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On March 5th, I told you in this blog that it appeared that Cap Gemini Ernst & Young shut down its highly-regarded Center for Business Innovation (CBI). I contacted the consulting firm's public relations department to see if I could find out more about this business decision. He referred my e-mail to Christopher Meyer, the director of CBI, who sent me this explanation (which was originally e-mailed to friends and acquaintances of the Center in December):
Cap Gemini Ernst & Young has decided to close the CBI, effective at the end
of the year. It's a decision that makes sense for Cap Gemini, based on the
strategy of the Group.
We think it will turn out to make sense for the CBI as well. With a decade
of support from Ernst &Young and CGEY we have created some unique
intellectual capital and diverse, powerful networks -- that includes everyone
reading this message. We have developed capabilities to convene groups in
which each individual has something to teach and something to learn, and
methods for extracting insights from the conversations they have. We did
this as an internal think tank, but it has become apparent to us that there
are opportunities to redeploy our skills as a more directly commercial
group.
Our mission has been "to anticipate and shape the future of business." In
the next few months, the leadership of the CBI expects to establish a new
institutional home for our capabilities, one that will support this mission
and help us to be more powerful. We'll keep you apprised of our progress,
because we're confident you'll have a place in our future network. In the
meantime, we'd love to hear from you.
As you'd expect, we're excited to be putting our belief in adaptation to
the test.
Chris also provided me with this update, current as of yesterday:
Since then, negotiations have proceeded, and this afternoon I'll be meeting
with lawyers for both sides of a transaction to move the intellectual
assets, people, and activities of the CBI to another firm. The deal will
likely be structured to allow both the buyer and seller to benefit from the
CBI's capabilities in non-competitive ways, so that everyone should win
strategically and economically. I'd say this deal is looking quite
likely, but of course one shouldn't presume anything. The situation should
be clear before the end of the month.
I think this is very encouraging news, indeed. Cap Gemini Ernst & Young could have easily just disbanded the Center for Business Innovation, scattering its staff and its intellectual assets to other divisions within the multi-national consulting firm. Instead, it is pursuing a strategy that hopefully will result in this valuable business innovation resource being transferred intact to a new owner, who will have an opportunity to nurture it and grow it in exciting new directions! Thanks to Chris Meyer for providing me with this timely update on CBI's current status and future fate! |
