Donato BlandolinoIn ten years, a substantial part of what is sold as interim management today will be redundant. What can be automated, which skills will become more valuable as a result, and how to recognise an interim manager who will still be needed in 2035.
In ten years, a substantial part of what is sold as interim management today will be redundant. Anyone who collects figures, builds presentations and makes recommendations will be replaced. Not by a colleague, but by a tool that delivers the same thing in minutes and does not charge a day rate.
This is not a threat; it is overdue. In this article, we at SMART iNTERIM show which part of the work can actually be automated, which skills will become more valuable as a result, and how to recognise an interim manager who will still be needed in 2035.
Which part of the work will disappear?
Data collection, preparation, benchmarking, scenario calculations, report writing. Anything that turns existing information into a structured analysis will be done by artificial intelligence faster, more cheaply and around the clock.
This part was never the problem. The analysis was very rarely wrong. Anyone entering a plant with poor on-time delivery performance almost always finds the same causes, and finds them in the first week.
It was the implementation that failed. It failed because no one was there to see it through when things became uncomfortable.
What remains when analysis is automated?
Precisely what no machine can do:
- Being on the shop floor when the shift team is angry. A change that affects jobs, shift patterns or established responsibilities creates resistance. That resistance is not resolved in a video conference, but on site, through conversations, often repeated.
- Making decisions when the data is poor. In practice, the available data is almost always incomplete, yet a decision still has to be made today. A system that waits for clean data does not decide. A person with experience decides with seventy per cent of the information and makes adjustments afterwards.
- Bringing along people who have already seen three consultants come and go. In many plants, scepticism towards external support is justified and rooted in experience. That scepticism is only overcome through behaviour over time, not through a convincing concept.
- Taking responsibility for a result, not for a report. The crucial difference. A report ends with the handover. A result is only complete when it holds up in day-to-day operations.
Why implementation is harder than analysis
Analysis is a problem of understanding; implementation is a problem of conflict.
Every change in a manufacturing company redistributes effort, risk and influence. There are winners and losers, and the losers usually know this before the project leadership does. Anyone responsible for implementation must take charge of these conflicts, not merely moderate them.
This cannot be delegated or automated.
It requires someone to be there who personally bears the consequences of their decisions and does not leave the building after the presentation.
Three levers for the coming years
Anyone who wants to prepare for this shift as an interim manager or business leader has three starting points:
- Stay close to the front line. Anyone who no longer knows the shop floor loses precisely the skill that still matters. The ability to perceive what is really happening on the shop floor deteriorates faster than any specialist knowledge.
- Use artificial intelligence for routine work and invest the time saved in people. Not in more slides. The time saved through automation is only a gain if it goes where implementation succeeds or fails.
- Be measured by results, not by the length of the assignment. An assignment billed by the day with no defined target will be difficult to sell in ten years.
What this means for companies
For clients, the question guiding their selection is changing. Until now, it has often been: Who has the best methodology and the right references?
In future, it will be: Who stays until it works?
So look less at the CV and more at the length of assignments, the handovers and the question of how each assignment was measured. An interim manager whose CV consists entirely of concept development phases will deliver a very good concept.
How SMART iNTERIM works
We take on roles, not projects. Our people step into line management, make decisions and are accountable for the result until it holds up in day-to-day operations.
Many of them come from hands-on operational backgrounds, often starting at the very bottom. Our founder started in goods receiving. This is not window dressing for the website, but the reason a shift team listens to him when he is on the shop floor.
We take competence as a given; it is the entry requirement. Whether an assignment succeeds depends on attitude, the ability to handle conflict and whether the team comes along.
Frequently asked questions about the future of interim management
Will artificial intelligence replace interim managers?
Partly. Everything involving data collection, preparation and report writing will be automated. What remains is on-site implementation, taking charge of conflicts and accountability for results.
Which skills will become more important in interim management?
On-site presence, the ability to make decisions with incomplete data, taking charge of conflicts and the willingness to be measured by results rather than the length of the assignment.
Why do transformation projects fail despite good analysis?
Because analysis solves a problem of understanding, while implementation is a problem of conflict. Every change redistributes effort and influence, and that conflict must be actively managed.
What should companies look for when selecting an interim manager?
The length of assignments, the nature of the handover and the agreed target. Someone whose track record consists only of concept development phases delivers a concept, not implementation.
What distinguishes interim management from traditional consultancy?
Consultancy ends with the recommendation; interim management ends with the result. The interim manager takes on a role with authority to direct staff and personally bears the consequences of their decisions.
How does artificial intelligence change work in manufacturing companies?
It shifts effort from analysis to decision-making. Anyone who invests the time saved in analyses rather than people wastes the advantage.
About SMART iNTERIM
SMART iNTERIM Management combines operational transformation with SAP and enterprise transformation in manufacturing companies, focusing on restructuring, plant set-up, plant relocation and process optimisation. We take responsibility for the outcome, not the recommendation, and work where value is created. From hands-on experience, not from a distance. Competence is a prerequisite; personality makes the difference. Talk to us if you need someone who stays until things work.
