But there are
common principles.
There’s no one-size fits all approach to getting this right.
Clarity beats fancy words every time.
Good strategy is a clear plan of action, not a shopping list of lofty ambitions.
You only get one chance to launch. Make a bang, not a whimper.
Detail matters. But framed poorly it is an obstacle to understanding.
Directives to change might work in the army. For everyone else there’s framing change as an invitation to contribute.
No single speech, video, slogan, poster or event will do it. Repeat the logic for your change persistently over time.
Only fools accepts change without question, and you don’t employ fools. Give people time to think things through.
Telling people they’re ‘moving the needle’ is no substitute for letting them see the needle move for themselves.
You can’t have enough evangelists in enough corners of your organisation to make change stick. Know them and support them.
TRANSFORMATION CASES
When he took the reins at ING in 2014, CEO Ralph Hamers was adamant that you can’t manage or motivate people. You can only create the environment where people manage and motivate themselves. Ralph understood that if you show people how their work matters and create an atmosphere and perception of fairness, your organisation will achieve results beyond anyone’s expectations.
Spanning ten years, our work with ING centred around finding fresh and surprising ways to align a 30,000 strong team spread across 20 countries around a common purpose, involve them in articulating and reinforcing the values and behaviours they held each other to live up to, and defining what it means to be ING.
In a very real sense this was a rebrand from the inside out. Our work culminated in ING’s new ‘unbanky bank’ employer brand, ING’s first global strapline ‘Do your thing’, a new logo, and the very public takeover of Schiphol airport to let the world know that ING is well and truly back.
“If there’s one thing you can be sure people will be touchy about, it is change to the way they are paid.” Executive remuneration guru Frederic Barge knew his observation was never truer than when he was tasked with harmonising salary grades and reward structures for 380,000 people, following the merger of Ahold and Delhaize.
Understanding the importance of open and clear communication, Frederic brought us in to help get people on board the change. Helping them to understand not only the change itself, but why it was needed in the first place, the intentions behind it, and what it meant personally for each and every associate.
So well received was our work that we were subsequently invited by the management team to oversee the development of a broad range of company-wide communications. This spanned everything from campaigns for the firm’s innovation competition to a code of ethics video and the development of the new Ahold-Delhaize purpose: Eat well. Save time. Live better.
“Data Management problems are simply people problems in disguise.” With these words, Chief Data Office Chris Bannocks invited us to help him and his team transform the way people at Danone think about data. To see data not as some technical abstraction. But as a competitive advantage for the making of swift and informed decisions in the face of fluctuating demand, supply chain disruptions and shifting consumer behaviour.
Our brief was simple. Demystify data management, link it clearly to tangible business outcomes, and position the data management team as an approachable and hands-on squad of specialists who can make big things happen fast.
When Lard Fries accepted the invitation to take the top spot at Aegon, he was never going to be satisfied with leaving things running just as he found them.
Understanding the power of a clear vision, one of Lard’s first new appointments was branding authority Nanne Bos to develop and get people aligned around a new purpose.
Working closely with Nanne and his team we went from blank sheet to the company-wide launch of ‘Live your best life’ and all that it entailed in just three months. That we achieved this in less time than many companies of Aegon’s size take to select a partner is testament to Lard’s vision and Nanne’s leadership.
As Aegon’s CEO, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of Twofish. Their visionary team has been instrumental in helping us craft and embed our company purpose, galvanizing our 20,000-strong team into a unified, purpose-driven force. It is rare to find a partner who can so seamlessly translate abstract ideals into concrete, inspiring messages that resonate across every level of an organization. I have no doubt Twofish will deliver the same extraordinary results for any other organization fortunate enough to partner with them.
Lard Friese, CEO Aegon
Every successful business transformation has two sides.
We help you with the right side,
to make the left side stick.
HARD
New structures, new processes, new systems.
TRANSFORMATION
Getting people to understand and embrace the changes.
TRANSFORMATION
SOFT
We do this by helping you communicate in ways that respect their brains. Shortcuts to understanding why we are doing what we’re doing and what they can do to help.
“I GET THE STRATEGY. I GET THE CULTURE. AND I KNOW HOW TO TRANSLATE WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT INTO GOOD DECISIONS FOR MY AREA.”
They might never say it. But that’s what they’ll think.