After your first two months of transformation, you should have a clear picture of what your company could become and how you’ll get it there. Your 2–5-year plan should be taking shape and already have early feedback from your key stakeholders. While you will already feel part of the organisation in your third month, don’t stop listening and observing while the pressure to deliver a quarter’s results and work starts to build.
Industry experts, existing suppliers and new, will be chomping at the bit to help you settle in, and demonstrate how their product or service can help you deliver real change. After spending time understanding your organisation’s needs, it’s time to look outwards to see who can meet those needs while delivering business efficiency – and of course your vision.
Spend your time with them wisely by being clear on your brief. You could waste an hour on a business’s generic credentials deck – or you could give them some insight into the problem you want to solve. Let them know they’ve got one chance to be specific in demonstrating how their product or service will help you get there.
Business transformation is critical to adapting to fast changing markets – and won’t be delivered overnight or on your own. Setting up your first project team and briefing them on the task at hand is a brilliant way to let your team prove what they can do – and also to harness the new energy you have been creating. Choosing to eliminate outdated manual tasks and automating as many processes as possible, will give you the double whammy of greater efficiency and free up everyone in your team to be more strategic.
Investors, the board, your colleagues and team, and the wider business, are all ready to hear your assessment and plan. Perfect your pitch, including your opening, your elevator pitch, and all the details. Most of all, be ready for challenges – because there will be some. You may be able to anticipate the most common challenges, and prepare answers that clearly demonstrate why your plan is the clearest path forward.
Reflect on what you’ve learned, how your vision is taking shape, and what habits you’ve formed to organise your mind and your workload. Make changes where needed – it’s still early and there’s no need to feel locked in. Your most important responsibility is balancing priorities to help the company create value.
Following a structure of thinking that allows you to continuously evaluate your results, both on key business metrics as well as personal, will allow you to stay ahead of your competitors. Truly transformational business leaders know that innovation isn’t just once and done, it’s a continuous process of self-reflection and considered risk.
Our senior teams help 100s of CFOs every week. We offer support on transforming their business from outdated manual payment processes, and make quick, effective decisions when they are working with FX.
Trevor is a strategically focussed CFO with an innovative approach to adding value. Backed by a track record of driving growth in fast paced international business, his focus is driving the future of payments and improving the speed and efficiency of clients’ financial processes.