Many corporate transformations fail due to emotional resistance. It's very rare to see success cases.
In this video, Ilkka Lipasti, Group Vice President at ABB, shares his insights on the very successful transformation of ABB.
0:00 Introduction
0:35 What Changed Inside ABB
1:15 Facing Reality: The Brutal Facts
2:21 1. From Top-Down to Bottom-Up
3:44 2. Expectation Clash
4:48 3. Fixing the Process in Real Time
6:05 4. Structured Decision-Making
7:05 Change Built Energy
7:37 3 Foundations for Successful Transformation
11:05 How to Turn the Foundations into Action
In this video, Timo Vuori explains why AI adoption remains so challenging for organizations—and why the biggest obstacles are not technological, but human and organizational.
0:00 Intro
0:30 1. The target is constantly shifting
0:56 2. Ambiguity of value
3:06 3. Identity threat
3:54 Solution 1: Experiment
5:19 Portfolio thinking
5:57 Workflow redesign
8:21 Solution 2: Empathy
Drawing on recent research from Harvard Business Review, the discussion highlights why many companies struggle to turn AI investments into real value.
He connects these findings to his own research:
Vuori, T. O. (2024). Emotions and attentional engagement in the attention-based view of the firm. Strategic Organization, 22(1), 189-210.
Key articles referenced:
https://hbr.org/2026/02/where-senior-leaders-are-struggling-with-ai-adoption-according-to-research
https://hbr.org/2025/04/how-people-are-really-using-gen-ai-in-2025
https://hbr.org/2026/01/a-systematic-approach-to-experimenting-with-gen-ai
https://hbr.org/2026/02/ais-big-payoff-is-coordination-not-automation
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Timo Vuori, Professor of Strategic Management, Aalto University.
Participative decision-making in strategy implementation: theoretical framework and case study Trailmaker.
“It was exciting to notice, that this kind of participative decision-making process significantly saves time, as much as a year.
People start to understand things in the same way, namely what we are supposed to do and why. This creates a psychological state of commitment.
My view is that planning is important. But it is also important to consider how to ensure efficient and fast implementation.”
