Welcome

Xavier Hochet

Transforming Businesses From Strategy to Implementation Publication date : April 10, 2008

Transformation and adaptability are vital for businesses and for political institutions. But do all changes qualify as transformations? Is it enough to restructure a business, and why is it so difficult to do so?

Xavier Hochet, at the head of the leading consulting firm in France, shares the main lessons he has learned from his experience in various sectors of the economy. Following the transformation of a business, what are the problems and issues that management, and the company as a whole, must face? What should be taken into account?

This is neither a book of recipes for success nor a theoretical treatise. Instead, the author offers a number of guidelines to help us acquire a better understanding of each situation and of the transformation process.

Xavier Hochet begins with a thorough study of context: Why do organisations today have a greater need of being transformed than in the past? In business management, what role is played by complexity and the unexpected?

Hochet focuses on the best way of informing the decision-making process, prior to transformation. Can the decision be seen as the first step toward change? Why does the process of implementation play such a crucial role in the success or failure of the entire project?

Finally, Hochet reflects on what makes transformation the driving force of sustainable growth within a company. Is being a visionary sufficient? Why do people have to work together to implement changes? How can a project of transformation be nourished by chance and unexpected opportunities?

In an ever-changing world, reacting to events with a flurry of activity, like Lewis Carroll's Red Queen, is certainly not the way to proceed. Instead, the author gives us guidelines and rules so we can implement a real transformation — one that will facilitate growth and competitiveness. Decision-makers and managers in all sectors of the economy, whether private or public, will benefit from the expertise and experience that are shared here. Xavier Hochet is the executive director of Capgemini Consulting France.

The Capgemini Group is one of the world's foremost providers of management consulting and information technology services. Originally founded in France, the Group is now well established in more than thirty countries.