Client-consultant relationship

By Fiona Czerniawska.

Clients, faced with global economic uncertainty and political meltdown, know they can’t rely on cost cutting to survive. Yes, there’s always more that can be done, but most have spent decades doing so much that most future gains will be incremental. Yes, digital–and now robotics and artificial intelligence–promise more significant improvement, but depend on changing behaviours as much as systems. At the end of the day, surviving will depend on thriving, which in turn will depend on growth. According to our recent survey, 52% of clients say that the need for growth is driving their investment in digital transformation, compared to 47% who say that’s being triggered by the desire for productivity improvements.

By Fiona Czerniawska.

Probably the single most terrifying taxi ride I’ve ever had was in Macau about 20 years ago. With traffic lights in short supply (I spotted just the one set while I was there), the strategy when approaching any junction was to drive as fast as possible in the hope that other drivers would give way…

By Fiona Czerniawska.

There’s no gain without pain, apparently. But the level of pain clients are willing to put up with to transform their organisations seems to be changing.

We all know that digital transformation is big business. No right-minded client would contemplate such a large-scale programme without thinking carefully about the potential barriers and risks involved. But their attitude has been positive, their assumption being that the barriers can be overcome and the risks solved. Moreover, the size of the prize justifies pushing through strategies that may worry some. If an initiative isn’t outside your comfort zone then it’s probably not transformational.