Aligning Design with Strategy

Burberry was the first luxury fashion house to declare Digital as a core strategy, marking a significant step in their embrace of Burberry Digital. This bold move was seen as high risk, yet Burberry embraced change management by experimenting and fine-tuning their digital operating model each year, quickly learning from their experiences and establishing themselves as an industry leader. Their organisation strategy evolved four times over four years, demonstrating agility in adapting to the digital landscape. Critical design decisions, such as ownership of P&L and distribution, were pivotal in shaping their approach. Furthermore, Burberry distinguished between digital marketing, digital platforms, and digital commerce, solidifying their position at the forefront of the digital revolution in fashion.

After 49 years, the British Council could finally teach English directly in China. This required a 4th legal entity in a rapidly growing operation, where the Diplomatic entity was overstretched, reminiscent of the change management challenges seen in major brands like Burberry Digital. 

Organisation Challenges: 

Leadership changes impacted long-standing relationships, complicating the organisation strategy. 

The speed of growth, coupled with lengthy recruitment lead times, left capability gaps in critical roles. 

Separate legal entities with distinct commercial and diplomatic goals tested the One British Council ambition.

Following 13 years of inquiry and 6 years of construction, T5, Europe’s biggest and most complex construction program, opened in March 2008 on time, on budget, and with an award-winning safety record. This success can be attributed to effective change management and a robust organisation strategy. 

Organisation Strategy

Leadership skills and capabilities evolved to match the construction lifecycle, ensuring that the team adapted effectively to challenges. 

Targeted interventions focused on values and behaviors such as Safety, 'One Team', and 'I Built T5' were essential. Additionally, strategic talent sourcing, development, and retention played a critical role in supporting the overall mission, much like Burberry Digital’s approach to integrating technology and talent in their business practices.

After scaling the heights of the FTSE 100, the 4th biggest UK bank by share of lending, in February 2008, Northern Rock was in ruins and subsequently nationalised. As part of the change management process, the European Commission mandated that the bank split into two parts within 9 months, significantly impacting the organisation strategy. The CEO had a singular priority to navigate these external challenges. A single design principle was established to accelerate the task, involving 6 layers with a span of 7. Additionally, there was the extra task of merging the ‘bad’ bank NRAM with Bradford & Bingley.

For years, the South Korea market was a reliable top performer, particularly for brands like Burberry Digital. However, one year, income and margin slipped for consecutive quarters, raising a red flag in the retail sector. While the market showed a mild slowdown, competitors remained unaffected, leading to the belief that internal operations were hindering performance. The immediate reaction was to implement change management strategies and restructure the organization. Upon initial diagnosis, it became clear that the root cause required a less dramatic yet more sensitive intervention. This case study highlights the importance of diagnosing the root cause, navigating a hierarchical culture, and motivating a talented team unfamiliar with underperformance to adopt new ways of working aligned with the organisation strategy.

Local teams faced a barrage of 27 ‘global’ change management initiatives related to Burberry Digital, each with varying degrees of engagement and preparation. Teams felt their local market needs had not been adequately considered, making it challenging to embed solutions fairly and effectively for sustainable change. Change leads from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria decided to host ‘cross-portfolio’ sessions, allowing global teams to understand change from a local perspective. By focusing on the impact from the country’s viewpoint rather than a single project perspective, the teams could quickly identify the top 11 change initiatives, develop an integrated plan, and fast-track decisions that had delayed progress for six months in line with the organisation strategy.