Why most business transformations fail.

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics. Each becoming less reliable. The next level is probably ‘things consultants say’, which can hardly be relied on at all. But every now and then, something consultants say rings true. For me, the one that has stuck the longest and cut the deepest is:

70% of business transformations fail.

The truest, fullest version of this suggests they ‘fail to bring the anticipated results’ (not that they fail outright). Some of that is because people inflate what’s possible. I’d be a wealthy man if I had a nickel for every project that predicted fabulous savings from headcount that was eventually just spirited into other cost centres. And that’s only one of many ways these things fail.

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That said, at the core of it all is that we’ve fallen into the trap of believing businesses are living entities capable of independent change. For the most part, they are not.

But people are capable of change... and they do.

This is to say that almost every business transformation is an output of some kind of human transformation. A new strategy does not exist in a vacuum. New processes don’t manifest on their own. Making a company lean or agile doesn’t magically happen in the wee small hours while we sleep. Products don’t invent themselves (yet).

A strategy is nothing until people execute it. Processes are useless until people apply them. New ways of doing and thinking require people to bring them to life. People create products. And it’s people who make sh*t happen.

In that sense, businesses don’t change. People change. Human transformation always precedes business transformation. Otherwise, it’s almost certain to be a failure.

That sounds obvious, I know.

Yet most business transformations still crash and burn, so it may not be as obvious in the real world.

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In the mid-2010s, Chipotle had a huge issue with food safety, resulting in over 1,100 people falling sick and sending many customers fleeing. By 2018, profits had fallen 44%, and shares were down by 40%. Six years later, Chipotle is transformed. But it was a human transformation - building a culture of discipline that put it on the road to its incredible comeback.

If we want to see more transformations succeed, it’s worth remembering:

Businesses don’t change. People change.

And, when culture is aligned with the change we want to see, change is faster, smoother, and more enduring. If the culture is misaligned, change is often impossible.

I'm Jason Moore.

I help organisations transform their business through human transformations.

My successes include Microsoft, HSBC, Nordea, and many others in 30+ countries.

If you'd like to chat about how I might be able to help you, I'd love to set up a time to talk. Connect with me here on Linkedin...