By Tim Ong 5th July 2025

As we celebrated Independence Day, I found myself reflecting on the nature of change—how fast it’s happening, how deeply it’s felt, and how it’s reshaping the way organizations operate and people experience their work. Over lunch yesterday,  friends and I were discussing just how dramatically the pace of change has accelerated and sometimes it feels too much for the employees. From technology shifts to cultural pivots, companies are trying to keep up, but even well-intentioned change can feel disorienting to employees and customers alike.

At the HEART of it all – most corporations NORTH STAR is still on profitability.

At the heart of it, most corporations are still anchored to the same North Star: profitability. As a mentor once said; companies are set up to be profitable. As consumers, employees and the community we need to understand that. Capitalism, for better or worse, has proven to be effective. But where things get murky is how that profitability is operationalized. As the saying goes, profitability can be democratized to drive positive or negative changes. What does success look like in practice? That’s where things diverge—often dramatically. Consider something as seemingly straightforward as DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) efforts. For some organizations, especially those serving younger, more diverse demographics (think Costco), DEI remains a strategic priority. For others, with different customer bases (perhaps more aligned with Sam’s Club), DEI initiatives may ebb and flow depending on public sentiment or leadership focus.

To the average employee—or even the customer—this can feel like whiplash. One year, DEI is at the center of every company meeting; the next, it’s quietly shelved in favor of cost-cutting or operational efficiency. The challenge is not just what we change, but how we bring people along with us. It’s a lesson that runs deep in transformation work: sustainability of change hinges not only on strategy, but on empathy, alignment, and clarity of purpose.

This dynamic mirrors many of the large-scale transformation initiatives I’ve been involved with in corporate environments. Driving change is easy to announce, but hard to embed. It requires corralling an organization behind a vision, aligning incentives, and ensuring the “why” resonates across stakeholder groups. This is particularly critical as companies grapple with generational shifts in the workforce.

Take Gen Z, for example. This generation is often deeply driven by purpose—especially sustainability. For them, the future isn’t an abstract concept; it’s personal. Yet industries like oil and gas continue to struggle with attracting younger talent, in part due to misaligned values and perceived inertia. If the mission doesn’t speak to their priorities, or if transformation feels more like lip service than real progress, it’s no surprise engagement drops.

Part of the challenge lies in the rewards systems we’ve built. Many of us—regardless of sector—are incentivized for short-term wins. Whether it’s hitting quarterly earnings, shipping a project, or just checking off tasks, we chase progress. In some ways, even doomscrolling on social media feels productive. It scratches that itch of forward momentum, even if it leads nowhere.

Transformation is about Emotions

So what does this mean for large-scale transformation projects? Whether we’re rolling out new platforms, redefining cultural priorities, or shifting our approach to sustainability, we have to be thoughtful. Change isn’t just a strategic pivot—it’s an emotional one. It asks people to let go of what’s familiar, embrace uncertainty, and often trust leaders they’ve never met.

On this Independence Day, I’m reminded that freedom isn’t just about the absence of constraint—it’s also about the ability to choose meaningful direction. In our organizations, in our teams, and in ourselves, we need to keep asking: Are we giving people the clarity and conviction to choose transformation over stagnation?