Joining Performance Improvement will mean for most, taking on clients who in some make, shape or form, are in need of a business transformation. Such transformation may be caused by the under-performance of a company’s organisational structure, the desire for augmented funding/income streams, new regulations coming into force or market competition becoming more intense.
In this regard, disruptive forces may initially appear to be a trigger for much of this large scale business transformation and something we as Advisors would want to assist in insulating our clients from. Of course in some instances this is true. Taking the example of global financial integration as our disruptive force, it has been widely cited as a leading cause of increased volatility of financial systems. The 2008 Global finance crisis, the subsequent Euro Crisis and more recently the market volatility arising from the ‘Brexit’ vote all provide readily available examples of the negative consequences arising from this disruptive force.
That all said, it is those firms that embrace disruptive forces that will actually perform best in the long term. Taking again the example of global financial integration, benefits include the more rapid spreading of technological advances, exposure to financial innovation as well as, more generally, increased financial performance in various parts of the globe. Disruptive forces such as these are here to stay and if the firms we work alongside wish to stand the test of time they will need to be proactive in accepting them into their business strategies.
Intuitively enough then, those individuals looking to work in the Performance Improvement specialty should be able to demonstrate a well-informed position on the latest disruptive forces at play across the industry and how we can leverage them to the benefit of our clients. Part of this process also requires that our team can present such ideas in a relevant and understandable manner to our clients.
Fergus Reilly
