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DARE TO STEP UP

Everybody has a point of view. Very few dare to step up. They believe they are not the right person to do that as it is not in their job description. It was not in mine either: I am the CFO. Yet I decided to step out of my comfort zone – the only way to make a difference.

WE WERE HUNGRY FOR VISION

Our organization had gone through some pretty rough times in the recent past. You could feel that in the energy of the organization. The financial crisis had taken a toll, and a merger between two companies (BNP Paribas and Fortis Bank) had created a cultural disconnect – and I realized that our discussions were too focused on what had happened in the past. People were questioning our company identity. I, of course, agreed with my co-workers, but even those conversations were very difficult and even disruptive.

TIP 1 STICK TO YOUR BELIEFS. IF YOU DON’T, HOW CAN YOU EVER TRUST OTHERS TO DO SO?

As a large ship sailing forward, we often don’t think we have much time for self-reflection. But I felt we needed to take a step back, describe our situation, and then get over it and get going. This didn’t mean sweeping our problems under the rug – we needed to talk about them and learn from them. And then we needed to move forward.

RESHUFFLE THE FOCUS TO THE FUTURE

With all of our fears, uncertainties, and doubts, I felt that it was time to reshuffle the focus and start looking forward. Although as the CFO it was not necessarily my role, I decided to step up and make it happen. In fact, I think that anyone and everyone in our organization should be able to step up and take new and broader sets of responsibilities than what they were hired for. But, as the CFO, I was a bit perplexed: how could I focus on the future and not just the forecasted future the numbers usually tell? What would the future look like? With changes happening rapidly in our world (the banking world), I knew one thing for sure: numbers would not tell the story we needed. Nor would numbers get people to believe in our future.

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TIP 2 DARE TO BE YOURSELF: SHOW UP AT YOUR JOB THE SAME AS YOU WOULD SHOW UP IN YOUR PRIVATE LIFE.

To me, it became clear that our future is not as much about numbers as it is about our story. And to rebuild our story, I needed not just number-driven IQ, but also emotionally-driven EQ. I needed to get people to let go of their negative emotions and build our future based on positive ones. We needed to build on where we came from, what we had become, who we are, and what’s in our DNA.

STEP FORWARD

I was the one who stepped forward. This was quite extraordinary when you consider that my role was the CFO – a numbers guy. This, in fact, was the first time in my career that I felt the need to do this. Sure, I’d held leadership positions for a long time. But this bank is in my DNA and I wanted to design a future that would last.

I AM MASTER OF MY FATE

I never imagined myself being the host of our management offsite. But here I was, dressed in black, standing on a 360-degree stage and introducing my colleagues who presented their vision stories to an inspired audience. This was a vision designed and told by us. Not some boring strategic plan put together by consultants. We designed this experience in order to get 250 other colleagues to want to contribute as well. Our bank had never done this before. We empowered people to take one step toward the future. Music and scenes from the movie Invictus supported our vision, empowering people to be the masters of our fate and future.

It was an exciting journey and many people joined, exploring the unexplored. It was not easy. But the plan came together. I practiced what I preached. I am the master of my fate and future.

Emmanuel Buttin
Business Line CFO,
BNP Paribas

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TIP 3 GO BEYOND YOURSELF EVERYDAY. ONLY THEN DO WE COMMIT OURSELVES TO GROWTH.

DARE TO STEP UP

Inasmuch as I feel that people need to step out of their comfort zones and help steer the ship, I also believe you must feel somewhat comfortable stepping up and steering. That’s not to say you won’t be anxious the first time you step up. I know I was. But I believe being anxious enables you to be more open to new environments. You become sensitive to outside stimuli. And this is where you will find your vision. I did.

NO CLUE HOW TO DO IT

Being operationally minded, I did not know how to shift our focus to the near-term future. In fact, nobody on our team did. But I felt that if I made the first step forward, we would figure out how to make the next step together. At this moment, I realized that I was actually creating a movement. As people joined, they created the energy we needed to take more steps. Even more people were drawn to this energy and joined us. We had no clear path ahead of us as we took those first few steps, but it felt good to create our own optimistic path.

I also knew that most people in large organizations like ours would have a hard time joining movements like the one we started. It’s not that they don’t want to. It’s just that most of the time, executing today’s strategy using current information is the more comfortable path. That’s what we all learn to do in school, after all. But using yesterday’s information to execute yesterday’s strategy is a terrible excuse for not moving forward. All of the information in the world will not guarantee success if it’s based on yesterday. Sure, you can hire third parties to design your vision and strategy for you. But then you’re not taking responsibility for making it a success.

DO IT TOGETHER

As I stepped forward, other people stepped up to help design our future together. As we all took those first steps together, I recognized that the most interesting ideas came from having people from different departments, with varying ideas, share with each other. We wanted to create something different from what we’d done in the past. We didn’t want to simply write our ideas down on a piece of paper, only for them to be forgotten in a few days. We believed that in order to live the vision, we needed to co-create it together and not wait for the Executive Committee. We wanted people from all levels of the organization to explore the story and tell the story.

CREATING A VISION WITH 250 PEOPLE

With various people from the organization, all of whom had other daily responsibilities, we began to forge our path forward. We collected information, talked to customers, and synchronized our stories on a map. It felt to me that we had the beginnings of a strong vision.

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We hosted a two-day “Management University” event later that year: an opportune time to share our collective stories with one another. This was not a small event. Management University brought together 250 people from all over the organization and all over the world to have conversations about the future of the bank. I thought it was the perfect time to share and validate the vision I and my (now) 35-person core team had been working on for the past year. We all stepped up to the raised bar.

Each person, as part of our movement, had to tell a part of our story to the other 250 people in the audience. And, to make it more inclusive, we decided not to use a regular stage. Instead, we opted for a 360-degree stage with the presenters standing right in the middle – at the heart of the conversation. To raise the stakes even more, we decided not to use slides at all. We would give TED-style keynotes that were meant to inspire our teams.

EXERCISE: WHO ARE WE AS A BANK?

Our vision story went over really well. But to get everyone involved – and not just the 35 people who co-created the foundations of the vision – we kicked off the day with a communal exercise focused on “who we are as a bank.” Harkening back to our more creative days, we used scissors, pictures of car parts, markers, and tape to design the bank we felt we were in the present. Given how unusual this exercise must have sounded (and maybe even sounds to you now), we were surprised at how readily people picked up their tools and designed a car together – it only took about 20 minutes. We had fun and shared stories about our company’s DNA. Everyone felt proud that we had taken this step.

LASTING IMPACT FOR THE BANK

I can say without a doubt that the bank and the bank’s leadership have learned a great deal. I feel that we made the first big step in embracing a new way of working together. This new way of working is about trusting others to help steer the ship. It’s not about hiring consultants to draw you the map. We did it ourselves. We spotted new talent in our organization who stepped up and inspired others to do the same. And in the end, we now trust that we can think and work differently.

An example of the template teams used to cut and paste their own interpretation of what the bank is using the car metaphor.

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TANGIBLE STRATEGY

There was a Homer Simpson “duh” moment where we collectively realized one of the things we often did was completely over-engineer and over-design the next steps – so the 5 bold steps was a really easy way to record tangible next steps that were both audacious and compelling. Instead of an abstract strategy, we all were eager to take them!

// Vicky Seeley – COO – Sheppard Moscow LLC

Stay true to your vision – don’t change to fit the agenda of others.

// Sue Black, University of Dundee

Siemens Healthcare, Turkey

As the Sales and Marketing Board of Siemens Healthcare, Turkey, we discussed our vision and business strategy during the aftermath of a recent restructuring and repositioning. All our discussions about our business model and context strongly related to our vision. The 5 Bold Steps Vision^® Canvas became the source of most actions we agreed upon.

// Enis Sonemel – Siemens Healthcare, Turkey – Country Lead, Diagnostic Imaging

A Connected Vision

SallyAnn Kelly joined as CEO of Aberlour Childcare Trust with a clear mandate: to embed a clear strategy. As she sought to achieve real lasting change, it became clear to her she would have to engage the whole organization.

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Mindpearl

At Mindpearl we needed to reshape the way we promote ourselves and talk about ourselves. Our language had become too complicated and distant. We defined a clear vision based on where we came from, who we are, and who we want to be. Our people are now able to reconnect with our global identity. We realigned our actions and narrative.

// Karin Dale, General Manager, Mindpearl

Now I can share my strategy on one page!

// Craig Mohan, Managing Director, Market Technology and Data Services, CME Group Chicago

BULLETPROOF VISION

While working on the cover story, one team from a producer of aramid fiber, the ballistics unit, came up with “Obama buys a bulletproof Dolce & Gabbana dress for his wife for Xmas.” The entire team was laughing. Nobody really understood what it could mean at first. But then, as we came back down to earth, we realized it was about having fashionable bulletproof clothing. Not those ugly jackets and vests. There is absolutely a need for this, especially among rich and famous in certain countries.

A VISION PER DIVISION

Our departments of Orthopedics, Dermatology, Oncology, and Mother and Child took up the responsibility to map out a vision separately. We soon learned that it is more interesting/productive/better to use a co-creative design process. Vision is about alignment. It was crucial for us to create a vision with the customer in mind.

This was a huge step for our hospital; we previously had a perspective that prioritized expertise and excellent treatments, rather than a customer-centric perspective. After designing our new vision, we wanted to communicate both inside and outside the hospital. We used visuals and a move to create a clear story.

// Frits van Merode, Member, Executive Board Maastricht University Medical Center