judgmental Tool: Participants felt more comfortable discussing issues without the fear of judgment that can occur in public meetings.

Embedding a Data-Driven Culture

Facilitator: Maria Zelkovskaya @ Danone

Participants shared candid experiences about the difficulties in collecting, centralizing, and interpreting vast amounts of organizational data. The consensus was that devising a one-size-fits-all strategy is nearly impossible due to data fragmentation and different business models.

Celebrating Wins in Organizations

Led by Anu Pujji , this roundtable delved into the importance of recognizing achievements at all levels. Participants agreed that companies often overlook celebrating small wins, which can significantly boost morale and engagement.

Notable Practice: A director from Fujitsu shared how their company opened a direct communication line between any employee and the Chief Transformation Officer, fostering a culture where people feel heard.

Session 5: Introducing Turbotic AI

Speaker: Theodore Bergqvist CEO @ Turbotic

The morning concluded with Theodore Bergqvist presenting Turbotic, an innovative tool designed to create business cases for AI and Automation using structured and unstructured data.

Features:

Data Privacy Options: Users can choose whether to share data for model training.

Efficiency: Streamlines the information-gathering phase, expediting the development of compelling cases for change.

Day One: Afternoon Sessions

Session 6: Building Culture from Grassroots to Boardroom

Speaker: Adam Smith, 美国哈佛大学

Behavioral psychologist Adam Smith discussed the expansive universe of organizational culture, advocating for starting transformation by observing and modifying behaviors across three personas: executives, management, and grassroots employees.

Strategies:

Incremental Change: Avoid tackling culture transformation simultaneously; break it into manageable pieces.

The Importance of capturing behaviors: Via surveys, workshops, and active listening.

Sustaining Change: Focus on change management, reinforcement, recognition and rewards, and consistent measurement and tracking.

Session 7: The Power of Storytelling in Leadership

Speaker: Elena Alvarez, Head of Transformation for Eurodrone / Airbus

Elena Alvarez captivated the audience with a masterclass on storytelling. Sharing her journey from university to her current role, she delved into concepts like defining leadership and introduced her Elevated Employee Experience Model.

Highlights:

Ikigai and Purpose: Connecting employees' personal purpose to their work.

SBI Framework Enhanced: Building upon the Situation-Behavior-Impact model by adding steps to express needs and solicit feedback.

Session 8: Digital Acceleration in Operational Excellence

Speaker: Jason Stokes, CCO @ SOLVACE

Jason discussed the intersection of digital technology and operational excellence (OPEX). He noted that organizations with dedicated OPEX departments significantly outperform those without.

Core Pillars: Safety, Quality, Productivity, Cost, Delivery, Morale

Principles:

Avoid Digital Silos: Digitizing processes should not replicate existing functional silos.

Parkinson's Law: Addressing time and complexity in project management.

Controversial Point: Challenged the notion that people are the biggest company asset, highlighting disparities between white-collar and blue-collar workers in access to digital tools.

Day Two: Key Sessions

Session 1: Navigating Risks and Rewards

Speaker: Natasha Osborne, Allianz

Natasha Osborne emphasized establishing a clear focus and understanding the "why" at the outset of any transformation initiative. She shared Allianz's challenges in digital transformation within the insurance sector.

Approach:

Build Strong Teams: Include experts, real customers, and vendors.

Earn Trust: Essential among stakeholders, customers, and team members.

Calculated Risks: Leverage expertise to gain buy-in and maintain transparency through factual reporting.

Session 2: The Value of Emotional Intelligence

Speaker: Catherine Tranchant, Chief Digital Transformer Officer in Manufacturing 米其林

Catherine highlighted Michelin's strategy, which was built on people, planet, and profit. She stressed focusing 95% on people and only 5% on technology.

Cultural Insights:

Diverse Attitudes: European workers resisted new digital tools, whereas Indian workers actively sought them out.

Initiatives:

Global Platform: Connecting factory workers worldwide to share best practices and solutions.

Session 3: Driving Productivity Through Transformation

Speaker: Ilya Selivanov, Senior VP of Productivity, Reckitt

Reckitt's ambitious transformation was fueled by a goal of achieving $3 billion in productivity gains.

Strategy:

Productivity Office: Rethinking productivity through reducing, reusing, and recycling resources.

Project Tiers:

• Foundation: Fundamentals.

• Speedboats: Function-specific transformation agendas.
• Supertankers: Large-scale, end-to-end transformations like ERP implementations.

Value Capture:

• Data-Driven Assessments: Workshops and self-assessments to identify opportunities.
• Financial Tracking: Categorizing projects in ideas, maturing and execution to accelerate progress where needed.

Session 4: Bridging Intention and Purpose

Speaker: Kanak Tripathi - Head of Transformation, @SwissRe

Kanak addressed the often-overlooked gap between organizational intention and genuine purpose.

Challenges:

Intellectual Arrogance: Knowledge workers may lack real purpose despite intellectual engagement.

Reality Check: Recognizing that not everyone is driven by passion; many are motivated by their paycheck.

Strategies:

Courageous Conversations: Addressing those people who deliberately hinder transformation efforts.

Engagement Metrics: Accepting that having 50% of the colleagues on board in a transformation is a realistic goal.

Conclusion: Embracing Change for a Transformative Future

The 2024 Business Transformation Summit underscored the multifaceted nature of organizational change. The event provided a wealth of knowledge and actionable insights, from leveraging AI and fostering inclusive cultures to emphasizing emotional intelligence and operational excellence.

Key Takeaways:

• People-Centric Approaches: Transformation succeeds when people are at the forefront.
• Cultural Nuances Matter: Tailoring strategies to different cultural contexts enhances adoption.
• Storytelling and Purpose: Engaging narratives and clear purposes drive commitment.
• Data and Technology as Enablers: Tools like Turbotic and can accelerate change but require quality data and governance.
• Incremental Wins: Celebrating small victories fosters momentum and morale.

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