This paper presents a longitudinal case study of strategic transformation in a complexorganisation – Her Majesty’s Naval Base (Clyde). The research identifies nine Critical Suc-cess Factors from the change management literature and analyses their position in drivingthe transformation. Findings suggest that many of the success factors suggested by theliterature were not present during the transformation. However the presence of a robustperformance management system within the organisation resulted in significant progresstowards the strategic goals despite the absence of other factors. This paper demonstrateshow strategic change can be accomplished by the use of more operational toolsets such asperformance management systems