Lars Buttkus

Bilfinger, Babcock, Ceilcote, Deutsche Bank, Dow Chemical, Future Pipe, Osram, Haniel, International Paper, Johnson Controls, Kellogg, Linde, Pirelli, Roche, SAP, screen2MOVE, SGL Carbon, Thyssen Steel, Valcambi, Verantis, Volkswagen, VA Technologies

A few of the interesting companies I have been working with over the last years

Leading growth and business development initiatives in North America and South America for an engineered equipment manufacturer.

Vice President

Support of business development and sales activities of an industrial construction & manufacturing company.

Director Business Development

Supporting midsized companies with change management expertise and customized project management solutions & trainings.

Change Management Lead | Project Management Coach | Fractional CSO

Helping European consulting firms and manufacturing companies to establish market presence and unlock growth potential in the US.

Fractional Chief Executive

Executive Leadership of a medium sized environmental engineering firm with operations in Europe, North America, and Asia.

President & Chief Executive Officer

I thought training my dog to come when called would be straightforward.

Call her name. Give the command. She comes running.

Instead, she locked eyes with me… and trotted off in the opposite direction.

Not because she didn’t understand—but because, to her, trotting in the different direction was simply the better option. She weighed the rewards, the risks, and made a decision.

That’s exactly what happens in organizational transformation.

Leaders introduce new systems, restructure operations, or push for efficiency gains. The logic is sound, the strategy is clear. But when it’s time for execution?

Hesitation. Resistance. A quiet return to the old way.

Not because employees don’t understand—but because they don’t trust the change. They weigh the risks, the rewards, and make a decision.

I help leaders tip the scale in favor of action.

Here’s how I’ve helped manufacturing companies transform with measurable results:

✅ Cut costs without cutting trust. Reduced fixed costs by 15%+ annually—without destabilizing operations or losing key talent.

✅ Expanded global operations—without unnecessary risk. Helped companies scale their international footprint profitably, aligning local teams, optimizing supply chains, and ensuring sustainable growth.

✅ Made new systems work for people—not against them. Led global CRM & ERP rollouts that improved efficiency instead of overwhelming teams.

✅ Helped teams move forward—decisively. Coached, mentored, and led up to 90 people through complex, high-stakes transformations—without chaos or burnout.

✅ Saved companies from costly missteps. Rescued subsidiaries on the verge of collapse, turning failing operations into profitable, streamlined units.

The reality? Change doesn’t fail because the plan is flawed. It fails because people don’t trust it.

Fix that, and transformation isn’t an uphill battle—it’s a natural next step.

And my dog?
Once she realized coming when called wasn’t the end of the fun—she mastered recall. 
Now, she’s got it down to a science… unless there’s a squirrel.

If your company is in the midst of a transformation, or setting up a change initiative—but struggling to make it stick—let’s talk.

Change doesn’t fail in planning.

It fails in 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗳𝗳𝘀.

Strategy says “transform.”
Execution hears “deliver.”
Finance waits to see if anything actually moved.

That silence in between?
That’s where value dies.

The second pillar of a 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 is Flow.

Flow is what keeps change alive after the kickoff fades.
It connects vision to behavior, and behavior to results.

A 𝗣𝗠𝗢 manages projects.
A 𝗩𝗥𝗢 manages adoption.

Because transformation isn’t complete when you go live.
It’s complete when people actually work differently.

Flow is how you close that gap.
It’s how strategy becomes muscle memory.
How execution stops leaking energy.
How change keeps moving forward instead of resetting every quarter.

The VRO makes sure momentum doesn’t die in meetings.
It builds continuity between “what we said,” “what we did,” and “what it changed.”

That’s what turns transformation into traction.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

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I drive change & scale operations profitably | Organizational Change & Transformation

You said it three times.

You even made slides.

But they still don’t get it.

Welcome to the Communication Illusion.

The belief that saying something louder makes it land deeper.

Often, change leaders flood inboxes with updates,
host town halls no one remembers,
and call it “alignment.”

That’s not communication.
That’s broadcast.

Real communication isn’t how much you say.
It’s what people believe after you’re done talking.

If your message doesn’t move behavior,
it’s just noise with branding.

People don’t change because they read your memo.
They change because they finally feel something that makes sense.

You can’t PowerPoint people into belief.
You have to connect.
You have to care.

Because the opposite of silence
isn’t communication.
𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

You don't need more change initiatives.

You need a 𝗩𝗔𝗟𝗨𝗘 𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗧𝗘𝗥.

Most companies don’t fail because of bad strategy.

They fail because they try to do 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁.

Every idea sounds important.
Every project feels urgent.
Every executive wants their piece of the spotlight.

And before you know it, you’re managing 42 “priorities.”
Translation: none.

That’s the first pillar of a 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 — 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀.

Focus is what turns effort into impact.
It’s not about working harder.
It’s about working 𝖿𝖾𝗐𝖾𝗋 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀𝗌 𝗍𝗈 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗉𝗅𝖾𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇.

A 𝗣𝗠𝗢 tracks projects.
A 𝗩𝗥𝗢 decides which ones 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘪𝘴𝘵.

Because if everything’s a priority,
nothing’s a value driver.

The VRO doesn’t chase motion.
It filters it.
It asks the brutal questions:
1) What outcome does this create?
2) How will we measure it?
3) What stops if this starts?

That’s how progress happens.
Not by doing more, but by doing what matters 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 to make it real.

Focus isn’t a lack of ambition.
It’s ambition with discipline.

That’s what separates noise from traction.
And busy companies from better ones.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Bottleneck??

Change rarely fails at the top.

And it doesn’t fail on the front line either.

𝗜𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗹𝗲.

Where pressure meets politics.
Where strategy meets survival.
Where every initiative becomes “extra work.”

Middle managers don’t resist change because they disagree.
They resist because they’re overloaded.
They’re asked to deliver results and absorb uncertainty, at the same time.

That’s where most transformations stall.
And where a 𝗩𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗲 makes the difference.

A VRO connects strategy, execution, and adoption.
Middle managers aren’t left to translate the chaos.

It gives clarity instead of slogans.
Focus instead of overload.
Proof instead of promises.

Because transformation doesn’t break from lack of effort.
It breaks from lack of alignment.

Fix the middle and everything above and below starts to move.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Stop delegating change. 

Start leading it.

You signed the charter. You nodded in the steering committee. You posted the kickoff selfie.

That is not sponsorship. That is theater.

𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲. 𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆, 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽.
Teams with engaged sponsors are about three times more likely to hit their goals. 
Too many executives are not clear on what a sponsor actually does. No shame in that. There is shame in hiding behind status reports.

Real sponsorship doesn’t only say “I support this.” 

Real sponsors show it.

❗ 𝗕𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻. Walk the floor. Office, plant, warehouse, shop. Talk to people who touch customers and machines.
❗ 𝗔𝘀𝗸 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀. Then remove them while people are watching. Nothing builds belief faster.
❗ 𝗚𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁. Change one habit in public. The room will follow the leader they can see.
❗ 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲. When priorities clash, say out loud what you will stop doing. Calendars tell the truth.

When Satya Nadella reset Microsoft, he did not send poetry about culture. He admitted mistakes and modeled a learn it all mindset in live meetings. If the boss can change, so can we.

Buzzwords do not move hearts or roadmaps. Plain language does.

❌ “This transformation will unlock synergies and drive operational excellence.”
✅ “We are losing customers to faster rivals. Here is what I am doing differently on Monday. Join me.”

One sounds like a press release. 

The other sounds like a leader who means it.

✅ 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆
Find the informal influencers. The people others copy at lunch. Invite a few healthy skeptics. If you only want cheerleaders, buy pom poms.

✅ 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘁
Hold a weekly change conversation with small groups. No slides. No script. Share what you see. Ask what you are missing. Answer the hard questions in the room. If you sweat a little, you are doing it right.

✅ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱
Resistance is not a memo problem. It is a leadership presence problem. Show up more when the noise rises. The minute you vanish, the change becomes optional.

Change fails when sponsorship becomes ceremony. 
Your team does not need another announcement. 
They need proof.
Proof lives in calendars, trade offs, and your daily behavior.

𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

𝗕𝘂𝘆-𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱!

Every corporate change effort starts with the same rallying cry:

“We just need everyone’s buy-in.”

Sounds noble.
Feels democratic.

And kills more transformations than resistance ever did.

Because buy-in turns leaders into politicians:
🔴 Polling opinions
🔴 Running roadshows
🔴 Trying to make everyone happy.

But belief doesn’t come from consensus.
It comes from 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

People follow what they trust, not what they vote for. 

You don’t get belief through slide decks or town halls.
You earn it through one visible truth:

“We’re serious this time, and we’ll prove it with what we do next.”

Stop chasing buy-in.
Start building belief.

Because belief doesn’t need a workshop.
It needs a witness.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

PM delivers.

CM makes it stick.

The VRO proves.

Typically, transformations don’t fail in delivery.
They fail in connection.

Projects close.
People move on.
Value never lands.

Because delivery alone isn’t enough.

Real transformation takes a trifecta:
Project Management to build it.
Change Management to embed it.
And a Value Realization Office to prove it.

PM drives execution.
CM drives adoption.
VRO drives impact.

One gets it done.
One makes it stick.
One shows it pays.

When all three work together, you stop counting projects.
You start counting results.

That’s how strategy turns into measurable change.
Not just delivered, but realized.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Change leadership isn’t about process.

It’s not the strategy.
It’s not the tech.
It’s definitely not the Gantt chart.

It’s mindset.

And the best change leaders I’ve worked with all do three things:

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿.
𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀.

That’s it.

They don’t need to know all the answers.
But they ask better questions.
They don’t pretend they’re fearless.
They name it and lead anyway.
They don’t tolerate toxic behavior just because it’s “senior.”

Because here’s the truth:

People won’t follow a plan.
They follow behavior.

And if your culture sees you learning, owning fear, and calling out what’s wrong.
They’ll do the same.

Change sticks when 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙜𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩.

Which of these shows up (or doesn’t) in your world?

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Go live. Go quiet.

Go nowhere.

Every transformation looks great at go live.
Confetti. Cupcakes. Dashboards glowing green.
Everyone suddenly becomes a change champion.

Then Monday comes.
Emails slow down.
Energy dips.
The old process quietly sneaks back in.

Welcome to the 90 Day Window.
The stretch where real change either sticks or slips away.

Let’s be honest:
- Cake isn’t adoption. It’s sugar.
- 'We sent the email' isn’t reinforcement. It’s noise.
- A webinar fire hose doesn’t grow roots. It drowns interest.
- Dashboards don’t prove progress. People do.
- And go live doesn’t mean mission accomplished. It means the hard part starts.

By day 90, the cracks begin to show:
❗ Momentum fades.
❗ Teams drift.
❗ Customers feel the wobble.
❗ The roadmap turns into a scrapbook of “almosts.”

Here’s what the best teams do instead:
✅ Treat those 90 days like aftercare, not afterthought.
✅ Measure adoption, not activity.
✅ Sponsor in public. Visibility keeps energy alive.
✅ Reinforce success before the applause fades.
✅ Give ownership to someone who wakes up thinking about continuity.

Because every transformation sends a 90 day bill.
It’s either proof of impact or payment for your own hype.

What’s still standing in your organization 90 days after go live?

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Everyone agrees. That's the problem.

Change doesn’t die from resistance.
It dies from fear.

The moment people stop questioning, you stop improving.
No arguments.
No friction.
Just quiet compliance that looks like progress.

That’s the Fear Tax: the price you pay when truth feels dangerous.

Leaders often mistake agreement for alignment.
It’s not.
It’s surrender.

You can see it in every project review where no one challenges the plan.
Where risks are downplayed.
Where every update sounds too perfect to be real.

Psychological safety isn’t softness.
It’s strength.

Real change leaders don’t chase harmony.
They invite honesty.
They thank the one who speaks first, not the one who nods fastest.

Because fear kills change long before failure does.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

If everyone’s nodding....

Your change is already dead.

I lost count how many times I've seen it.
Change doesn’t fail because of yaysayers.
It fails because 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

The people killing your transformation aren’t hiding.
They’re smiling in meetings, agreeing with everything,
and getting rewarded for it.

The real problem?
Leadership keeps mistaking compliance for commitment.

The “good attitude.”
The “team player.”
The one who always says, “𝘞𝘦’𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬.”

They get promoted.
They get visibility.
And eventually... they get the steering wheel.

Then we wonder why every major change stalls halfway through.

Yaysayers aren’t the disease. They’re the symptom.
The disease is 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁.

The kind who say they want innovation,
but only if it doesn’t make the room uncomfortable.
The kind who say they value truth,
but punish anyone who brings it.

And so the culture learns:
Don’t challenge. Don’t question. Just nod.

That’s how real talent goes quiet.
That’s how transformation dies in plain sight.

Because progress doesn’t come from politeness.
It comes from friction. 
From pushback. 
From people willing to make the boss uneasy.

If leaders keep rewarding the agreeable instead of the accountable,
they shouldn’t blame the team when change fails.

It’s not the yaysayers killing your change.
It’s the leaders who keep giving them power.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Just recently, I sat through a CRM kickoff for a mid sized manufacturing company. Smart room. Reasonable budget. 
Four CRM goals on a slide:
❗ Ensure ERP compatibility 
❗ Standardize and consolidate data
❗ Deliver 60 customer views
❗ Maximize adoption

Heads nodded.
I felt that familiar pinch behind the eyes.

Those aren't goals. 
Those are guardrail. Runway lights.
Bright. Expensive.

But without trained pilots and a flight plan, nothing lifts.

The one question no one asked was:
"What will be different on day 1 after go-live?"

That's where many CRM implementations and roll-outs slip. 
Tech is treated as change.
Structure over behavior.
Visibility over value.
Adoption is punted to later.

Change 101: 𝗡𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲, 𝗻𝗼 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲.

If your people don't work differently at a specific hour on a specific day, your new CRM is an expensive (and underused) storage unit.

Different client. Same topic. Better approach.

The team built a 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁, not a platitude list:

🟢 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲𝘀: 
95% opportunities updated weekly. Notes within 24 hours. Forecast locked Fridays 4p.
 
🟢 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆: 
One path to create leads and quotes. Minimal required fields. Templates that match the actual work.

🟢 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗲𝗲𝘁𝗵: 
Managers coach and review only what lives in CRM. If it's not in CRM, it didn't happen.

🟢 𝗚𝘂𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁: 
Integrate to ERP 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 habits stick.

And the team named the measures (and why):
𝗛𝘆𝗴𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲: % of opportunities touched in 7 days (is the pipeline alive?)
𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲-𝘁𝗼-𝗨𝗽𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲: Hours from meeting to notes (is learning captured while fresh?)
𝗙𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆: Gap vs actuals by manager (does the system reflect reality?)

Call it CRM. Call it RevOps. Call it Project FancyPants. Don't care.

If behavior isn't Goal and Priority #1, you're installing lights on an empty runway.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Stop drawing curves.

Start managing behaviors.

Every corporate change deck has that famous curve:
Denial → Resistance → Exploration → Commitment.

A comforting little story.
Smooth, predictable.

And totally disconnected from reality.

Because in reality, on the plant floor, in the sales office, in the ERP go-live, 
people don’t glide along curves.
They snap, stall, regress, and bargain.

Real adoption looks less like a curve and more like an EKG:
❗ Spike of hope,
❗ Flatline of confusion,
❗ Panic meeting,
❗ Leadership “reset,”
❗ Repeat.

Adoption isn’t emotional choreography.
It’s a series of micro-decisions under pressure.
Influenced by trust, fatigue, and what people think will happen to them if they don’t change.

Stop plotting emotions.
Start managing behavior.

Because culture doesn’t move on your chart.
It moves when your people believe you’ll still be around when the curve crashes.

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👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Change needs clarity.

Most change doesn’t fail from resistance.
It fails from 𝗳𝗼𝗴.

When people can’t see what’s changing, why it matters, or how success looks.
They freeze.
Not out of defiance, but out of confusion.

And confusion always finds a home in silence.
That’s where rumors breed.
That’s where momentum dies.

Clarity is the antidote.
It’s what cuts through noise, aligns behavior, and restores trust.

Good change leaders don’t say “𝙬𝙚’𝙡𝙡 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚.”
They say:

✅ Here’s what’s changing.
✅ Here’s why.
✅ Here’s what it means for you.

It’s not a script.
It’s a contract of honesty.

Because when people understand the why, they can endure almost any what.
And when they see a clear path forward, they move.

Change doesn’t need more slogans.
It needs more 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆.

-----
 
👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Change dies when value stays invisible.

Because what people can’t see, they stop believing in.

And when belief fades, momentum goes with it.

That’s why the third pillar of a Value Realization Office is Proof.

Proof makes results visible.
And belief contagious.

Most companies measure completion.
Few measure conversion.

A PMO reports milestones.
A VRO proves impact.

PMO says: “We launched the system.”
VRO says: “Here’s how it changed the numbers.”

Proof builds the bridge between data and trust.
It’s not about vanity metrics.
It’s about evidence: real, behavioral, financial.

When teams can see their impact, they lean in.
When leaders can prove outcomes, they lead with confidence.

That’s how transformation stops being a campaign
and starts becoming a culture.

The VRO doesn’t celebrate delivery.
It celebrates difference.

Because when value becomes visible, belief follows.

-----
 
👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Everything’s green. Dashboards glowing.
Projects “on track.”

And yet....nothing’s really moving.

Welcome to 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙈𝙞𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚.

Where motion feels like momentum.
Where delivery replaces value.
Where the PMO says “done,”
and the business quietly asks, “so what?”

A 𝗣𝗠𝗢 runs the project.
A 𝗩𝗥𝗢 runs the 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚.

The PMO measures milestones.
The VRO measures meaning.

One asks, “𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳?”
The other asks, “𝘋𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳?”

You can close every task,
hit every gate, celebrate every finish.
And still end up right where you started.

Projects don’t fail in execution.
They fail in 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, between activity and outcome.

That’s where the VRO lives.
Right in that gap.
Turning noise into traction.
Effort into evidence.
Delivery into difference.

Progress isn’t a status color.
It’s a shift you can feel.
In numbers, in behavior.
In results.

Everything else is just motion.

-----
 
👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Dashboards Lie. Results Don’t.

Every transformation has its moment of illusion.

That phase where everything looks green.

While nothing really moves.

Because visibility isn’t the same as value.

Dashboards glow.
Slides impress.
But the P&L stays quiet.

That’s the gap a Value Realization Office closes.

A PMO tracks delivery.
A VRO tracks outcomes.

It doesn’t ask “Is the project on time?”
It asks “Did it change anything that matters?”

Focus filters what deserves attention.
Flow keeps execution moving through teams.
Proof ties results back to Finance, where value becomes visible.

When those three connect, you stop celebrating activity and start realizing impact.

Because transformation isn’t about being busy.
It’s about proving progress.

-----
 
👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Everyone’s busy. 

Nothing’s changing.

That’s not momentum.
That’s the 𝘽𝙪𝙨𝙮𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙏𝙖𝙭 at work.

The hidden cost of mistaking motion for progress.
Of worshipping activity instead of outcomes.

You see it everywhere:
❗Change initiatives drowning in meetings.
❗Transformation teams buried under decks.
❗Leaders managing optics instead of behavior.

Every “quick sync” is a small withdrawal from your team’s focus.
Every dashboard update is a tax on real execution.

And like any tax, it compounds.
Quietly.
Relentlessly.
Until the will to change is gone.

People don’t resist change.
They resist nonsense.

The cure?
✔️ Fewer meetings.
✔️ More meaning.
✔️ Less reporting.
✔️ More leading.

Stop paying the Busyness Tax.
Start investing in clarity, courage, and choices that actually move something.

-----

👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Change doesn’t break in planning.

It breaks in motion.

Most transformations start with good intentions.
Energy is high, plans are detailed, and early wins pile up.

Then somewhere around month three, momentum fades.
Real value slips out of view.

That’s where a lighter version of the Value Realization Office comes in: VRO Light.

It’s not a new department.
It’s a way to keep strategy, execution, and impact in sync — without the drag.

VRO runs on three pillars:

𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 – The Value Filter
Many companies don’t fail because of bad strategy.
They fail because they try to do all of it.
Focus cuts through noise and channels effort toward what truly moves the P&L.

𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 – The Execution Engine
Strategy says “transform.”
Execution hears “deliver.”
Flow connects the two, keeping momentum alive through clear ownership and rhythm.
It’s how change keeps moving after the kickoff fades.

𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 – The Verification Layer
Talk is easy.
Proof is measurable.
It ties outcomes to numbers Finance can sign off on, turning activity into evidence.

When these three work together, transformation stops being a campaign.
It becomes a capability.

Because change doesn’t need more layers.
It needs 
1️⃣ 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀
2️⃣ 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄
3️⃣ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳

Working as one system.

That’s the anatomy of a VRO. 
Lean. 
Measurable. 

Built to make change pay.

-----
 
👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

Flow Isn’t Speed.

It’s Continuity.

Most transformations start fast.
Kickoffs. Dashboards. Deadlines.

But speed without structure burns out fast.
The energy’s there, the direction isn’t.

Because progress isn’t about how fast you move.
It’s about how long momentum lasts.

That’s what Flow creates.
Flow isn’t motion.

It’s movement with rhythm.

It connects strategy, execution, and adoption.
It’s what happens when the PMO delivers, CM sustains, and the VRO proves.

When those three align, work feels lighter.
Decisions connect.
Teams move together.

That’s the difference between chasing change and building the capability to handle it.

Because speed starts change.
Flow sustains it.

-----
 
👋 I’m Lars – delivering transformation that sticks.
🔔 Follow me for more on fractional leadership and change management.

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