It is now more than 10 years since John Kotter published his article 'Leading Change: why Transformation Efforts Fail', and although his suggestions have been widely accepted, the success rate of major transformation plans remains largely unchanged, and the reason seems to lie in the lack of clarity of the difference between Change Management and Transformation. Our society has come a long way in learning to recognise and manage the changebut we are only in its infancy with regard to the transformation.

The first step in approaching the world of transformation is to perceive the distinction between Change Management e Transformation and the differences in their application.

Change management refers to the implementation of well-defined initiatives which may involve only part of the organisation, e.g. only the marketing department or only sales, and which concern, for example, the redefinition of roles or objectives in that particular area.

Transformation, on the other hand, does not involve limited changes but comprises a series of interdependent initiatives and interconnected which aim at reinventing the organisation and discovering a new business model based on a vision of the future. Compared to change management, it is more experimental, iterative and unpredictable, and may involve the definition of a new corporate culture and the revision of the performance management approach, initiatives that to be successful must be guided by Capable leaders to coordinate resources in a dynamic and flexible manner, and to promote strong collaboration and communication even in times of uncertainty.

In other words, transformation is a process of discovery e experimentation which requires leaders capable of managing such transformational change.