Susformation prepares companies for the long run

TEXT: TIMO MANSIKKA-AHO

Every leader knows the dilemma. The annual pressure to increase revenue, win market share and pay dividends slams on the brakes when it comes to developing the company so that it would have what it takes to keep flourishing for years, even decades to come.

However, with the way the world is changing, significant adjustments must be made in most companies if they want to remain in business, let alone thrive, in the surprisingly near future.

Over the years, companies have come to terms with megatrends such as climate change, biodiversity, circular economy, and energy transition requiring more attention. Realizing the business opportunities behind them is still difficult – and that is why those opportunities are too seldom adequately leveraged.

“Integrating sustainability into the strategy and core operations is becoming a prerequisite for credibility and ability to compete”, says Maria Sangder, CEO at Gaia Consulting. “Only by thoroughly changing the way they deal with sustainability issues can companies reshape their interaction with broader economic and societal context.”

This sustainable transformation, or susformation as Gaia’s experts call it, is a multi-dimensional procedure that takes a long time to complete. The leaders must be capable of transforming their companies for the future while ensuring short-term competitiveness. The entire value chain will be restructured, and various sources of long-term business potential must be evaluated. Processes, operation models, structure, incentives, and such must be renewed – not to mention the way all this is communicated both within and outside the organization.

It may be a long run, but you’ll never get to the finish line unless you start.

In susformation, the first step is the toughest one

Maria Sangder understands that for many, susformation is a demanding task to address. This is largely due to the lack of sufficient data that leaders are accustomed to utilizing in decision-making.

“The new megatrends are changing the markets, and new ways to be successful must be created. Unfortunately, there is no knowing what those ways precisely are. The lack of established data for markets that do not exist yet makes traditional analysis difficult, which again calls for more courage from the leaders.”

The good news is, once a company starts susforming, it quickly starts reaping benefits. New strategies typically have untapped demand. Thus, they appeal to customers and other stakeholders while also making operations more cost-efficient.

There is no better time than right now for the leaders to take a good look at their current business operations and think about the directions it might be heading. As in all transformations, the first solution might not be the one that changes everything. It is all about finding alternative methods and developing them to be the best solutions for future business.

After that, it is about making operations sustainable and successful, and about solving any challenge that the company might come across.

About just doing it. Deep down, that is the easy part. |

Read more at: gaia.fi