Signals That You Need an Olympic-Level Transformation

“Strategy is the great work of the organization… it is a unifying theme that gives coherence and direction to the actions and direction of an organization.”

?-Sun Tzu, The Art of War

I find it ironic that the first time I read “The Art of War” while a student in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University I had no idea I would ever end up in a strategy career.? But like so much of what makes for career success and longevity, it’s less about what you studied and more about what you experienced… and in doing so, what lessons you apply.?

It’s with that ‘experience yields results’ mindset that I begin this series about what makes for a good strategy - the interdependent facets of growth, transformation, innovation, and leadership. ?While all are important, it’s key to first know which is the greatest impetus for your organization change journey.

“I don’t want to be the next Mark Spitz; I want to be the first Michael Phelps. ” - 28 time Olympic medalist (most medals of any athlete), Michael Phelps

As a swim and dive mom, this pool season ignites all my senses: splashing sounds, the smell of chlorine, and the sights of proud post-race ribbon holders. The camaraderie within our kids’ swim team is heightened as we celebrate our hometown Bethesda hero, Katie Ledecky, on her way to another Olympics. She and our ‘neighboring’ Baltimore native, Michael Phelps, have set the bar high and continue to inspire generations of swimmers - especially mine.

Katie Ledecky will be one of thousands who descend on the City of Lights in just a few weeks.? From the historically hallowed Versailles Hall of Mirrors to the now hallowed swim lanes of the Centre Aquatique Olympique, Paris has undergone a transformation that offers any leader of a complex organization a #StrategyIRL set of lessons.?

Transformation Strategy Defined. Oxford Languages offers a math-based definition of transformation as a “process by which one figure or function is converted into another that is equivalent in some important respect but is differently expressed or represented.” In my corporate strategy vernacular, it’s akin to saying that transformation occurs when an organization changes its offerings to meet new or expanded market demands. What the company did before is not per se of lesser value, but what it needs to do to succeed in the future must be different.?

Simply put: where the organization is going doesn’t minimize where it’s been, but what got it here won’t likely get it there.

Une ville transformée. When I think about Paris, my mind harkens to centuries of greatness. Its culture, politics, and innovation drove progress for centuries. Its artists, architects, kings, and scientists offered the world iconic value hard to quantify. Today Paris boasts a population over 2.2M in a 41 sq mile area, the 4th most populated city in Europe and 30th most densely populated in the world. It’s also the 9th most costly city to live in globally. Its infrastructure is one of the oldest and busiest with a subway system from 1900 that moves the 2nd greatest volume of passengers worldwide. Its laborbase is often mired by strikes and strife that have shut down critical sectors of infrastructure. In its manufacturing and construction sector there were estimated to be less than 100K workers as of 2000.??

So how was this city going to transform itself to be able to welcome more than 15M visitors over three months for the Olympics and Paralympics despite funding challenges, labor needs, and an aging infrastructure?

Enter a transformation focused strategy.?

Paris didn’t need to simply scale its current state to host the Olympics. It needed to evolve to offer greater capacity and value to meet modern expectations - much like how organizations that have outgrown their existing market position or fit need to transform or reinvent themselves to keep pace with evolving demands. Here is what leaders can apply from the lessons the Paris Olympics offer.?

Audacious goals are achievable and foundational for transformation. Powering the deluge of people, buildings, and networks represents an exponential increase that the existing Parisian power grid would not be able to handle. Rather than retrofitting existing infrastructure, through a partnership with the European Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) planners reimagined approaches to include six wind farms to power stadiums. New direct connections to the power grid will enable media broadcasting in a way that reduces emissions by 80%.? The planners set an audacious goal to have the first 100% carbon free electric power Olympics and create the foundation for what may be a sustainable future. In so doing, these games are underpinning a transformation for the city and country.

Milestones should be measured incrementally and accountable externally.?We've learned time and again that preparing for the Olympics takes years of meticulous planning and development. The Paris 2024 Board of Directors oversees the Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee, bringing together all the project’s founding members: the CNOSF, Paris City Council, the French State, the Greater Paris regional authorities, the CPSF (French Paralympic and Sports Committee), the Greater Paris Metropolitan Area, the Seine Saint Denis departmental council, and representatives from the towns and cities involved in the Games.

This dedicated team has successfully raised significant funds from esteemed partners such as Coca-Cola, Deloitte, Toyota, Airbnb, Visa, and many others. Together, they ensure that every milestone for the Olympics and Paralympics is met, day by day, paving the way for a spectacular opening ceremony and an unforgettable event. Of note, this public-private means that accountability to external partners must be measured. Investors, just like with any shareholder, don’t sit back and wait for success, but want to ensure the pace and trajectory are in sync. Similarly, such progress highlights that transformation is not only incremental, but requires an outside-in perspective. Going it alone is simply infeasible.

Transformation must be in parallel to ongoing business.?The Olympics significantly boost local tourism industries, driving increased business for hotels, restaurants, and local attractions. However, hosting the Games involves complex planning and can cause disruptions before and after the event, affecting the venues and the economy that supported the Olympics. "Organizers of the 2024 Paris Olympics are hoping to break the streak of financial strain that past Games have left on host cities," writes the Council on Foreign Relations.

To ensure a positive economic impact and sustainable transformation, the Paris 2024 Committee has implemented strategic measures to manage funding and resources effectively. By leveraging innovative solutions and engaging with local communities, they aim to create a legacy that benefits the city and its residents long after the closing ceremony AND doesn’t detract for their “business as usual” and economic livelihood as a global tourist destination.? (Just look at the throngs of Swifties that descended on the city in May!)? So, too, does an organization undertaking a transformation need to maintain existing revenue and stakeholder delivery. It cannot pause and wait for the transformation, which thereby requires dedicated and often separate lines of funding, oversight, and support.??

Highlight history but boldly create new experiences that raise the bar.? Paying homage to the history and legacy of an organization’s success is a key way to engender support, buy in, and brand loyalty while amplifying stakeholder experience. Take for example the infamous grounds of Versailles, built, lived in, and expanded by Kings Louis XIII, XIV, XV, and XVI. For the last 500 years, this grand palace and UNESCO World Heritage site has provided the backdrop for global events. This summer it will again as the equestrian Olympic and Paralympic events occur on the centuries-old Etoile Royale esplanade. Similarly, the way in which athletes, fans, and even online spectators experience the opening ceremonies will be markedly different than any time in the past. Rather than in a stadium, athletes will float down la Seine with the backdrop of all of Paris’ iconic landmarks, giving credence to the legacy of the parade of countries but in a completely reimagined format that sets a new standard for opening experiences.?

Bringing Home the Gold.

Modernizing a legacy organization or pivoting for greater returns demands sharp strategy and flawless execution. However, not all strategies are alike. Remember to assess what you’re looking to change. If evolving what you do and how you do it are the keys to unlock future success, you need a transformation-focused strategy.

Learn from the Paris Olympics and follow Michael Phelps’s advice: transformation strategies aren't about copying competitors—they're about becoming the best version of your organization.

NBG Strategy Consulting helps clients in designing and aligning operating frameworks that embrace technology to increase employee and customer engagement in service of growth goals.

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