There are plenty of reasons why businesses can initiate a Transformation Program for, and here are some. Regardless of the pains behind the need for the Transformation, without a clear strategy that aligns participants, the Transformation will never succeed. Below are the 6 main steps that you need to go through to develop a well-structured plan that consequently can lead to the success of your Transformation Program.

1. Program Initiation: 

This step is essential for identifying the key stakeholders for this Transformation Program and announcing the duties of each participant in the program.

2. Recognizing the current situation:

You might think you know your business well. I suggest you rethink about this. Go out of your office and monitor exactly how the business is being done. Find out what the current business processes are and see any bottlenecks that processes run through, or possibly any inefficiencies. Check out support functions that might get affected by such a program. 
Assessing the current situation does not only stop at the internal factors, but they also include external factors, such as economic trends, competition, and other market conditions.

3. Identifying the needs for the Transformation Program:

What are the CEO's pains? What makes him sleepless at night? What is competition doing better than you are? What new emerging technology can you utilize to get better business results that put you ahead of your industry peers? The need for a Transformation Program does not happen overnight. There must be a reason behind it, and the reason should be made very clear to everyone involved.
Also read: 3 Basics of Successful Business Development

4. Decide where your business wants to be:

This is done through redefining your vision after the successful completion of the Transformation Program. 

5. Design how you will achieve this new vision:

It can be a new business model. It can also be through acquiring new companies. It can also be by employing new skilled employees. Additionally, it can be through training your people to do things differently and help them acquire new skills. It can be through a combination of all of the above.
And finally,

6. Plan the Transformation:

Change involves plenty of risks. Without proper planning, a company can go out of business if Transformation strategy is not executed properly. An initial estimate of the costs and schedule is needed at this point. Besides, a risk mitigation plan is also necessary, which you must be ready to engage in case anything does not work out as expected. 

Also read: 7 Tips to Writing a Perfect Business Plan


To conclude, Business Transformation Programs can be very risky. Proper strategic plans are necessary to ensure the success of the Transformation and that a business survives such significant changes.

What are your thoughts on the process? What are companies failing to do today and what are they doing very well? I would love to hear from you!