30 July 2019

Brightline Initiative and IESE Business School Collaborate to Explore Fundamental Trade-offs in Transformation and Strategy Implementation

The research collaboration will be published in a series of articles offering guidance for senior executives. By applying the insights from the research, leaders may be able to successfully manage their most important trade-offs.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa.--()--The Brightline™ Initiative announced a new research collaboration with IESE Business School.

Every day, senior leaders and executives around the globe make important decisions around transforming their organizational culture, leadership, processes and technology. They need to make trade-offs to balance autonomy and control within their organizations. They need to evaluate short term versus long term impacts. They must be able to find a sweet spot between desirability and feasibility to win their customers.

Brightline and IESE Business School will explore similar key trade-offs that leaders need to respond to daily. The right decisions by senior leadership can bridge the expensive and unproductive gap between strategy design and delivery to positively transform organizations.

The results of this research collaboration will be published in a series of articles offering guidance for senior executives. By applying the insights from the research, leaders may be able to successfully manage their most important trade-offs.

Prof. Joaquim Vilà of IESE Business School will lead this research effort with the Brightline team. He asserts that, “many executives agree that implementation is ‘the problem’. Translating strategy into results goes well beyond communicating a sound strategy to our people. It implies addressing different demands to gain the acceptance and commitment of all involved and, specifically, leading an implementation plan in the midst of a changing environment. Execution implies balancing contradictory goals. All these factors play a role, and it is the weakest aspect that shapes the prospects of reducing the gap between strategy design and implementation results.”

Dr. Edivandro Conforto, Head of Strategy Research at Brightline, says, “Our research and engagement with senior leaders reveals the challenges to transform ideas into reality. With our new partnership with IESE we will dive deeper into how leaders can successfully navigate complex decision-making. This partnership will advance our thought leadership research and will shed light on some of the most critical trade-offs and the right practices to deal with them.”

Brightline’s Executive Director Ricardo Vargas states that, “Today’s leaders struggle to balance organizations’ interests and individuals’ aspirations. In order to successfully transform, leaders need to be able to walk a tight rope between acting quickly and thoughtfully assessing the context. We are very excited to partner with IESE Business School to uncover new insights to help senior executives successfully lead changes needed in their organizations.”

About Brightline Initiative

Brightline™ is a Project Management Institute (PMI) initiative together with leading global organizations dedicated to helping executives bridge the expensive and unproductive gap between strategy design and delivery. Brightline delivers insights and solutions that empower leaders to successfully transform their organization’s vision into reality through strategic initiative management.

PMI is the premier professional association for project management, delivering value for more than 3 million professionals working in nearly every country in the world through global advocacy, collaboration, education and research.

Brightline Coalition

Project Management Institute (PMI) – Boston Consulting Group – Bristol Myers Squibb – Saudi Telecom Company – Lee Hecht Harrison – Agile Alliance – NetEase

Academic and Research Collaboration

MIT Consortium for Engineering Program Excellence – Technical University of Denmark – University of Tokyo Global Teamwork Lab – Insper – Duke Corporate Education – IESE Business School

About IESE Business School

IESE is the graduate business school of the University of Navarra, and has pioneered business education in Europe since its founding (1958). IESE has sought to develop business leaders with solid business skills, a global mind-set and a desire to make a positive impact on society. The school distinguishes itself in its general-management approach, extensive use of the case method, international outreach, and emphasis on placing people at the heart of managerial decision-making.

Learn more at www.iese.edu.

Contacts

Brightline Initiative
Dr. Edivandro Carlos Conforto
Head of Strategy Research
[email protected]

IESE Business School
Professor Joaquim Vilà
Professor of Strategic Management & Innovation
Academic Director of IESE’s Executive Education Focused Programs
[email protected]