Challenge

Boost innovation & reinvent the company’s business model.

Process

A billion-dollar US media company, where digital transformation was only tentative, Hachette Media US was challenged by media start-ups with disruptive offering and revenue models. I was called in by the CEO, to lead the company out of this situation. Guided by our cultural assessment, he demonstrated the courage to step into the unknown and move through disruption. He asserted that the “vision was the reinvention.” He also authorized a cultural change in spite of the constant pressure of the headquarters. The US division shifted from being financially driven with quarterly reports ruling their calendars to becoming more entrepreneurial and willing to experiment and take more risks, in the absence of a clear strategy and set roadmap. They implemented our proprietary methodology for leadership meeting optimization, using their individual Intuitive Compass® profiles to distribute roles rather than their functions or ranks. They experienced firsthand that leading change through disruption required a different type of leadership. This got trickled down throughout the organization, which started to function as an entrepreneurial beehive rather than a global corporation; a greater sense of adventure, experimentation, and calculated risk-taking got the company back on track.

Outcomes

• A complete revamping of the corporate work culture ($1 billion in revenues - 1,000 employees — 4 business sites on east and west coast of the US)

• The US division went from loss to profitability in less than 12 months. The Automotive business unit alone registered 27% yearly growth in sales

• A highly innovative mobile application was developed for non-professional video users, ranking #6 on Apple’s App Store without any promotional budget