Perry Keenan
Managing Director & Senior Partner
Chicago
Perry Keenan is a member of the senior leadership teams for the Operations and Organization practice areas at Boston Consulting Group. He played a crucial role in developing BCG’s change management topic, which he went on to lead for more than a decade.
Perry was a BCG Fellow from 2011 through 2017. During that time, his research focused on changing change management. Statistics show that most major change programs fail, and anecdotal evidence holds that these odds have not improved in the past 20 years, despite the efforts of a growing change management industry.
Perry’s research uncovered factors that materially and systematically improve change management odds—and, in fact, flip them dramatically in favor of success. His approach involves the use of quantitative disciplines supported by a set of practical tactics and tools. Perry aims to foster an ongoing industry dialogue on this approach and the effective baselining of outcomes.
Perry has coauthored several influential Harvard Business Review publications. Prior to joining BCG in 1988, Perry worked as a manufacturing engineer.
Obstacles to scaling agile in the public sector are not to be underestimated. But governments that succeed can deliver faster and better and more cost effectively.
Putting people in the driver’s seat creates innovative thinking and faster response times that energize change efforts.
"No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy," claimed Helmuth von Moltke the Elder in the 19th century. The same holds true for change management, where few plans remain unaltered during implementation. Companies often fail to anticipate and react to the full range of pitfalls that can harm their change programs. That’s one reason why 50% of straightforward change efforts and 75% of more complex ones are considered failures.
Change programs have become more prevalent and complex, but the results are often disappointing. Enter the Change Delta, a versatile approach based on the principles of Smart Simplicity.
A survey of project management practitioners identified the three highest priorities for companies that aim to excel in today’s complex business environment: strong change processes, sponsorship and support from leaders, and an enabling culture.
Change is the status quo. Managers who rely on the DICE tool to assess and set up their change initiatives dramatically improve the odds of success.
Many decentralized companies have practices that vary widely across sites. Correcting this—and implementing advanced techniques such as lean—requires a company-wide production system that establishes the right degree of standardization.
Transformation is now an imperative for most companies, necessitating fundamental change in strategy, operating model, organization, people, and processes. The right approach comprises three steps.
Transformations are difficult. Five real-world examples show the range of benefits that accrue to companies that can implement them successfully.
As companies adapt to an increasingly complex world, effectively positioned and supported project or program management offices can help significantly improve the implementation of strategic initiatives.
