Shabaan Ahmad

The road is littered with failed transformation programs that were set up in the traditional way: Leaders define objectives, design a project plan, agree on KPIs, and recruit the right people. As many executives, academics, and consultants can relate to, the rate of failure in transformations is still far too high, and one that organizations can ill afford in these disruptive times. To understand the skills, mindsets, and capabilities behind successful transformations in today’s dynamic environment, EY and Oxford University formed a  research collaboration  to investigate what it takes to lead a successful transformation. We surveyed 935 CXOs and 1,127 members of the workforce. Approximately 50% of them represented a successful transformation project and 50% an unsuccessful one. The respondents came from 23 countries, seven industries, and 16 sub-industry sectors. We also conducted 25 in-depth interviews with CXOs from multiple global companies. Before their interviews, each leader was

                Natalie, a two-month-old newborn, alerts herself as a familiar voice — soft, musical, loving — approaches. Her eyebrows lift, her body relaxes, and an oval shape forms on her tiny pink mouth as she speaks: “Goo Goo Gaa Gaa.” When Natalie sees the face connected to this voice, her eyes light up, grow wide, and fix upon the sight of her mother. Saving the best for last, Natalie beams back a baby’s love by igniting her million-megawatt smile. All of Natalie’s behaviors, including baby talk and smiling, occur without the need for a teacher, textbook or a school building. They occur 100% outside of the process called learning. Her motor movement system, which will allow her to crawl, climb and walk, and her sensory systems, which give her the ability to see, hear, touch, taste and smell, are activated by pre-packaged, inborn reflexes which occur automatically. In this sense, all infants start life on an equal footing, determined by genetically hardwired reflexes. So far, so

 

"Our experience as humans is fundamentally shaped by our emotions. To regularly feel them is natural, healthy, and typical. In reaction to what we observe, hear, feel, or think, emotions may originate. Our current moods, thoughts, memories, and the perception we give to events happening around us are only a few of the numerous aspects that affect our emotions and sentiments." What sorts of emotions are there? We encounter them when? "There are so many different types of sentiments that one may experience, which is both the most beautiful and the most irritating part about emotions. Let's examine some illustrations of emotions. An extreme sense of indignation and aggression known as anger is frequently brought on by an unfairness or provocation. The feeling of joy is one of satisfaction and joy. Sadness is a sentiment that may occur in reaction to misery, suffering, or failure. "A feeling of uncertainty and anxiety can accompany jealousy. When we approach or beco