What not to do in a Transformation?

Transformation. The word makes consultants purr and executives sweat. From Fortune 500s to startups pivoting like ballerinas, every company wants to “transform”—preferably into a sleeker, more agile version of itself, with a mission statement longer than its product backlog.

But for every sleek, post-transformation butterfly, there are countless corporate caterpillars stuck in mid-metamorphosis, wings half-baked and budgets fully burned. Why? Because transformation is hard. And if you're not careful, it's also an excellent way to turn a thriving business into a LinkedIn case study in failure.

So, pour yourself a cup of optimism—and let’s explore the seven classic mistakes companies make when trying to change everything without changing anything meaningful.

1. Start Without a Vision (Or Better Yet, Six)

Some companies go into transformation with all the clarity of a fogged-up mirror. They announce a bold new direction, but when you ask what it means, you get three slides and a shrug.

Take JCPenney, the American department store chain. In the early 2010s, it tried to transform into a hip, Apple-esque retailer under CEO Ron Johnson—ditching discounts and long-time customers in favour of minimalism and full-price items. The vision? Vague. The result? Sales tanked by over 25% in a single year. Customers fled, and Johnson was out in 17 months.

Lesson: If you don’t know where you're going, no map—or McKinsey deck—can save you.

2. Pretend the C-Suite Is On Board (Even If They’re Not)

A CEO’s speech is not buy-in. Real transformation requires the top brass to lead from the front, not just wave from the balcony.

Consider GE. Once the poster child for corporate greatness, it embarked on a sweeping transformation under CEO Jeff Immelt to become a “digital industrial” company. Unfortunately, not everyone in leadership agreed on what that meant—or wanted it. Conflicting agendas, leadership churn, and boardroom drama turned GE’s grand plan into a cautionary tale.

Lesson: If the C-suite isn’t aligned, your transformation will be more Game of Thrones than Great Expectations.

3. Set KPIs That Are Vague, Contradictory, or Missing Entirely

Transformation is like a fitness plan: if you don't track anything, don’t be surprised when nothing improves.

You’d be amazed how many companies “transform” without deciding how success will be measured. “Let’s be more innovative!” Great—how? “Let’s increase agility!” Wonderful—according to which metric? If KPIs are either too abstract or suspiciously absent, then you're just rearranging deckchairs.

Lesson: KPIs should be specific, measurable, and not invented three quarters in to justify that massive spend on Agile coaches.

4. Let a PMO Run Like a University Thesis

If your transformation is governed by a 97-slide PowerPoint, weekly steering committees, and a “Change Council” that hasn't delivered change since 2019, you might be overdoing it.

Governance should steer, not stall. A bloated, overly theoretical program management office (PMO) often ends up focusing more on documentation than delivery. Remember:

Gantt charts don’t drive results—accountability does.

Lesson: Governance should be like good plumbing—essential, unobtrusive, and ideally, invisible.

5. Forget About Your People (They’ll Love Surprises!)

People don’t resist change. They resist being changed without warning. Many transformations overlook the fact that employees are not software—they can’t be “patched” overnight.

Kodak’s failure wasn’t about lacking technology—it had digital imaging decades ago. It was a failure to bring the organisation along for the ride. Culture, capability, and confidence were missing, and so the camera giant turned into a cautionary Instagram post.

Lesson: Transform with your people, not at them. Otherwise, expect disengagement—and possibly a union.

6. Ignore the Core Business (It’ll Run Itself, Right?)

While you're busy building “the future,” someone still has to mind the present. Many transformations become so obsessed with the new model that they neglect the existing one, which promptly falls apart.

Marks & Spencer spent years trying to modernise its image and expand internationally. But while chasing younger customers in new markets, it lost touch with its loyal UK base, underinvested in its core offerings, and let rivals eat its lunch.

Lesson: You can’t steer the ship toward the future if no one’s watching for icebergs.

7. Announce It Loudly, Deliver It Quietly (Or Never)

Last but not least: the big bang launch followed by... not much. This is the transformation equivalent of a Broadway show with no second act.

Companies often hold town halls, send emails with fireworks emojis, and then let the initiative quietly die in a forgotten SharePoint folder. What starts as “transformation” becomes “strategic refresh,” then “pause,” and finally “next year’s problem.”

Lesson: Transformation isn’t a PowerPoint event. It’s a sustained effort. Announce less, deliver more.

To sum up:

There’s no perfect playbook for transformation, but there’s a very reliable one for failure—and it usually includes at least three of the sins above. Fortunately, most of these mistakes are avoidable, if you replace ego with clarity, and theatre with strategy.

Need help avoiding these traps? Drop me a line at vinayvaswani@strivo.nl and let’s turn your transformation into a triumph—rather than a future Harvard Business Review case study titled “What Were They Thinking?”

Written by Vinay Vaswani, for Strivo B.V.