Enterprise Transformation, With Confidence

The Assert Advantage

True business readiness, like a diamond, isn't just about surface appearances. Progress reports and milestones may look promising, but hidden flaws can undermine transformation success.

Just as experts rely on the 4Cs to distinguish a valuable gem from a flawed one, Assert's battle-tested framework— ✦ Competencies,
✦ Certainty, ✦ Candor, and ✦ Caring— provides focus to assess readiness, predict challenges, and mobilize teams to prevent disruption from taking hold.

Reduces Business Exposure

⚠️

A 3% program investment in the Assert readiness process can avoid as much as 70% in business disruption costs

Identifies readiness issues early and address potential business risks
Assesses and reports readiness in an objective manner
Tracks program progress against set Readiness targets

Mobilizes Stakeholder Productivity

🧩

No single person can grasp every detail of a transformation program, especially from a business perspective. It takes a mobilized “village”

Ensures clarity in roles from day 1
Establishes a consistent approach across business areas
Gives stakeholders a voice through structured, periodic checkpoints
Breaks down silos for smoother collaboration

Fosters Collaboration, Accountability and Responsibility

⚖️🤝
Assert strikes the right balance between individual responsibilities and collaborative accountabilities

💡
Drives critical constructive conversations early

✅
Reduces rework

Drives Prioritization and Speed

🚨

The complexity of transformation programs can make prioritizing difficult, resulting in high anxiety and “thrashing”

Keeps attention locked on mission-critical priorities
Reinforces timely, relevant information, preventing unanticipated accountabilities
Avoids the "lure of perfectionism” getting in the way of valuable progress

Authentic "State of Readiness"

🚦

Executives require crystal-clear visibility into:

→ Target state,
→ Current reality, and
→ Action plan to bridge the gap

Structures stakeholder insights for efficiency and clarity
Helps balance quality with speed in decision-making
Uses iterative assessments to track program health

Imagine beginning a complex digital transformation go-live
and KNOWING it will succeed! 🚀

Enhances Predictability

🧩

The #1 criticism of business transformation programs by senior executives is the unpredictability of outcomes, schedule, and cost.

Evaluates your program against consistent, proven criteria
Provides early visibility into the outcomes
Builds stakeholder confidence in the solution

Assert Academy

Assert's battle-tested approach:

🏆 Built from 30+ years of high-impact transformation programs
🎯 Provides flexibility to balance speed, rigor and quality
🛠️ Can be adjusted to calibrate for stakeholder feedback
🚀 Enables the program to “hit the ground running”
💡 Equips stakeholders with skills for transformation execution and sustained business operations

Supportive Professional Services

👥

When team members lack clear direction on their responsibilities and execution methods, it jeopardizes overall performance and accountability

💡 Clarifies stakeholder roles and key concepts for accountability
🤝 Engages collaboratively with stakeholders as partners, not recipients
🎯 Ensures alignment across the program

I look to major system integrators for their readiness framework, and I get a bunch of spreadsheets.

I look to you, and I get a well-thought-out method with supporting technology.

— SVP Finance (High Tech)

Assert is spot on!

— CFO (High Tech)

It was an invaluable tool, and it helped steer the project in better directions during the most critical times!

— Business Function Lead (Consumer Services)

Assert is what I use to drive accountability.

— COO A&D

My business area could clearly see the roadmap from where we were to where we needed to be

— SVP & Finance Executive (High Tech)

Assert asks the right questions differently.

— SVP Finance (High Tech)

Your structured and thorough approach to readiness was a good counterbalance to the move-fast-and-break-things mindset elsewhere.

— VP and Transformation Business Lead (Finance Operations)

It makes you think.
— SVP & Finance Executive

Without the Assert approach we never would have made the go-live date.

— Business Integration Lead
(High Tech)

Assert’s the best I’ve ever seen!

— Change Management Lead
(High Tech)

If we had used the Assert approach on our prior projects, we would have saved millions.

— Business Integration Lead (A&D)

Competencies → The right data, processes, systems, and skillsets

Like a diamond's cut that determines how it handles light, your enterprise competencies determine how well your organization will operate and thrive following digital transformation.

Mastering these competencies ensures a true state of readiness, positioning the enterprise for success.

Core competencies of a digital transformation include:

Data
Transition Management
Processes & Systems
People & Technology
Outcomes & Program Management

The right competencies don't just manage transformation— 💎 they amplify its impact across the organization.

Certainty → Confidence in achieving business capabilities and outcomes

Just as a diamond's clarity reveals its internal structure, certainty in transformation reveals the soundness of your implementation approach.

Certainty in readiness means fewer ambiguities, greater confidence, and a clearer path forward. It ensures that key stakeholders are confident in the program’s direction, with a firm grounding in knowledge, expertise, and alignment.

💡 Clear, defined processes create confidence that travels throughout the organization.

Candor → Open communication & trust

The most valuable diamonds allow light to pass through unimpeded. Similarly, candor ensures information flows freely throughout your transformation, preventing hidden agendas or information silos.

Candor ensures that miscommunication is minimized, fostering an environment of trust and collaboration. It involves being transparent, straightforward, and sincere in interactions.

Caring → A culture that cares about people, process and outcomes

Caring is the attribute that binds the other aspects of readiness together, much like how the overall quality of a diamond is assessed. It's what elevates readiness from a mere checklist to a holistic approach.

💎 Developing a culture in which people care about each other and are committed to the outcomes of the program elevates transformation beyond strategy into lasting impact.

How does Assert differ from a QA process?

While QA is concerned with verifying the quality of a solution—usually by comparing test outcomes to the approved design or test plan—Assert focuses on equipping the business to function effectiveness. This means ensuring the business can perform "a day's worth of business in a day", something that a QA process alone might not assure. Sometimes, a program may pass a QA check yet still fail to meet the business's operational demands, whereas other programs might not pass QA but still operate effectively.

Is Assert a consensus-building or voting process?

Assert fosters teamwork and essential discussions across different business sectors to keep all stakeholders informed. Nevertheless, the governance structure for Assert does not rely on voting or consensus. Rather, it offers crucial insights to the steering committee, aiding them in making informed decisions or supporting significant choices.

How does Assert work with Software Vendor Methodologies (e.g., SAP Activate)?

Assert aligns seamlessly with software vendor methodologies, such as SAP Activate. Vendor-driven methodologies offer a structured approach to define the necessary program outputs for their software functionality to work. They often emphasize a “fit-to-standard” approach, leveraging insights from previous implementations to streamline development. Assert ensures that these program outputs align with the enterprise’s operational goals and meet the expectations of key business stakeholders. We have worked with many System Integrators (SIs) who appreciate Assert’s value because it allows them to focus on their core strengths—producing deliverables—while Assert ensures those deliverables drive value and build stakeholder confidence for the organization.

How can I learn more about Assert?

We would be delighted to offer additional details about Assert, along with a demonstration of our accompanying content and software. Just click Contact Us button above and fill out the presented form 👍