Transformation Needs a Keel, Not an Anchor

A friend said something to me recently that made me pause:

“Our transformation doesn’t have an anchor.”

At first, it sounded insightful. Anchors are supposed to steady you. But then I thought—wait a second. Anchors don’t steady forward motion. They stop it.

When Anchors Kill Progress

Picture the Titanic chained to its anchor. Impressive, powerful—and utterly stuck.

That’s what many transformation programs look like in practice:

• Steering committees that meet endlessly but don’t move anything.

• Dashboards that measure activity, not impact.

• “North Star” decks polished to perfection but never landing in reality.

It all feels like control, but in truth it’s paralysis dressed up as governance.

When Rafts Pretend to Be Strategy

Now imagine the opposite: a flimsy raft drifting downstream. Plenty of movement, zero control.

This is the other trap I see:

• Dozens of pilots launched with fanfare, but no path to scale.

• Buzzwords (AI! Sustainability! Digital-first!) chasing the latest current.

• Teams pulled in different directions, hoping something will stick.

It looks dynamic. But it’s just drift.

The Third Option: Build a Keel

What transformation really needs isn’t an anchor or a raft. It needs a keel.

Unlike an anchor, a keel doesn’t stop you. It stabilizes you—keeping you upright in rough seas so you can actually move forward.

In business terms, the keel is made up of three stabilizers:

• Clarity → everyone knows why the change matters and what success looks like.

• Alignment → teams pull in the same direction, not competing currents.

• Reinforcement → the system rewards new behaviors instead of snapping back to old ones.

Quick Diagnostic: Anchor, Raft, or Keel?

• If your transformation produces more governance slides than changed behaviors → you’re anchored.

• If you’re running 12 pilots and no one can name what’s been scaled → you’re drifting.

• If people can explain the why, teams are aligned on the how, and behaviors are reinforced daily → you’ve got a keel.

Connecting the Keel to Practice

The keel isn’t just a metaphor. It’s how transformation frameworks actually work:

• The Collaboration Loop keeps alignment in motion instead of letting it erode.

• The Growth Blueprint grounds ambition in real market opportunity, not buzzwords.

• The Adoption @ Scale Flywheel designs reinforcement so belief spreads faster than resistance.

Anchors paralyze. Rafts drift. Keels guide.

The Provocation

So the next time you’re handed a transformation deck, don’t ask, “Where’s the anchor?” Ask:

👉 “Where’s the keel?”

Because without it, your program isn’t navigating change—it’s either stuck, or sunk.