Detecon: Mr. Döring, what does Transformation Management mean for you personally and for Siemens as a whole?

J. Döring: I find Transformation Management a very interesting challenge because it concerns strategy and implementation, business models and processes, organization and people equally. This fascinates me. And for Siemens, Transformation Management is now an essential tool for achieving long-term optimization in the fight for improved competitiveness.

Detecon: In your opinion, when do companies have the most urgent need for Transformation Management?

J. Döring: It doesn’t matter whether you call it "Transformation Management", "Change Management" or "Restructuring" – the variety of terms in use really only say one thing: we have to adjust to increasingly rapid changes in our environment. Of course this can’t be achieved without methods and appropriate support. It is important that all changes are in line with the strategy. If a transformation is to be successful then it must satisfy certain clear criteria: it must follow a strategy, it must have defined objectives and levers for implementation, it needs planning, the defined activities must be implemented rigorously and, finally, whether and how the objectives are reached must be measured, and adjustments made if necessary.

Detecon: You have implemented a major transformation management project to integrate Siemens’ fixed line and mobile communications divisions. What were the biggest challenges that you faced, and which major topics is your team still working on?

J. Döring: The main challenge was the speed and ease with which the integration of the two divisions had to take place, which was also appropriate to the market situation. For us, the main topics were the implementation of the strategic objectives – particularly our "focus play & converged play" method and the 8-point program – as well as the achievement of the planned long-term synergies in sales and costs.