Recent data from BCG on corporate transformation and link with total shareholder return(TSR) hold valuable food for reflection.
We see transformation initiatives in most companies nowadays, especially when leadership changes happen.

Selected Notes from the article:

* The empirical patterns of transformation are quite stable: At any point in the past 20 years, roughly 30% of companies significantly underperformed their sector for a period of multiple years, making transformation a necessity for performance reasons.
* Successful transformations are the exception, rather than the norm, even when measured on very modest criteria. Only 26% of corporate transformations successfully created value in both the short and long terms. More than 70% of companies fail to outperform their industry peer group average in both the short (one year) and long term (five years), after a previous performance downturn period (numbers quite similar to the findings in 2018 report). Sustainable value creation through transformation remains so rare.

* Pre-emptive transformations create significantly more value in the medium and long run.
* A leadership change during a transformation is associated with higher TSR performance over the five-year time horizon. The positive impact is even higher if the new leadership comes from outside of the company. However, a change in leadership is not a guaranteed success driver.
* You cannot cut your way to greatness: differential growth is critical to sustained value creation.
* Achieving sustainable growth and a future-proof operating model requires entering transformations with a long-term orientation, rather than merely focusing on addressing performance woes or catching up to peers in terms of technology stack or organizational best practices. Beyond mindset, culture, and metrics, a long-term orientation also means investing in the exploration of new ideas that could be the basis of future advantage.
* Putting a formal transformation program in place, scale of the program and the willingness to invest in change matter. Formalizing the transformation entails defining a clear governance and process-or setting up a dedicated transformation office-for coordinating and tracking progress on change initiatives, as well as regularly communicating it to the executive leadership team so that roadblocks can be addressed promptly. Moreover, it may mean putting in place a chief transformation officer to helm an ambitious change effort, which our prior research shows can improve transformation odds significantly. The role must be designed appropriately and filled by someone who is persistent, vigilant, and flexible—and who is trained for the job.

Source: Five Truths (and One Lie) About Corporate Transformation, April 12, 2024, BCG