This article is part 1 in a 3 part series, in which we will explore what the words 'Business Transformation' truely mean and the secrets to ensuring that your business transformation project is a success. The 3 parts in this series are:

• The Importance of Change and Stakeholder Management.
• Culture. Leadership. Communication. The 3 Cornerstones of Success.
• What Have We Learnt? Getting Results from Your Business Transformation. 

You have a Business Transformation to deliver. You have a strategy. You have robust project processes in place, the right resources and a clear scope. Yet despite all this, your project runs past deadline, over budget and it fails to deliver the returns promised in the business case. Why?

Does this scenario sound familiar to you? Do you know why it happened to you?

The variables to successfully delivering Business Transformations are vast. You are potentially launching new products into new markets, changing the way you operate, changing your selling proposition and implementing new systems to support these changes. Your organisation is evolving. You are quite literally impacting the lives of your customers and your employees, changing the way they interact with, and within, your organisation.

So why would an organisation embark on Business Transformation?

In a word...CHANGE!

In modern business things change at an exponential rate. New Technologies. New Markets. New Ideas. New Inventions. Principles such as Moore’s Law are constantly driving change.

Organisations must continuously evolve to keep up with change and remain relevant to their customers. This evolution is achieved through Business Transformation.

Therefore, managing change is an important element of ensure your organisation’s Business Transformation project is a success.

What is managing change all about? Again, one word...PEOPLE!

People are the key to the success of any project. Professional, robust project process is important but who is going to run those processes? People!

Who will come up with the initial business strategy? Who determines the validity of the business case? Who initiates and runs the project? Who ensures the project is a success? Who are the project stakeholders? Who are the project resources? All People!

Manage the “people” side of your Business Transformation and everything else will fall into place. In my view, and experience, successful project management is 10% project process, 10% subject matter knowledge, and 80% stakeholder management.

So, manage people and you manage change. The key to managing people is...Stakeholder Management.

First and foremost know who your stakeholders are. They are everyone who will be affected by the Business Transformation, both internal and external to the organisation. Those who will be impacted by, and benefit from, the transformation. Those who will be responsible for conceiving, planning and implementing the transformation.

Your stakeholder groups will typically be some or all of the following:

• Your Employees. Their roles and the way they do their jobs will be affected.

• Your Project Team. Your internal project staff and subject matter experts, and the external consultants, who will successfully deliver your transformation project.

• Your Customers. Who will benefit from new products, services, markets, better service delivery and quality of service?

• Your Suppliers. The transformed business may require different supplies to different markets through changed supply-chain channels.

• Your Competitors. Your transformation should reposition you against your competitors, perhaps establish new competitors, or be so innovative that you initially have no competitors in a new area.

• Your Shareholders. All Business Transformations should deliver additional financial returns for you shareholders, otherwise why transform at all?

• Possibly Unions. Depending upon the industry you are in and the nature of the transformation.

• Government. Impacts such as employment law, grants, taxation, etc. The Government may also be one of your impacted Customers.

• Regulators. Depending upon the profile of your transformation, ACCC or ASIC regulations may apply. Also, industry specific regulators.

• Society. The nature of your transformation may give you the opportunity to positively impact society. In fact, these days it is essential.

Once you have identified your stakeholders you need to understand them. Understand their requirements. Understand what they are flexible on and what is non-negotiable to them. Understand their view of “success”. Understand where their respective expectations align and where they are in conflict.

Finally, armed with the understanding you have gained, manage your stakeholders’ expectations. All the way through the transformation project keep them up to date and manage their expectations of what can and cannot be delivered, taking into account constraints such as time and budget.