Results Delivery℠

Traditional change management has been around for decades, but is the same old approach really enough to make a difference? More than 70 percent of major change efforts typically fail. Bain’s approach to realizing results helps clients overcome the odds. Our approach to Results Delivery focuses on predicting, measuring and managing risk associated with the change from day one. The result: A considerable increase in the odds of success and the support of Bain experts and dedicated partners within the client's organization who are focused on achieving it.

Results Delivery℠

Change management often fails to deliver expected results. Here’s how to achieve them.

What we do

Results Delivery is embedded in every Bain engagement and increases the likelihood of success. Our distinctive approach helps clients realize results consistently and predictably, and is grounded in the following guiding principles:

Balance ambition: Articulate a clear and compelling vision for where you’re heading—but be realistic. Senior sponsors need to be aligned and committed to the vision, understand how disruptive the change is going to be and balance the ambition with the organization’s capacity to absorb the change.
Mobilize leaders: Clearly define change roles, build a healthy Sponsorship Spine and solid engagement plans to motivate people to deliver the desired outcomes.
Change behaviors: Identify the few critical behaviors required to drive results; shift and reinforce behaviors by changing consequences and measuring progress.
Shape execution: Shorten your time to realization with a decision drumbeat that plans, tracks and measures progress and mitigates ongoing implementation risks. Coach the line and teams for successful delivery.
Extend success: Create a new source of sustainable competitive advantage by investing in new capabilities that build a repeatable model for change. Build muscles that endure and get stronger through each cycle of change.

Our perspective

Managing change effectively is a source of competitive advantage, yet few organizations do it well.

In a Bain survey, 70 percent of companies said they failed to realize the expected results from recent change initiatives. That rate hasn't changed from similar surveys we conducted in the 1980s and 1990s. And the environment for change is only getting more complex.

A study of 184 global companies and decades of experience with our clients has helped us create a differentiated point of view of what truly drives results.

Change is predictable

Typical change management suggests that much about change is irrational and hard to predict. In fact, delivery risks are highly predictable, measurable and manageable. Most change management programs stall because organizations fail to consider risks of change delivery and implementation. A simple risk assessment at the outset can identify specific risks early, and providing a simple, practical set of actions that dramatically improve the odds of success.

Go beyond installation

Many organizations install a change successfully, but then stumble when they try to realize the anticipated benefits. Installation is relatively easy–it’s like designing a new playbook in the sports world. To realize the benefits of the new book, the players have to start using the new plays. That's the hard part: It requires changing the way people behave. Executives who fail to identify and manage the few critical behaviors that need to change will face an uphill battle. The biggest difference between successful and unsuccessful change efforts is breaking past installation and onto realization.

Build a Sponsorship Spine

For any transformational change to succeed, people have to think and work differently. And to get these new behaviors to stick, they need to be reinforced and celebrated by a connected group of sponsors throughout the organization, the Sponsorship Spine. The direct line boss has the greatest influence over individual behaviors. That is why it’s essential to build a Sponsorship Spine from the bottom up. An unbroken chain from the frontline to the C-suite will ensure that people at every level understand their roles and are ready to engage. Sponsorship is a cascading process and a "black hole" anywhere along the line will stop the change process below it. Program managers and senior leaders must continually monitor the health of the Sponsorship Spine, because it is essential to achieving results. If sponsors prove ineffective, they should be coached or, if necessary, replaced.

Realizing results is not easy. It takes time, focus, determination and planning for a future where, even with the best of intentions, things are likely to veer off course. Bain is a partner with the experience to help navigate these tricky waters and help your organization deliver lasting results.

Client results

We share our clients' ambitions. We work to understand their reality and deliver true results—focusing on strategic decisions and practical actions. And we align our incentives with our clients' objectives, so they know we're in it together. Read the results stories below to learn how we've helped clients realize, and often exceed, their objectives.

Our team

Results Delivery is integral to all of our client engagements. All Bain teams have experience with this area; however, we have a core team of experts that is dedicated to our Results Delivery approach. We work as an integrated part of your team, from frontline to C-suite, to deliver true results and make the changes stick.