I had the pleasure of hosting the annual Strategy&amp; Signature event in the beginning of June at Hotel Maria for our clients. This year the event provided strategy and transformation leaders with an interesting opportunity to discuss the topic of ‘Value creation, transformations and turnarounds’ with our guest speakers: Roger Flynn, a recognised CEO and experienced...

Lead with passion & tell it like it is  – Reflections from the Strategy& Signature event

Do not miss out assessing your culture as part of your strategy renewal and transformation. Just as a ship requires a seaworthy check before setting sail, evaluating your organisational culture is the crucial prelude to a successful strategy renewal and transformation. As a strategist I know that a large culture-strategy disconnect can be catastrophic. You...

Strategy renewal provides a great opportunity for assessing your culture

I decided to write about savings programs for two reasons. Firstly, they are currently very common. According to PwC’s global survey from November 2022, 42% of senior executives globally have identified cost reductions as key components of their 2023 plans. Secondly, and more importantly, because too few cost programs generate long-term value, but there are...

Lessons from Companies that Achieve Growth after Cost Programs

There are certain key steps that every software company considering international expansion should take – in addition to hiring a good consultant (and tax advisor, the correct structuring of operations is a beast!) The first thing is to consider what actually is the objective of growth? Are we following customers, seeking to boost growth as...

Unlocking International Markets – watch your steps

The world is changing faster than before, and companies need to adapt quickly. At Strategy&amp;&#8217;s event, keynote speaker Lars-Johan Jarnheimer emphasized that it is now more crucial than ever for companies to get closer to the customer. Strategy&amp; organized a networking event, &#8216;Venturing and Growth,&#8217; at Hotel Kämp in the beginning of  June. The event...

IKEA’s Lars-Johan Jarnheimer: “In the world of algorithms and AI, it is crucial to truly stay close to the customer”

I recently held a workshop on international expansion for a Finnish software company. And as a white, middle-aged male, I hold it self-evident that my opinions (oops, I meant to say evidence-based insights) carry such universal truths that they should be shared with a larger audience. Finland is fortunate to be blessed with a lively...

International expansion for software firms – what do successful families have in common

strategy-ampersand-transparentwhite-lines-uutishuone

Strategy& ampersand_transparent&white lines_Uutishuone

As part of the PwC network, Strategy& helps clients solve their issues from strategy through to execution. We do that by combining our strategy consulting expertise with the vast capabilities of the network, to help you move your business forward with confidence.

Strategy, made real

Etusivu

Verotus

Johtaminen ja vastuullisuus

Yrittäjyys

Juridiikka

Taloushallinto

Teknologia ja digitaalisuus

Strategy& -topics

Medialle

Tilaa uutiskirje

Strategy&

Peter Gassmann shed light on the short-term challenges that companies need to navigate while capitalizing on long-term megatrends. His clear message was that companies need to shift their focus from short-term profits to marrying shorter-term gains with long-term value creation. The sustainability transformation is one of the central driving factors switching our outlook to the longer term – and GenAI is poised to bring the next significant boost in economic growth.
Interestingly, Chief Strategy Officers and CEOs may have differing views of company readiness to face the future challenges, as revealed by our recent Chief Strategy Officer Study shared by Peter Gassmann. While 80% of Chief Strategy Officers believe that their company is adequately prepared to face future challenges, only 40% of CEOs share this sentiment.
Roger Flynn provided comforting insights to the more hesitant CEOs: amazing results can be achieved if you are bold, brave and aligned.
By alignment, Roger referred to a prerequisite for a successful transformation – alignment of strategy, infrastructure, and culture with the company vision and mission. Focus should especially be on culture as it is the main reason that projects and change programmes fail.
Then there’s the matter of people.  Roger claimed that a value-maximising turnaround can only be achieved if you have a sufficient number of your people backing your cause, preferably ‘the players’. Drawing on a popular Energy Investment Model, he described how in any given change situation, people tend to have either a positive or negative attitude towards change and either high or low energy. These four types of people are aptly named the players (positive attitude + high energy), the spectators (positive attitude + low energy), the walking dead (negative attitude + low energy), and the well poisoners (negative attitude + high energy).  Successful change requires that at least a third of your people are players – and that you manage to either change the mindset of the people who fervently share their negative attitude or, if nothing else works, let them move on to find new adventures (and wells to poison) outside your company.
Roger shared an experience about the time when the CEO of BBC was fired and thousands of employees were crying outside the building with banners calling for reinstatement. This was because the staff all believed so passionately in the vision of the BBC and feared the loss of direction towards that vision with the CEO’s departure.
Inspired by the anecdote, I wanted to know more about the characteristics of a great leader. Reflecting on his experiences from many transformations and turnarounds, Roger explained that we are typically drawn to:
<ol>
<li>Leaders with belief and passion in the business and vision/mission</li>
<li>Leaders who seem to know the direction</li>
<li>Leaders who tell it like it is; and</li>
<li>Leaders who believe that employees can be amazing</li>
</ol>
Whether you aspire to drive ESG transformation or achieve a turnaround, all guest speakers emphasized the meaning of creating and sharing great narratives – stories that empower people to genuinely grasp what change can bring, and how they can play a part in it.
This event was full of stories – stories that will encourage us strategy and transformation leaders to take bolder action and successfully execute even more risky strategies for the future!
Hungry for more? Read <a href="https://uutishuone.pwc.fi/strategy/strategy-renewal-provides-a-great-opportunity-for-assessing-your-culture" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jenna&#8217;s blog about culture</a> and check out our <a href="https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/de/en/industries/financial-services/fs-cso-study.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chief Strategy Officer Study</a> 2023.

Lead with passion & tell it like it is – Reflections from the Strategy& Signature event

Lead with passion & tell it like it is – Reflections from the Strategy& Signature event

Lue lisää

Strategy renewal provides a great opportunity for assessing your culture

Lessons from Companies that Achieve Growth after Cost Programs

Unlocking International Markets – watch your steps

IKEA’s Lars-Johan Jarnheimer: “In the world of algorithms and AI, it is crucial to truly stay close to the customer”

Yhteyshenkilösi PwC:llä

Jenna Hakkarainen

Muut lukivat myös

Lead with passion & tell it like it is – Reflections from the Strategy& Signature event

Strategy renewal provides a great opportunity for assessing your culture

Lessons from Companies that Achieve Growth after Cost Programs