Bernard Truong_opt(2)Project Monarch, aimed at transforming the Strategic Business Relationships group at National Bank, has already generated $2.65 million of value for the bank, and there’s another $1.3 million in the works. It was all a matter of changing perspectives and priorities in order to maximize value.  Bernard Truong (EMBA 2013) spearheaded the project, and explains its roots:

The change management initiative started in 2011 (at the beginning of the EMBA Program), when I had to identify a change project with real business impact that I would work on during the program. I started to brainstorm with my team at work, knowing that the success of the project would depend heavily on the buy-in from my team, my colleagues and my manager.  We all knew we had challenges with our capacity to deliver what was expected of us (contract management, change requests, support for RFPs, etc.).  We came out of the brainstorming sessions knowing this was where we could have the biggest impact. 

We redefined our work structure, and built tools that would allow us to understand what our partners expect, and how to prioritize initiatives according to our capacity.  We chose the Monarch as a symbol of our transformation, and developed three key axes for evaluating our priorities: alignment with BNC strategy, probability of success, and value creation.”

The results speak for themselves – the new approach, with value creation for the bank at its heart, has generated such good results that the group has been asked to initiate Phase II – to transfer the knowledge and approach to the rest of National Bank’s operations group, which should result in even greater value creation.  Bernard notes, “It’s a great feeling to have turned an idea into reality, but the work’s not over yet.”

As part of his report to the EMBA McGill-HEC program on the project, Bernard identified a number of key success factors in implementing this major change:

  • Involvement of the whole team in developing the framework
  • Continuous improvement of the frameworks and approach as they gained knowledge through its implementation. This is key: they didn’t assume they got it right first time. They started with a ‘good enough’ model and perfected it over time.
  • Keep the customer promise/expectations at the heart of their work
  • Influencing top management towards action, all the while promoting visibility for the project only when necessary, in order to manage the pressure on employees
  • Prioritizing information sharing across the team as the program evolved

The Change Project is one of a series of company-related assignments that participants complete throughout the McGill-HEC Montreal EMBA program.  The emphasis on reflection after action is also a key element of the program.  Not only has Bernard implemented this change, he’s thought through how and why it worked and what conditions are needed to foster change.  He’s armed for the next big initiative, having taken the time to learn from this experience.

Professor Alain Pinsonneault, Co-Director of the program, comments: “Bernard’s story is by no means unusual.  Our program aims to make the learning relevant for both participants and their organizations, and we encourage people to involve their organizations and test their ability to put ideas into concrete action.”  Professor Louis Hébert of HEC Montréal, Co-director of the program, agrees: “The classroom is important, but we want to get past the classroom to the business reality. When it’s applicable in real life, the learning sticks.”

Bernard couldn’t agree more. Throughout the program, when he returned to work after a module, he shared his learnings with his team.  He also made a point of actively asking for input from the bank for all of his assignments.  His goal: to ensure the topics he chose were interesting to him as well as relevant and beneficial to the organization. “I really appreciated that the McGill-HEC Montréal program gave me such latitude in choosing to work on issues that were valuable to me and my organization. I grew, and the organization evolved. It really was a win-win.”