This article is part 2 in a 3 part series on success in Business Transformations, in which we examine the Three Cornerstones of Success for any Business Transformation project. 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.

 
In our experience, the three cornerstones that determine whether Business Transformations succeed or fail are:
1. Culture;
2. Leadership; and
3. Communication.

Culture
We have already established that Business Transformations are all about change. If the culture of the organisation is to fear, and be reluctant to, change then there is not an environment that promotes innovation and allows transformation to occur.
 
“INNOVATION distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” Steve Jobs.
 
So, we have established that, to be effective,Business Transformations need to include an element of Innovation. Innovation inevitably involves taking a risk on a new idea. If the culture of the organisation is risk averse then again this will limit the transformation’s effectiveness in delivering Growth and financial returns.
 
“You will either step forward into GROWTH or you will step back into safety”. Abraham Maslow.
 
Changing a change reluctant or risk averse culture is not easy and needs to be led from the very top of the organisation. Any change of culture required initially, to later allow Business Transformation, would be a huge exercise in itself, led by the Board engaging expert advisors.
 
Leadership
Leadership is very important. Business Transformations are about managing people through change. It will be uncomfortable for them. Strong leadership is required to align them to a common cause, motivate them, show them the benefits and opportunities and lead them to success. This leadership is required at all levels of the organisation. Commitment,integrity, and alignment to a common beneficial goal are the leadership qualities required for success.
 
Communication
I cannot stress enough the importance of communications. What you communicate,when, how and to whom must all be considered. Most important of all though is that all communications must be consistent and be made with total integrity.
 

Also, it is better to communicate bad news (with consistency and honesty), than to not communicate at all. If there are things you cannot divulge at this point in time say so and indicate when the information will be available.
 
If you do not communicate, even out of good intention, your stakeholders will wonder why you are not communicating and draw their own (usually worst case) conclusions. All Business Transformations must have a well thought through Communications Plan and have project resources allocate solely to managing communications under the plan.