How to Adopt New Business Strategies

According to a Bain survey, 65% of initiatives fail because they require significant behavioral change. Making business changes stick long-term is one of the greatest challenges leaders face. Here’s how to overcome this hurdle: 1. Clarify Objectives: Without crystal-clear objectives, your team will struggle to understand the "why" behind the change. Define the goals in simple, actionable terms that resonate with every level of the organization. 2. Reinforce Behavioral Change: Behavioral change isn't a one-time effort. It requires consistent reinforcement. Regularly communicate the importance of new behaviors, and celebrate small wins that align with the change. 3. Support Commitment to the Goal: Leaders must visibly commit to the change. This commitment builds trust and signals to the team that the initiative is not just another passing trend but a core part of the company's future. 4. Ensure Accountability: Accountability is critical. Assign clear ownership for each part of the initiative. Use metrics to track progress, and hold individuals and teams responsible for meeting their targets. 5. Combat the Swirl of the Day Job: One of the biggest obstacles to lasting change is the day-to-day swirl of existing responsibilities. Prioritize the change by integrating it into daily routines and making it part of the fabric of the organization. During a recent corporate carveout, we faced the challenge of transitioning from a legacy culture to a more agile, entrepreneurial mindset. The real hurdle wasn't just setting new strategies but ensuring everyone aligned with the new way of thinking. By focusing on these key areas—especially reinforcing new behaviors and combating the daily distractions—we successfully embedded the changes into the company’s DNA, turning a potential roadblock into a stepping stone for growth. Remember, the real problem often isn't the change itself but our collective unawareness of what truly needs to be done to make it stick. Focus on these key areas to ensure that your business changes become lasting improvements rather than temporary adjustments. #Leadership #ChangeManagement #BusinessTransformation #Carveout

Nike's strategy is offense, not defense. Here are 5 ways to bring Nike's relentlessly offensive strategy into your organization. Nike doesn’t just make shoes. They build a culture of relentless offense, and every organization—whether you're a startup or a Fortune 500 company—can take a page from their playbook. Here’s how you can adopt Nike’s battle-tested strategy to drive change and get real results: 1. Embrace Change as Your Core Business. Nike’s first principle is simple: Our business is change. If you’re not evolving, you’re falling behind. The organization *must* get comfortable with discomfort. Make adaptability and agility a priority. Encourage experimentation and foster a mindset where failure is a stepping stone, not a roadblock. 2. Stay on Offense. All the Time. The most successful organizations play to win, not to avoid losing. Waiting for the perfect moment or process? Stop. Nike reminds us that results count, not the process. What's the use of an absolutely perfect process if it is not creating results? 3. Assume Nothing and Demand Accountability. One of Nike’s most critical strategies is this: Assume nothing. Ensure that promises are kept and people are held accountable. Build a culture where expectations are clear. Accountability isn’t about being harsh—it’s about pushing yourself and others to constantly raise the bar. Stretch the possible. 4. Focus on What Matters—Beware of Bureaucracy. Nike warns us about the dangers of bureaucracy, personal ambition, and energy drainers. These are silent killers in any business. Strip away unnecessary layers, focus on what drives impact, and create a culture of collaboration, not competition. Know your weaknesses and take deliberate actions to fix them. 5. Get Comfortable with the Mess. It won’t be pretty. Nike doesn’t sugarcoat it, and neither should we. Transformation is messy, and growth often feels chaotic. But if you focus on doing the right things, success will follow—near automatic. Don’t shy away from the hard work and the challenges. Embrace them. Nike’s strategy is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but the principles are clear: drive change, push limits, and focus on results. The organizations that adopt this mindset aren’t just surviving—they’re dominating. What are your thoughts on Nike's strategy and principles? #Leadership #BusinessStrategy #Innovation #ChangeManagement #Accountability #OrganizationalCulture #GrowthMindset #Transformation #ContinuousImprovement #CareerAdvice

Innovation—and making change in general—isn’t about blindly jumping into the unknown. It’s about mixing boldness with a plan. It’s not just having an idea and running with it. Before you step into the open air, you take your wild idea, pack it, check it, test it, and bring that reserve - because you may need to pivot mid-jump. Here's the basic framework my teams use: 💡 IDEATE - take in an idea or brainstorm ones within the team to get after problems or inefficiencies you see in your system, and turn it into a problem statement. ✈ DESIGN - design a portfolio of solutions against that problem statement that you can take and test, along with the process you'll use to define and measure success. Start thinking about who will own it, and how you'll resource it. 🏗 PROTOTYPE - build test solutions and MVPs, and run experiments as needed to test their efficacy. Figure out what works, what doesn't, and what you want to scale. Co-build that refined solution with the champion who will own it. 📈 SCALE - time to build out your solution! Communicate, build your change management plan, and roll it out! 🤝 INTEGRATE - execute that change management plan and make sure your solution works in your ecosystem. 📊 ASSESS - keep checking on things. Is your solution working the way it's supposed to? Is it fixing the problem in your ecosystem? What else needs to be changed? And that's usually what leads you to a new idea. Even with a good plan, the leap is still risky and requires you to be bold. But the effort is (or should be!) grounded in preparation, strategy, and the willingness to adapt mid-air as needed. Happy Friday, team! #ArmyInnovation #LetsGo

Adopting new technology requires what I call “foundational”work. Here are three such key tasks: 1) Conduct a Thorough Needs Assessment -Evaluate existing tools and workflows: Are they meeting your needs, or are inefficiencies and manual tasks slowing you down? -Pinpoint pain points: Identify recurring challenges such as data silos, integration issues, or compliance gaps. -Engage your team: Host discussions or surveys to uncover their everyday challenges and gain insights from those closest to the work. 2) Map and Analyze Workflows -Document end-to-end processes: Map each step of key workflows, from intake to output. -Spot inefficiencies: Look for bottlenecks, redundant steps, and high-risk areas where errors commonly occur. -Visualize opportunities: Use these insights to identify areas ripe for automation or enhancement. 3) Set Clear, Data-Driven Goals -Tie goals to business outcomes: Define objectives that align with broader organizational priorities—e.g., "Reduce contract review time by 30%" or "Achieve a 15% increase in team productivity." -Define metrics of success: Establish KPIs that will help you track progress and assess ROI over time. 4) Build Cross-Functional Buy-In -Engage early with stakeholders: Collaborate with legal, IT, finance, and operations teams to ensure the chosen solution addresses both tactical needs and strategic objectives. -Promote transparency: Share the rationale behind adopting new technology and the benefits for each stakeholder group to build trust. #legaltech #innovation #law #business #learning