The Six-Month Transformation Challenge: Why Legacy Enterprises Need Battle-Scarred Guides, Not Book-Smart Consultants

Episode notes

In this episode, Ian and Erik tackle one of the most challenging scenarios in transformation work: How do you change a hundred-year-old organisation in just six months? This isn't about startups or Silicon Valley success stories—this is about real legacy enterprises with proven track records, established customers, and systems that have generated decades of profit. Erik Hansen joins Ian from Seattle to share hard-won insights from the trenches of enterprise transformation. Both speakers bring battle scars from working with organisations that don't fit the textbook case studies—companies where the challenge isn't building something new, but evolving something that's been working whilst maintaining the relationships and standards that built their success. You'll discover why most transformation consultants fail in legacy environments, learn the ally-finding formula that actually works, and understand how to use customer pain points as change catalysts. Erik shares real examples from his current work at a global financial institution, whilst Ian reveals lessons from transforming century-old organisations across multiple sectors.