On Friday, I attended a meeting of the Atlanta chapter of the Association for Strategic Planning, featuring a presentation by Dr. Bill Rouse of the Tennenbaum Institute for Enterprise Transformation at Georgia Tech. The presentation encompassed enterprise challenges that lead to change, a theory of transformation, and the ends, means and scope of transformation. While each person at the meeting probably considered different pieces of the presentation useful, what stuck out to me was the definition of Enterprise Transformation:
“Enterprise transformation is driven by experienced and/or anticipated value deficiencies that result in significantly redesigned and/or new work processes as determined by management’s decision making abilities, limitations, and inclinations, all in the context of the social networks of management in particular, and the enterprise in general.” (original emphasis)
Here’s my interpretation:
Value Deficiencies: Your burning platform creates the urgency to change.
Work Processes: Value is created through work, so transformation happens at the process level.
Decision Making: Change happens based on management’s decisions (read: actions).
Social Networks: The enterprise’s system of influence will determine where transformation occurs. (Dr. Rouse described the social networks as an immune system.)
If you would like to learn more, there are links to books, articles and working papers at the Tennenbaum Institute website.