Many companies are rolling out their 2022 strategic plans in hopes of transforming their business and capitalizing on their visions of success. In executive forums across the globe, there’s a push to propel the journey forward from planning to execution now that Q2 of the calendar year is here.
Embedded in this push is an assumption — as companies move to execute their transformations, the strategy piece of the project is complete. Many companies talk about strategy and transformation separately, but there is a symbiotic relationship between the two. The Japanese proverb says it best: “Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare.”
- Strategy is more than a mission, a vision or a planning exercise. It’s a tangible set of choices to achieve the organization’s goals in hopes of defining a route to success.
- Transformation is the actionable alignment of people, process and technology initiatives to a company’s strategy to deliver on the defined goals and realize long-term value for the organization.
As leaders in the financial services industry prepare for their 2022 transformation priorities, keeping strategy and transformation aligned through transformation delivery planning will reveal the following benefits:
- Efficiency and effectiveness – Organizations should clearly understand their priorities and focus resources to thoughtfully execute and increase realized value, reduce conflicts, and decrease or eliminate redundancies. To do this, organizations need:
- Teammate engagement – Cultural alignment to the overall strategy and transformation goals needs to be clearly established and easy to understand. Top-down consistent messaging is a critical success factor. Which leads to:
- Leadership advocacy – Executive sponsorship needs to be engaged not only in the overall strategy development and transformation objectives but also across the end-to-end transformation lifecycle to verify that the transformation continues to align with the business’s strategic priorities. This will help confirm that organizations are being provided with the best possible end-user experience. Speaking of clients, remember to keep:
- Client at the center – Understanding the realized transformation value and how it aligns to a business’s long-term strategy should be consumable for clients and help them achieve their goals. Additionally, understanding and preparing a readiness strategy for client impacts based on the transformation should be top of mind throughout the end-to-end transformation.
Easier said than done … yes. There’s a reason why only 62% of transformation projects meet their original goal and business purpose, according to Project Management Institute’s 8th Global Project Management Survey. As you embark into Q2, make sure your #TransformationDeliveryStrategy is in alignment and is integrated into all phases of your transformation. Let’s make 2022 a year where transformational risk is reduced!
The views expressed by the author are not necessarily those of Ernst & Young LLP or other members of the global EY organization.
