Leading Transformation at IE

One of the sincere privileges of my work (not sure we can really call it work), is the honor to teach at many of the leading business schools and universities around the world. Ever since we launched Transform! (one of six Strategy Sims), we have been invited into a growing number of business schools globally, including stunning locations like Segovia, Spain.

Last week, it was Duke, in North Carolina, teaching transformation to 80+ students, alongside 8 global facilitators and 6 student teaching assistants (last years students, now co-pilots), all orchestrated by Prof. Tony o'Driscoll.

This week, it was IE University, in Segovia (Madrid) in Spain, currently my absolute favorite teaching venue. Over seven weeks we will run a Transform! simulation as a cornerstone of the IE global AMP program, led by high-energy Peter Fisk. 24 executive level students from Columbia, Costa Rica, Spain, Germany, Mexico and across the world, battle for strategic supremacy in a rapidly evolving global mobility landscape.

In Germany, Rail 1 is reinventing itself into a pan-European mobility and energy provider, investing heavily into solar assets and innovating for smart mobility solutions. In the UK, electric micro-mobility company Juppz, led by a fast-thinking Columbian CEO, is making strategic acquisitions into Asia, leading with a hostile take-over of a global e-commerce and last-mile delivery player. In Sweden, traditional car manufacturer CarWagon, led by a Lebanese born CEO, is rapidly building out adjacent businesses, expanding far beyond traditional manufacturing. Finally, out of Austria, Boosch Autoparts, traditionally a steady supplier to the European ICE car industry is finding itself with an urgent need to transform. In today’s annual shareholder meeting, the CEO and Investor Relations Managers laid out a multi-year transformation plan to create a global tech company to shape the future of mobility, in the process, taking the title of ‘Investor Relations Company of the Year’.

These, of course, are all simulation case companies the executive students are working on. Over a period of seven weeks, with five sessions (3 in person, 2 on-line), the 24 students compete, collaborate, strategize and transform. In total, the experience takes up around 25-30 hours of ‘learning time’ (inside and outside of classroom hours). During this time, the students are exposed to every aspect of leading transformation.

Designing a transformation journey

The stresses of being an incoming management team trying to learn the ropes of the organization (the previous management team was fired by the board)

Settling into new management roles (CEO, CFO, CSO, IM, IR)

?Leading with the ten principles of transformation

Develop a robust business model portfolio across Core, Growth & Explore

Resource allocation vs. strategic intent

Innovation strategy and innovation culture

Creating value with a corporate venture capital strategy

Understanding and managing industry shifts

Dealing with (cranky) board members

Financing the transformation through debt, bonds and corporate finance magic

The incredible importance of having a strategic CFO that can both work with strategy, secure the financing needed to execute it and manage every aspect of financial management

Dealing with investor relations, shareholder updates and annual shareholder meetings

Plotting strategic acquisitions, including M&A and hostile takeovers

Handling activist investors (the aggressive type)

Dealing with 17 unions and internal culture challenges

Understanding what creates value vs. what just eats up management time and focus

Constantly aligning the management team, with different levels of comprehension, mastery and confidence

Communicate well and rapidly make strategic decisions – as a team

Experiencing how micro-decisions drive your strategy in practice (thanks, Roger L. Martin)

and much, much more

Transform! is built on extensive research and years of working in the C-suite with real-life transformation journeys. Now, global business schools like IE, Duke, BI, Hult and many more are bringing Transform! into their classrooms, executive education programs and client customization programs to build deep leadership skills, develop strategic leaders and help organizations navigate disruptive change by experiencing transformation in action.

Coming back to our executive students in Segovia, Spain. They are now into their 2nd year of managing their mobility companies. They have grasped the basic building blocks, created shareholder value and aligned the team for the transformation journey ahead. Of course, shifting investor sentiments, rising interest rates, regulatory obstacles, unhappy investors, troublesome unions, failed mobility SPACS and aggressive competitors will continue to make the C-suite earn their paychecks in the coming weeks. A

Want to learn more about Transform!?

Transform! is one of six strategy simulations used in board rooms and classrooms around the world. From developing strategic leaders (Transform!), to building fast-growing startups (Scale Up!), to developing venture capital funds (Fund Manager!) or developing new, national growth industries (Supercluster!).?This year, the sims are delivered to government funds in the middle east, net zero accelerator in Scotland, Executive education classrooms across US, Lat Am, Europe and Asia, emerging fund manager programs in Asia, climate impact accelerator (global), internal training programs for venture funds (Nordics), corporate venture teams (global) and much more. Delivered by you or our global team, Strategy Sims pack impact, engagement and learning into a powerful experience. Learn more or talk to our team today.?