Boehringer Ingelheim Case Study

Preparing for a challenging future

When Boehringer Ingelheim a pharmaceutical company, approached Wolff Olins in 1994, it presented us with a complex challenge. It was a company of paradoxes and in order to face a challenging future, it needed a clear, relevant and meaningful corporate culture. A consulting firm had outlined the structural changes necessary for the organization, but the company was having difficulty realizing them because they had not been put into a meaningful context. A clear rationale was needed to win over the hearts and minds of the people within the company.

Vision and leadership

Wolff Olins developed a blueprint to set out how change could be achieved throughout the organization. It outlined what components were necessary for a program of change: a clear vision, an appropriate company structure, committed leadership, a structured program of effective communications and focused rewards. To maximize effectiveness, these had to be achieved through a program that was as simple as possible. We created a Vision and Leadership program, the principle behind which was that in order to achieve lasting effects throughout the organization, people must pass through the following stages: awareness, commitment, understanding, action and review.

Award-wining culture

Wolff Olins helped this pharmaceutical giant to articulate a vision for its future, which continued to prosper, and in 2008 was named by The Sunday Times as one of its top 100 best companies to work for.