Many organizations that attempt to transform their business, follow the business-IT alignment path to shape business capabilities to match market dynamics; mostly with a plan to manage it with the rigor of program or project management discipline, avoid time delays, cost over-runs, or even if they find earned value through the efforts. This is perhaps alright for meeting immediate market demands, revenue goals, and share-holder level aspirations. Over a period of time, as I have coached, architected, and executed many such enterprise-level initiatives right from inception to completion. I have also found them to be phenomenal emotional investments that can reward more than what they set about to achieve, with much of the core change needed beyond the strategy creation and subsequent tactical executions for the purpose.

COURAGEOUS EVOLUTION
Business transformation involves an intensified aspiration for new possibilities. This provides for fantastic opportunities to create a transparent environment that highlights positive results and/or corrections that will likely bring positive results. It is like evolution which is always a win-win journey! Make people understand what’s in there for them, and encourage them to dream more. Organizations must therefore advertise their growth ambitions internally, just the way advertisers use real people in “before and after” pictures. Nothing motivates people more than witnessing their courageous evolution.

CREATIVE VIGOR
Business transformation efforts are mostly seen as either programs or projects ‘to be managed’. Some see business transformation efforts as an indulgence in a ritual to catch up with technology disruptions or to satisfy market-driven compulsions. In such cases, developing ‘creative vigor’ in people is less than obvious. The intent and often the result will be to bring about the elemental creative energy that is required through the indulgence of innovating or inventing. If charged with an environment to promote dreaming, it also strengthens the craving for being the best in those gifted with imagination and expression. As the yearning for creativity becomes more intense, the initiative becomes a form of in-dwelling within the organization. So, business transformation actually is a great opportunity to grow and maintain a culture of ‘creative vigor’, that ultimately becomes a way of life!

CUSTOMERS’ PERFECT
Transformation initiatives also require long arduous research during the course of which an organization can discover their own culture of superior quality and perfected actions that evolve to become the dynamic unity with their customers. This also creates a greater perception of one’s ability to perform tasks at hand that solely favor customers, with the reduction or elimination of imperfect outcomes. This aspect (called karma yoga), is a realization that if we do our tasks well, appropriate revenue results will follow themselves – the most difficult step in the ascent to be taken towards conscious capitalism!