Financial institutions in 2020 face a big challenge: creating the business of the future from the legacy they have today. This is revealing a major tension between two opposing mindsets, the vision mindset and the value mindset.
The latest edition of Oliver Wyman’s State of the Financial Services Industry report explores how pressure is building to deliver on investment programs and how we believe winning firms will manage the collision between vision and value. Oliver Wyman is an affiliate of Guy Carpenter.
Managing the push and pull between vision and value does not mean picking sides between the two. Instead, it means bringing the mindsets together to agree on the change portfolio, growth plays, productivity objectives, and metrics used. It means communicating a clear narrative and consistent, authentic messages internally and externally.
Firms have hired chief digital officers and teams, rolled out new ways of working, and have large technology programs in progress. Incubators, accelerators, and innovation teams have also been set up, often consuming significant management attention. Some breakthroughs are occurring. Yet positive impact on the bottom line has been rare, and few firms we speak to are happy with the rate of change.
Until recently, this has been a concern but not a crisis. But pressure is building. Investors, analysts, and management teams are asking more and more questions about the rate of progress.
The winners will be the firms that most successfully unite the vision and value mindsets, agree on what is critical to thrive long-term, and invest with discipline. Embracing this creative tension will lead to balance, reinvention, and growth.