From Operations to Undertakings: The New Model for Change

0:28This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. of America for a reason. With SUVs made to move with your rhythm. The versatile Equinox tackles your entire day. The spacious Traverse fits your crew and your whole weekend. And tracks bring style with value you can count on. All infused with tech that has your back. So your drive always hits the right chord. Chevrolet. Together let's drive. Most transformation efforts fail for a simple reason. Companies try to execute change using operating models designed for stability, not transformation. They optimize for efficiency and control, even when the work requires speed, experimentation, and learning.

1:14The hardest work leaders face today isn't keeping things running, it's building what comes next. This work has a start and an end. It cuts across silos, and you're figuring out as you go. It can be handled through routine roles. It has to be treated as a focused effort, bringing the right people together for a defined period of time to deliver something new. That's where projects come in. Launching a new product, rolling out artificial intelligence, rebuilding a supply chain, upskilling your workforce, entering a new market. These projects are how strategy actually becomes reality. So the shift leaders need to make isn't better project management.

1:58It's becoming project-driven. That means organizing the company around projects, not squeezing projects into an old operating model. That shift comes down to eight very practical changes across three areas. First, how the organization is set up. Make it okay to experiment and fail and to start and stop projects quickly. Build teams around three or strategic projects instead of the organizational chart. And let teams make most decisions without waiting weeks for approval. Second, how leaders focus their attention. Choose fewer initiatives and some of them with exponential goals. Get out of your comfort zone and spend more time supporting transformations instead of running day-to-day operations.

2:48Put your best people fully dedicated in the projects that matter the most. Third, how work actually gets done. Half operations, finance, HR, IT, and legal let projects move faster and deliver progress in three to six-month cycles instead of long, drawn-out plans. When leaders make these changes, projects stop being cyborg. They become how the organization executes strategy and generates new value again and again.