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Revving up your organization: A leader’s guide

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Brought to you by Liz Hilton Segel, chief client officer and managing partner, global industry practices, & Homayoun Hatami, managing partner, global client capabilities

Leading organizations have always known that they need to act fast to outpace competitors. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced businesses to move at a pace that they had likely never attained or even imagined before. For example, a US-based retailer launched curbside delivery in two days versus a planned target of 18 months, and an engineering firm designed and made ventilators within a week. Such extraordinary bursts of speed are difficult to achieve and sustain over the long term, however, unless organizations hardwire faster decision making and processes into their operating models. This week, let’s explore some of these permanent structural changes.

Most organizations can’t wait to get going on exciting new projects. But it’s all too easy for that initial burst of enthusiasm to dissipate quickly, warn McKinsey partners Louisa Greco and Zachary Silverman in an article on why speed is critical in business transformations. Entrenched behaviors and practices can leave companies “stuck in the starting blocks, wasting valuable time, energy, and momentum,” the authors say. Instead, pursuing quick wins can spark optimism and lead to longer-term investments. Our research shows that successful transformations launch initiatives that deliver 57 percent of value within six months and 74 percent by the end of the first year. Then, “in year two of a transformation, look for new value-creation opportunities and make sure incentives reflect these refreshed goals and commitments,” the authors suggest.

72%

It’s no secret that many start-ups tend to be more nimble than larger, established players. “The biggest thing that makes most start-ups move really quickly is urgency,” says McKinsey partner Brian Quinn in a discussion with partner Stacey Haas and leading entrepreneurs. “They are running on the amount of capital and the amount of funding they have at any given moment. . . . And that level of urgency, that degree of fuel to move quickly, just doesn’t exist inside most large organizations that I’ve worked with.” Foot-dragging on decision making often slows down larger companies. One way to solve this may be to set up dedicated project teams and “force this notion that they’re going to make decisions quickly on a daily basis,” says Quinn. “That’s one of the biggest unlocks to actually moving at the speed the start-ups often move at.”

Lead with speed.

— Edited by Rama Ramaswami, senior editor, New York

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by "McKinsey Leading Off" <publishing@email.mckinsey.com> - 02:48 - 5 Jun 2023