Justin Ferrabee - Specialists in Corporate Transformation

Justin Ferrabee MBA
Managing Partner, Transformation Strategy

•	Led major transformations as President, Business Unit Leader and Chief Strategist in publicly traded and privately held organizations.
•	Former executive in a global consulting firm
•	Clients include major FTSE 500 companies as well as leading government agencies
•	Masters in Business Administration

‘Getting Through To The Light’

What is the first thing you tell a client considering transformation? Don’t do it if you don’t have to. If you can get the gains you need from lower-level improvements or even some broader change initiative, do it that way. Transformation can get messy and there’s risk involved. It’s the difference between choosing to redecorate your house or undertake a complete renovation. The one delivers quick, superficial results—but sometimes those are enough. The other can have you eating take-out in your basement for six months while the walls come down. But if you have to take the walls down to rebuild, don’t despair: you can do it successfully. And, of course, we can help. We have done it before.

How did you become involved in transformation? I was born with dissatisfaction for the status quo—combined with a natural optimism and attraction to the possible. So I’ve spent my career trying to change things. I remember working for a time when I was younger as a bank teller. Within 12 weeks of starting, I’d written a proposal to the manager suggesting ways to improve the processes within the branch. Because at the time there were no specialized duties: everyone did everything. But some people were obviously better-suited to dealing with the public and others with back-office functions. I always feel if there’s an opportunity to improve, you have to take it.

What’s the hardest part of the job? The beginning, the middle, and the end. I’m being facetious, but it’s true that every stage has its challenges. My particular role focuses on startup: gathering data, engaging with people across the organization, building the case for transformation. The goal is to establish a simple, elegant, intellectually and emotionally attractive vision and strategy. It’s seldom easy. You have to overcome people’s skepticism about "yet another management initiative." But if you get this first part right, if you build the energy and the commitment early, you have a fighting chance. To mobilize, you need a critical mass of support, commitment. We have learned a great deal about how to do this. It is extremely difficult. We do it very well. It’s crucial for when you get to the Trough of Despair.

The Trough of Despair? The Valley of Death. Whatever you want to call it. There’s always a point where you have to walk through the shadows to get back to the light. You don’t know when you’ll hit it or how long it will last, but it will come. Getting people excited about the ideas of the future can be a challenge but is also fun because you’re trading on hope. Hope for a better experience. Eventually you have to implement. That’s harder. It is more complex and more real. There are tradeoffs and compromises. People lose sight of the hope. At that point, there’s always a constituency that moves to abandon the initiative. How this plays out defines the success, failure, and experience of the transformation.

Given that, what appeals to you about the work? Oh, I love it all. But I’m especially attracted to the opportunity to make a real difference. I like the holistic perspective that’s required, the dynamic tensions that transformation creates, and the enormous personal pride and satisfaction that people get when they are successful. It can be addictive. Really.

What do you count as your greatest success in transformation to date? We do post-implementation reviews after a transformation. These are interviews with people from a cross-section of the organization; often many of the same people we interview in our preliminary assessment. Because of the timescales of transformation projects, sometimes the conversations are two, three years apart. It’s always an emotional experience for me. The growth in the people, the pride and satisfaction they have in their work and accomplishments, the energy and optimism they exude. They are empowered. They are transformed. You cannot help but be moved. It is very powerful stuff.