Autor: Diethard Engel

Every transformation starts with urgency and good intentions. But success? That takes structure, clarity, and consistent leadership. Here’s what truly matters when setting up your transformation program:

1. Start with alignment at the top

Transformation starts with clarity — not just motion.

Before launching workstreams or assigning tasks, hold a kick-off workshop with the C-level and key leaders. This is where momentum begins:

• Align on the vision, timeline, and goals
• Identify risks, challenges, and opportunities
• Map initial governance, key roles, and resource needs
• Create shared understanding — and shared commitment

Without this foundation, transformation efforts drift or stall before they even begin.

2. Resource the program with the best people

My Rule #4: Resource your program with top people
𝘈𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢 𝘴𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘵. Transformation is not business as usual — it’s a high-stakes, high-visibility program that demands experience and credibility.

Whether internal or external, transformation leaders must be:

• Strategically minded, but operationally grounded
• Cross-functional in thinking and respected across levels
• Clear in communication and decisive in delivery

If that person is not already in your organization, bring them in.

3. Narrow the focus — then stay focused

Successful transformation is about doing less, but better.
Trying to fix everything at once leads to overload, frustration, and poor execution.

• Prioritize 3–5 focus areas
• Phase initiatives into realistic timelines
• Set milestones that allow you to review and adapt

It’s better to deliver one major improvement than to manage ten disconnected projects.

4. Define roles, governance, and feedback loops

People don’t resist change — they resist confusion.

Build a program structure that enables decision-making and accountability:

• Who owns each workstream?
• What gets escalated, and where?
• How do we measure progress and act on it?

Establish regular reviews, steer proactively, and course-correct early.

5. Actively shape the culture you need

No transformation sticks without cultural alignment.

Culture isn’t just “how we do things” — it’s what gets rewarded, what gets ignored, and what behaviors leadership tolerates.

To make culture part of your transformation:

• Identify what drives your current culture (habits, legacy, leadership styles)
• Define a target culture aligned with your strategic goals
• Run it by employees and listen to feedback — you’ll gain trust and valuable insight
• Lead by example: behaviors at the top set the tone
• And most importantly: take your time
  Culture change takes quarters — not weeks. But it’s the multiplier that makes everything else stick.

6. Communicate, communicate, communicate

Even the best strategy fails if people don’t know what’s happening.
Communicate progress regularly. Celebrate quick wins. Address concerns. And be visible.

The best transformation leaders don’t just manage — they narrate the journey.

If you’re kicking off a transformation, don’t just act — lead.
Build clarity, earn trust, and create a structure where change becomes reality.

Whether it’s a transformation, post-merger integration, or carve-out — the success of complex programs isn’t decided during execution. It starts right at the beginning: in the very first workshop.

🎯 Why a Kickoff Workshop Is Indispensable

Before action plans are written, resources allocated, or processes adjusted, every transformation effort needs one thing above all: a common foundation.

A well-prepared, professionally facilitated workshop with the C-level and key leadership team lays that foundation.

Core objectives:

• Alignment on the target picture and timeline

• Identification of risks and opportunities

• Initial outline of governance, roles, and workstreams

• Scoping of internal and external resource requirements

👥 Plan Resources Realistically — Don’t Just Hope for the Best

Especially in PMI and carve-out scenarios, it quickly becomes clear how easily teams are stretched thin — even when motivation and know-how are strong.

My rule for successful programs:

𝗥𝘂𝗹𝗲 #4: 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲.

Availability is not a skill set. Transformation is more than a side hustle — handle it with people who have a track record of delivery.

Business continuity comes first — and that often leaves little time for things like aligned target pictures, role clarity, or cultural integration. That’s why it’s key to:

• Define internal and external resources early

• Appoint a program lead from day one

Experience shows that a seasoned program lead with cross-functional understanding keeps the effort on track — especially when internal teams lack capacity or specific expertise.

🧭 Focus Over Frenzy

A kickoff workshop is more than a formality — it’s the starting point for clarity, structure, and focus. Even the best teams can’t do everything at once.

Those who take transformation seriously ensure:

• A clear framework for action

• A shared understanding of the target state

• A setup that reflects day-to-day realities

If you’re currently working on or about to start a transformation, PMI, or carve-out initiative — feel free to reach out. Let’s connect and exchange perspectives.

Strukturiertes Handeln entscheidet über Transformationserfolg – gerade, wenn Zeit knapp ist. Ich kläre mit meinen Mandanten die wichtigen Themen. Nachstehend als ein Beispiel meine kurze Liste zur ersten Vorbereitung einer Transformation:

🔎 Strategische Ausgangslage

1. Was hat Sie oder das Management-Team zur Überlegung geführt, eine Transformation anzustoßen?
2. Welche Ergebnisse früherer Initiativen waren nicht zufriedenstellend – und warum?
3. Gibt es eine konkrete Dringlichkeit oder einen externen Druck (z. B. Markt, Investoren, Cash Flow)?

🎯 Ziele und Erwartungen

4. Was wäre für Sie ein klarer Erfolgsnachweis in 6 oder 12 Monaten?
5. Welche konkreten Geschäftsziele sollen durch die Transformation unterstützt werden (z. B. Margen, OTD, Resilienz)?

🧩 Strukturen & Komplexität

6. Wie ist das aktuelle Operating Model aufgebaut – wo sehen Sie Engpässe oder Widersprüche (Rollen, Prozesse, Steuerung)?
7. Haben Sie Transparenz über die Profitabilität einzelner SBUs, Produkte oder Regionen?
8. Wie ist das Zusammenspiel der Bereiche aktuell organisiert (Funktionen, Schnittstellen, Verantwortlichkeiten)?

🗂️ Portfolio & Prioritäten

9. Gibt es eine Portfoliosicht auf Ihre Produkte, Projekte oder Kunden?
10. Welche Themen sind aus Ihrer Sicht Chefsache – und welche Themen wurden bisher aufgeschoben?

🛠️ Umsetzung & Ressourcen

11. Welche laufenden Initiativen gibt es bereits – und wie bewerten Sie deren Wirkung bisher?
12. Gibt es intern Kapazitäten und Strukturen, um eine Transformation nachhaltig umzusetzen?
13. Haben Sie bereits externe Unterstützung – oder planen Sie diese?

📊 Führung, Steuerung & Kommunikation

14. Wie werden Transformationsthemen aktuell gesteuert? Gibt es Governance, Meilensteine, KPIs?
15. Wie ist die Stimmung im Team? Gibt es Veränderungsbereitschaft oder eher Ermüdung?

Die Antworten auf diese Fragen helfen mir, in kurzer Zeit ein erstes Bild über das geplante Programm zu entwickeln. Wer sie früh klärt, verhindert Chaos – und schafft Vertrauen bei Teams und Stakeholdern.

Why Industrial Portfolio Management is More Than a Financial Exercise

We’ve all heard the saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
But what if your problem isn’t too few eggs — it’s too many baskets?

That’s the challenge many industrial businesses face when managing complex portfolios. Think:

• Multiple SBUs with vastly different dynamics
• Product lines operating under the same umbrella but with unequal performance
• Regional strategies that follow legacy patterns rather than customer logic
• Sales reps achieving wildly different price points for the same product

And what makes it even harder? The true performance often hides in the details.

🎭 Cross-subsidies: The Hidden Performance Killer

Too often, businesses run with blended P&Ls that obscure the profitability of individual portfolio components.

I’ve seen it repeatedly:

• High performers carry the weight of low-margin products or regions
• Headquarters allocations are spread evenly, with no correlation to actual value creation
• IT, accounting, and sales & marketing overheads wash out product-level insights
• Net sales price deviations go unnoticed or unchallenged

The result? Poor decisions, wrong investments, and missed opportunities.

🔍 The Case for Granular Portfolio Analysis

If you want to improve portfolio performance, you need to treat different parts of your business differently.

That requires:

1. Breakdown of overheads to the lowest reasonable unit — be it product, region, or customer segment
2. Inclusion of true supply chain cost — from procurement to storage to shipping
3. Identification of price realization gaps — not just list price vs. net price, but actual value delivered

Portfolio analysis should start high — for example at the SBU level — and then cascade:

• From product groups to individual products
• From global view to regional profitability
• Across multiple years to identify trends, not snapshots

📈 From Insight to Impact: Portfolio Management as a Transformation Driver

Industrial portfolio management is not just a financial transparency exercise — it’s a strategic transformation lever.

With real, reliable profitability data:

• You can scale the stars — and feed them with the right attention and resources
• You can fix or exit the underperformers — often with dramatic impact on margins
• You can re-align sales and pricing strategies — where people are leaving money on the table
• You can inform make-or-buy decisions — and optimize your footprint

Too many businesses live with complexity they neither understand nor manage.

🤔 How do 𝙮𝙤𝙪 manage your industrial portfolio?

Are you confident that your eggs are in the right baskets?

Can you clearly see which ones are golden — and which might be starting to rot?

If that question makes you pause, it might be time to take a closer look.

Let’s talk about building the visibility you need to take better decisions — with less guesswork.

If you’re about to kick off a transformation and want to get it right from Day One, let’s talk. I work with senior teams to structure, drive, and sustain transformation efforts—with clarity and traction from the start.

About Leadership responsibility, external support—and the moment for action

“Transformation” is everywhere—yet often, no one truly owns it. Is it a leadership task? A job for external consultants? Or something that just… happens?

Let’s take a closer look.

🔍 Who notices the need for transformation?

In theory, senior management should be the first to detect strategic or operational misalignment. Signals often come in the form of declining margins, missed targets, slipping deadlines, or growing organizational fatigue. But the early signs are not always clear—or easy to admit.

Sometimes, frontline teams raise the red flags. But without executive attention, these warnings rarely lead to real change. And in other cases, the organization gets so busy coping with problems that no one steps back to ask: “Is this still the right way of working?”

Bottom line:
The responsibility to notice and act lies with top leadership. Noticing isn’t the hard part—deciding to do something about it is.

🧭 How does management develop the idea that transformation is needed?

There’s a moment—often subtle—when an organization shifts from believing its challenges are temporary to realizing that something more fundamental must change.

This realization usually emerges from one or more of the following:

• Repeated failures despite seemingly good initiatives
• Fragmented efforts without clear direction or governance
• Strategic misalignment between business goals and capabilities
• Pressure from stakeholders, investors, or customers

Senior leaders begin to understand: “We can’t fix this with the same tools that got us here.”
This is the moment where transformation begins—not just as an initiative, but as a mindset shift.

🤝 When does it make sense to involve external support?

An organization doesn’t need external help to notice the issues—but it often needs help to face them systematically.

Involving a transformation advisor or manager makes sense when:

• Internal initiatives stall, repeat, or contradict each other
• There’s no clear roadmap—or too many priorities
• Decision-making is slow, fragmented, or politically charged
• Leadership lacks the capacity (not necessarily the skill) to drive parallel streams

An external transformation leader brings:

• Clarity through structured diagnostics
• Objectivity in analyzing root causes
• Capacity to set up governance, drive momentum, and measure impact
• Courage to raise uncomfortable truths—constructively

But external support can never own the transformation. That ownership must remain with management—especially the C-suite.

🎯 Final thought: Ownership can’t be outsourced

Transformation is a leadership obligation. It involves strategy, people, behavior, and trust. External advisors can support, guide, and challenge—but not replace management ownership.

If transformation is everybody’s job, it risks becoming nobody’s responsibility.
Senior leaders must hold the torch, even when it burns.

If any of this resonates—and you’re unsure how to take the next step—let’s connect. I work with executive teams to bring clarity, focus, and results to their transformation journey.

Plans are easy. Execution is where transformation succeeds—or fails.

Even the best roadmap won’t deliver results if teams are misaligned, overwhelmed, or unclear on priorities. That’s why execution must be as structured and transparent as planning.

Here’s how to get it right:

🔁 Establish steering and feedback loops. Fortnightly alignment with clear KPIs helps spot deviations early.
🧠 Facilitate cross-functional workshops. Align understanding across the operating model—structure, governance, roles, and behaviors.
📢 Communicate frequently and authentically. Silence fuels skepticism. Regular updates maintain momentum and trust.
📌 Embed the change in routines. New governance rituals, KPIs, roles, and escalation paths ensure the transformation isn’t undone by old habits.
📈 Learn and evolve. Build the capacity for continuous improvement—from lessons learned to process refinement.

Transformation is not a one-time fix.
It’s the start of a new way of operating—more aligned, more accountable, and more capable of adapting.

The real success?
When the organization no longer needs the transformation manager—because transformation has become part of the culture.

🔎 If this resonates – let’s talk.
If the situations I describe sound familiar—and you’re unsure what the next step should be—let’s connect.
I help executive teams create clarity, focus, and momentum in complex transformation environments.

Once a company accepts that change is necessary, the next challenge emerges:
How do you turn complexity into a focused, executable plan?

A good transformation plan doesn’t start with solutions. It starts with understanding:

• How do your functions really work together?
• Where are the bottlenecks—and what causes them?
• What are the interfaces and hidden dependencies?
• Which legacy structures prevent change?
• Which initiatives are draining resources without impact?

In my work, I often map this across key operating model components:
🧩 Organizational structure,
🧩 People & capabilities,
🧩 Governance & decision-making,
🧩 Roles & processes,
🧩 Culture & communication.

Here’s what I recommend:

✅ Don’t try to fix everything at once. Prioritize by impact and feasibility.
✅ Co-develop milestones with the teams. Transformation is done with, not to, the organization.
✅ Build realistic resource & budget scenarios. Underestimating effort is the surest path to burnout.
✅ Embed clear communication & feedback loops. Everyone needs to know where things stand—and why.

The goal is not just a roadmap.
It’s a roadmap that your organization believes in and is ready to follow.

🔎 If this resonates – let’s talk.
If the situations I describe sound familiar—and you’re unsure what the next step should be—let’s connect.
I help executive teams create clarity, focus, and momentum in complex transformation environments.

Keep your eyes peeled for Part 3: Making it stick!