Edition 2: The Balancing Act: Finding Your Anchor in the Storm of Change
Imagine four leaders in a room: an NHS Trust Director, a Banking COO, an Insurance COO, a Retail COO, and a Private Equity Partner. On the surface, their worlds couldn’t be further apart — one is under pressure to cut waiting lists, another to reduce cost-income ratios, another to untangle claims backlogs, another to protect margin-squeezed stores, and the last to deliver returns to investors.
But in the current climate, they’re united by a single, pressing question:
“How do I harness dizzying technological change without being consumed by it?”
1. The Balance: Obsessive Prioritisation vs. Adaptive Execution
The Trap: The “Christmas Tree” strategy — decorating with every initiative. It looks impressive, but guarantees dilution. McKinsey research finds that 70% of large-scale transformations fail to meet their objectives (FT, 2023).
The 2025 Anchor: Replace rigid five-year plans with a portfolio of Now, Next, and Later.
NOW (3–6 months): Prioritise 2–3 non-negotiable initiatives tied to urgent pressures. For example, automating a high-cost manual process in banking, or fast-tracking a patient records upgrade in healthcare.
NEXT (6–18 months): Build on wins. Pilot innovations such as AI-assisted claims processing, demand forecasting for retailers, or embedded finance APIs in banking.
LATER (18+ months): Monitor visionary bets, but only invest once a “Next” initiative proves its case.
Why it works: This rhythm allows the NHS to flex to ministerial priorities, insurers to meet regulatory deadlines, retailers to manage peak seasons, and PE firms to deliver early wins without jeopardising longer-term value.
2. The Balance: The Siren Call of ‘New’ vs. The Discipline of ‘Core’
The Trap: “Shiny Toy Syndrome” and “Legacy Paralysis.” Both kill momentum. IDC estimates that 30% of cloud spend is wasted due to lack of alignment between old and new systems (IDC, 2024).
The 2025 Anchor: Hollow the Core. Instead of betting everything on a “big bang” replacement, build new, agile capabilities around legacy platforms.
In banking and insurance, this might mean building orchestration layers for lending or claims journeys, while the legacy core remains a stable ledger.
In retail, layering a customer engagement platform on top of ERP allows new propositions to launch in months, not years.
Why it works: Enables measured, safe progress. For regulators, it shows continuity and compliance. For investors, it balances ambition with cost discipline. For operators, it avoids the “all or nothing” risk of failed modernisation.
3. The Balance: Human Energy vs. Digital Velocity
The Trap: Organisations track project pipelines and technology velocity, but rarely measure human capacity for change. MIT research shows that 95% of AI pilots fail to deliver measurable ROI because teams are overstretched and underprepared (MIT GenAI Divide, 2025).
The 2025 Anchor: Treat change capacity like a budget.
In banking, don’t expect regulatory reporting teams to also deliver data platform migrations.
In PE, test management’s bandwidth for a 100-day plan before acquisition.
In the NHS, pace transformation with compassion for frontline staff.
In insurance, balance compliance workloads with the energy needed to adopt automation.
Why it works: Protecting human energy prevents burnout and failed delivery. It shifts the conversation from vague “talent shortages” to strategic resourcing and sequencing — the difference between sustainable change and chaotic overreach.
Finding Your Anchor
The leaders who succeed in 2025 won’t be those trying to outrun the storm of disruption. They’ll be those who:
Build a sturdy ship (a core that’s stable but not static).
Plot a clear course (Now, Next, Later).
Protect the crew’s energy (change capacity as carefully managed as capital).
Because the goal isn’t to be the most digital organisation.It’s to be the most intentionally adaptive one.
Let’s engineer for value together.
