The Transformer’s Voice – Donald Putnam
| Name of Transformer | Donald Putnam |
| Context of Transformer | Trained as a quant, Don’s career included advising over 100 financial services companies on transformational transactions, their planning and aftermath. He is a specialist in AI and Fintech in addition to corporate strategy. |
| Why are transformations important? | Transformations do not occur from within, they are pressure from without. A better way to think of transformations is as “creative destruction” because it is never the transformation itself that creates pain and loss, it is the death of the old way. Unfortunately a critical difference between the old way and the transformational way is that the faults and challenges of the old way are familiar and friendly, while both the benefits and the unknown faults of the new way are hard to grasp and personally threatening. |
| How can you make transformations a success? | Firstly, it is important to face, identify, and voice the fears felt by the participants. Next classify participants into those who need protection (victims), those who can benefit from participation (happy warriors), and those who embrace the new vision (leaders). But recognize that these are not job descriptions, they are personality types. Successful transformation needs a few leaders, lots of happy warriors, and the victims need protection and if possible isolation from the action. The most common mistake transformational leaders make is to think that the putative benefits of transformation will alter these personality types. Horses for courses, as my grandfather used to say! |
| What advice would you give to someone embarking upon a transformation? | Get real, right from the start. Most transformations, when viewed after the fact, seem inevitable, but a majority of transformations fail. Usually they fail because of magical thinking and excessive zeal. A vision is crucial, and it has to be susceptible to being written in crayon on a small piece of paper. Visions are not nuanced or complex, their consequences are! The essential part of any transformation is getting factual: what will be the consequences? Costs and benefits? Who will benefit and who will suffer? This does not mean planning every detail, it means doing the hard work of outlining the consequences – unflinchingly – of the transformation. Getting real also means not letting the power of the vision create a false urgency in the process. A good vision does not include a timetable. A successful transformation is one that is moving toward the gunfire of the new vision, but at the right pace – a pace which allows happy warriors to feel real pride in the direction of advancement, even when their leaders gnash their teeth at the pace of progress. When vision dominates practicality and obscures humanity, failure is almost inevitable |
