Have you ever been part of an initiative where the solution was defined early, while the purpose remained unclear? Where significant effort was invested, but it was difficult to explain what was actually meant to improve.

In many organizations, this is a common pattern. It is understandable in complex environments where pressure to act is high. When situations are complex rather than merely complicated, outcomes cannot be fully predicted in advance. That is why direction and purpose matters.

Research reflects this challenge. The Standish Group shows that only about 30% of projects succeed in delivering true business value. (Standish Group, 2020) Similar conclusions are found in broader transformation research. McKinsey reports that organizations which anchor their improvement efforts in a clear and shared purpose are more than twice as likely to succeed. (McKinsey, 2021) Purpose does not guarantee success, but it functions as a critical enabling condition in complex environments.

This perspective is why I prefer not to use the term change management. Change often emphasizes disruption and difference and tends to drain energy. I work with improvement management instead. Improvement focuses on direction rather than prediction. It builds on what already exists and enables people to move forward together even when the path cannot be fully specified in advance. Instead of starting with the solution you don’t yet know, find the common purpose you want to serve. A shared purpose provides orientation when detailed answers are not yet available.

There is strong support for this in research on human motivation. When people understand the purpose of what they are doing, stress levels decrease and motivation increases, for example through reduced cortisol response and increased engagement of dopamine reward systems. Aaron Antonovsky described this as a sense of coherence, the experience that a situation is comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful. In complex contexts, coherence is what makes sustained improvement possible. (Antonovsky, 1996)

The same principle applies to governance and compliance. Compliance is often perceived as restrictive, but in practice it functions as a trust enabler. Frameworks such as GDPR, Solvency II, and AML etc. are designed to create transparency, predictability, and confidence between organizations, customers, and society when they are aligned with a clear purpose. When treated only as obligations, they feel heavy. When treated as part of a shared direction in a coherence, they strengthen trust and resilience.

Enterprise architecture plays a key role here. Not as a discipline focused solely on technology, but as a business driven practice that starts from intent, value, and direction, while remaining closely connected to how solutions and ways of working evolve in practice. Architecture supports an ongoing dialogue between strategy, improvement, and execution, where business goals and IT capabilities continuously inform and reinforce each other.

This is my role and my passion. I work as an enterprise architect and improvement leader, helping organizations cut through complexity, clarify purpose, and move forward together. I unite business and IT around shared goals, turn compliance into a driver of trust, and design architectures that provide direction and value. This is the intersection where I work, research, and teach, and it is why this is my credo. Improvement is not something imposed on people. It is something we create together.

“Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.”  (Helen Keller, 1903)

//Johan Hildingson (formerly Lagerström), Enterprise and Management Enthusiast