Why even the CEO needs an internal navigator to get change through
Not so many years ago, a CEO could identify a problem, call a consultant, and start a change initiative within a few weeks. The determination, budget responsibility, and mandate often went a long way. Today, reality looks different. In many organizations, governance, risk management, compliance, information security, sustainability requirements, and procurement processes have become so extensive that even a relatively limited consulting effort must pass through multiple internal control stations before a contract can be signed. Paradoxically, this has occurred at a time when the need for change has never been greater. Digitalization, AI, geopolitical uncertainty, and increased regulatory requirements are forcing organizations to act faster than before. At the same time, the systems created to mitigate risk often make the ability to change slower.
Here it becomes interesting to view the situation through the lens of MEDDICC, a model traditionally used in complex B2B sales. Many management consultants today find that even when they have a clear contact at the CEO level, the deal is far from secured. The budget may be available, the need may be obvious, and the sponsor may be enthusiastic. Yet the process remains stalled. The reason is that the organization’s real decision-making structure rarely corresponds to the organizational chart. Purchasing, legal, information security, HR, sustainability, data protection, and various steering groups act as legitimate boundary guards. Their mission is not to stop change but to ensure that change occurs in a controlled manner.
It is in this complexity that the role of Chief of Staff gains an increasingly strategic importance. The Chief of Staff does not function as an additional level of decision-making, but as the coordinator who helps the organization reconcile the pace of change with organizational control; instead of allowing compliance to become a brake, the CoS can make it an integral part of the change journey.
Wise change requires both courage and structure
There is an old expression that fits well into today's organizational challenges:
”Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.”
At first glance, the expression may seem contradictory. But its meaning is that thoughtful coordination often leads to faster results than impulsive decisions that later have to be revised. Many management teams still view compliance processes as administrative hurdles. But the most successful organizations see them instead as opportunities to create buy-in, reduce risk, and ensure long-term effectiveness.
The problem is rarely that there are too many controls. The problem is that no one owns the whole process between idea and implementation. When a CEO wants to drive change, she or he naturally focuses on the strategic destination. Procurement focuses on contractual risks. Legal on the division of responsibilities. Information security on data management. HR on influencing employees. Everyone is doing their part, but no one sees the whole journey. A strong Chief of Staff helps the organization create this holistic view. Thus, the control functions are not adversaries to change but active partners. The wisdom lies not in eliminating the boundaries but in helping them contribute to a faster and safer implementation. Therefore, the wisdom lies not in eliminating the controls but in helping them contribute to a faster and safer implementation.
MEDDICC reveals why modern purchasing processes have become complex and how the Chief of Staff creates progress
When analyzing the Chief of Staff concept in more detail, two clear perspectives emerge:
Arguments for making the Chief of Staff a role
MEDDICC stands for Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion, and Competition. The model is often used to understand how complex decisions are made in larger organizations. Interestingly, it also very well describes why many change initiatives fail despite strong support from management. Let’s start with the role of the Economic Buyer. Traditionally, this has often been the CEO or a business manager with budget responsibility. But in modern organizations, the concept has changed. The financial decision-maker may still want to implement the purchase, but often lacks the ability to independently navigate the organization’s internal requirements. A CEO may, for example, want to hire a management consultant to implement a strategic project for a few hundred thousand kroner. From a purely financial perspective, the decision is often straightforward. But before the agreement can be signed, the following questions may need to be answered:
• Has the supplier undergone an information security audit?
• Have sustainability requirements been verified?
• Is a data processing agreement available if necessary?
• Does the agreement require legal review?
• Are there framework agreements or procurement requirements?
• Is the initiative prioritized in the existing project portfolio?
• Have the affected functions been informed and involved?
From the MEDDICC perspective, this means that Decision Process has become significantly more important than Economic Buyer. Many consulting firms are still focused on identifying the right sponsor at the management level. But the real success factor often lies in the understanding of the organization’s internal decision-making process. This presents a natural opportunity for the Chief of Staff. A skilled CoS acts as the organization’s internal process architect. The role can map decision flows, identify risks, and predict which functions need to be involved even before a procurement process begins. Think, for example, about how many change initiatives falter because legal or information security issues are brought in late in the process. When objections arise, work has to be redone, presentations updated, and the business case supplemented. Weeks or months are lost.
The Chief of Staff can instead establish standardized preparation processes, which may involve checklists that ensure that:
• The business benefits are documented.
• Expected results are defined.
• Risk analysis has been carried out.
• The affected functions are identified.
• Budget owners agree.
• Necessary compliance requirements are addressed.
• Measurable effects are established.
From the MEDDICC perspective, this means that several parts of the model are strengthened simultaneously. Measurement values (metrics) become clear because the value is defined from the beginning. Decision Criteria become transparent because everyone knows what requirements must be met. The decision process becomes faster because the path forward is documented. Champions receive better support because the initiative’s sponsor no longer has to run the process alone. The result is not less control but better control.
The interesting thing is that CoS thus not only supports the purchase of consulting services. The same structure can be used for investments in AI, digitalization, organizational change, ESG programs, and larger transformation initiatives. In practice, the Chief of Staff builds a bridge between the management’s need for speed and the organization’s need for governance. This is one of the most underestimated competitive advantages in modern organizations.
Compliance that accelerates change instead of slowing it down
Many organizations today face a strategic question: How can we become faster without increasing the business risk? The answer is rarely to reduce the number of control functions. On the contrary, regulatory requirements are continuously increasing. The question instead is how these functions can be integrated earlier in the change process. When compliance comes in late, it is perceived as a hindrance. When compliance is integrated early, it is perceived as a facilitator. The Chief of Staff can create this shift by establishing common working methods, standardized decision-making frameworks, and clear governance models. Then all parties know what is required before an initiative reaches the procurement stage. Management gains better predictability. Control functions receive better quality in the documentation. Suppliers encounter a more professional process. The organization as a whole becomes faster. It is not less governance. It is smarter governance.
From decision-makers to enablers: that is why the Chief of Staff becomes central to the organization of the future
Perhaps the most important insight is that today’s change challenge rarely involves finding the right idea. The challenge lies in getting the organization to move from decision-making to implementation. MEDDICC shows that success in modern organizations is no longer determined solely by who wants to buy or who has the budget. It is determined by how well the organization understands and manages its own decision-making process. Even the most action-oriented CEO may today need to navigate a landscape of internal gatekeepers, regulatory requirements, and cross-functional dependencies. This is not a sign of weaker leadership. It is a consequence of increased organizational complexity. Here, the Chief of Staff becomes a strategic catalyst. By creating structured decision paths, establishing compliance checklists, coordinating stakeholders, and ensuring that the right questions are answered in the right order, the CoS can significantly reduce the time from idea to implementation. The organization that succeeds best in the future will most likely not be the one with the least control or the most decision-makers. It will be the organization that best combines rapid change capability with robust governance. And it is precisely there, at the intersection between speed and control, that the Chief of Staff finds perhaps his most important task. To enable change without compromising order, risk management, or long-term sustainability. It is not just a supporting function. It is a strategic capability that more and more management teams will consider to be business-critical.
Read more about MEDDICC here->
