• by Cory Treffiletti , Featured Contributor, November 11, 2015

Many of you are dealing with a typical challenge: how to transform your organization from one manner of operation into another.   Sometimes you’re dealing with the transformation from traditional to digital; in other cases, the shift is from digital to data-driven.  In every case, the transformation is difficult and feels very uncomfortable, but don’t lose faith — change often takes quite a long time.

I came out of the start-up and agency world, where things are nimble and change quickly.  In teams of 150 or less, you can identify a challenge, develop a solution and implement restructuring in a matter of weeks, perhaps months at worst.  These changes have an almost immediate impact on a business and are very, very measurable — because at that size, your revenues are easily affected, both positively and negatively.

In larger organizations those changes take more time, and incoming C-level executives are the ones typically seen as the face of that change. That means your neck is on the line if you don’t succeed.  Any incoming CMO worth his/her weight will develop a plan for change after doing some initial discovery on the current state of the business.

The challenge is when you come from a smaller organization and enter into a larger organization, bringing a sense of natural impatience and a desire to make fast change happen.  Large organizations, however, are relatively change-averse, so an incoming CMO to a large organization has to adjust his/her expectations.

This understanding that the process of transformation can take years is not new, but it’s definitely new to me.  When I tried to implement change a couple of times in my career, it came quickly, and usually with positive results.  I recently did an informal poll of a few high-profile CMOs, asking one, “When did you feel like your plan had addressed all of the elements required for change, and when did you feel the ground settle beneath your feet in your new role as CMO?”  The response was surprising: “About two years into the role.”

Anyone can develop a plan, but being able to develop a plan that is flexible and can respond to changes in the market around you is not easy.  A plan provides a way to react proactively, meaning you have a context and filter through which you can respond.

Uneasiness is a difficult feeling to have in a new job, but it’s normal if you are undertaking an aggressive plan to transform an organization. Embrace it and find solace in the fact that this feeling is not new.  Some of the most successful C-level execs in the world have felt this way, and for a long time!  

There’s hope for you yet!  Be uncomfortable — but be OK with it!!