In a transformation it is easy to fall into the activity trap. One project, initiative, analysis and workshop after another creates the feeling that "something is happening". But activity is not the same as progress. Not every action creates value. Some merely absorb resources.
Not all problems matter equally
Every company has dozens of things that could be improved: processes, reports, structure, the offer, systems, communication. The problem is that most of them have a moderate impact on results. Only a few areas move them disproportionately. These are the levers.
They may sit in pricing, in portfolio structure, in governance, in the use of assets, in team capabilities or in a handful of key processes. What matters is recognising where a small change delivers the greatest effect.
A lever is not an "easy fix"
A lever is neither a shortcut nor a trick. It often requires a harder decision than actions that merely look productive. Changing prices is harder than running another campaign. Streamlining the portfolio is harder than adding a new product. Changing how decisions are made is harder than producing another report. Yet it is precisely these decisions that most often move the result.
A lever does not reduce effort. It directs it where it makes the most sense.
Four resources you cannot afford to waste
Every organisation has limited resources. They can be divided into four basic groups.
Skills
People's competencies, experience, knowledge of the customer and the market. A company's most valuable skills are often used for tasks that someone else could do.
Resources
Capital, budget, team, the attention of the board. Every initiative competes for the same resources. Every "yes" to one project is at the same time a "no" to another.
Assets
Brand, locations, customer relationships, data, know-how, infrastructure. Very often the greatest potential lies not in new investment but in making better use of what the company already has.
Time
Time is the only resource that cannot be recovered. Capital can be raised. People can be hired. Assets can be bought. Lost time cannot be bought back.
Return on time
Boards are used to asking about ROI. How much will we invest and how much will we get back? Another question is asked less often: what return does the time we put into it give us?
The board's time, the time of key people, the time of the organisation. A project can have a good ROI and at the same time a very poor return on time, if it engages the most important people in the company for many months and its impact on results is marginal. Speed of action can be a greater advantage than the scale of investment.
Strategy is also a decision about what not to do
Between many good ideas and real growth stands the ability to let go. Every organisation has more ideas than the capacity to deliver them. That is why strategy is not only about choosing what we do. It is also about consciously deciding what we do not do.
Which projects should be stopped? Which initiatives closed? Which reports, meetings and processes have stopped creating value? Reducing noise is as important as launching new initiatives.
The greatest return is often closer than we think
Companies often look for growth in new markets, new products and new investments. Yet the greatest return is frequently hidden in what already exists:
- in prices that have not been reviewed for years,
- in locations that do not earn,
- in a product range that freezes capital,
- in capabilities that are not being used,
- in decisions that are taken too slowly.
A lever rarely requires greater outlay. More often it requires making better use of what we already have.
Instead of doing more
Transformation is not about doing more. It is about doing the right things. So instead of asking "What else can we do?", it is worth asking "Where will one good decision change the most?"
In a transformation the winner is not the one who works the longest, but the one who hits the right levers and can use them consistently.
