How do you balance digital transformation risks and opportunities?

I believe in the power of design thinking and it’s applicability to most initiatives in digital transformation. What does design thinking entail? -Empathise: research your users' needs. Understand current state -Define: state your users' needs and problems. -Ideate: challenge assumptions and create ideas. -Prototype: start to create solutions. -Test: try your solutions out. This is a non-linear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems and create innovative solutions to prototype and test.

Before you start your self assessment, you need to study and understand the environment you are operating and the customers you are serving. Many a times, the products and services that you have developed and offering to the customers, may be super innovative and out of the box, however they may not be the need of the hour for the customer, who is fighting with other burning priorities in the environment. Or, they may not yet be ready or sophisticated enough for your complex innovative offerings in the current market circumstances. So, the alignment to the customer and the market/ environment needs, must be the primary goal of the self assessment.

In my experience its great to assess your current state but it is equally important not to look it from constraints point of view. Have been witness to many digital transformations and one mistake which have seen in making is superimposing current constraints to TO BE Process.

?? Prioritize a holistic view! I'd recommend that businesses constantly zoom out and ensure they're not merely integrating technology for its own sake but weaving it seamlessly into their broader organizational tapestry. When venturing into digital transformation, the dazzle of tech can sometimes overshadow the essence of purpose and people. Companies must ensure they're not just innovating but are innovating right – ensuring their digital endeavors resonate with their organizational DNA and stakeholder expectations. As the line between the digital and physical world blurs, one must ponder: Whose interests are you truly serving with your digital pursuits – fleeting trends or enduring organizational needs? ????

In the digital age, balance is the key to success. Embrace digital transformation with a thorough assessment of your strengths and weaknesses. View risks as opportunities to strengthen your cybersecurity, enhance data privacy, and adapt to evolving regulations. Transform your organization's culture from within, turning resistance into a catalyst for change. Nurture skills to bridge gaps, fostering innovation. By assessing your current state with fresh eyes, you'll navigate the digital landscape with confidence, seizing the limitless opportunities it presents

Crafting a roadmap for your digital transformation follows a thorough evaluation of your existing landscape. This involves outlining the desired results, guiding principles, and performance metrics. You'll need to identify the essential projects and actions that will drive your transformation forward. This process ensures alignment among stakeholders, conveys your strategic direction, and sets your priorities in motion.

Defining a digital transformation vision and strategy and its implementation roadmap highlighting major risks and mitigations is important. However, I find two other important factors: 1) The strong link to the overall business strategy - nowadays we speak of a (whole organisation) transformation strategy. The digital element is a strong part but there are other elements to consider. It’s the only way to make sure digital technologies are given the right level of importance in the organisation. 2) Such strategy should also sustain constant innovation. An organisation that doesn’t change, will die. Hence, it should be a dynamic endeavour providing the proper balance between stability and updates that reflect the business exigencies.

The real key to success? Embrace data-driven strategies. Having worked closely with community banks for over 26 years, I've been fortunate to be in client-facing roles that took me to banks all across the country. Based on this journey, I firmly believe that for community banks, there's no one-size-fits-all approach to Digital Transformation. Understanding your community's demographics, staying attuned to demographic shifts, and studying your target market are not just steps; they're pillars of transformation. This insight enables banks to adapt to evolving consumer behavior, ensuring they meet digital platform needs effectively. Moreover, it empowers banks to invest wisely in areas that promise the greatest ROI. Thoughts?

Okay, we looked at the process or project and we realized that it really needs to change, what's next? First thing we should understand all the steps and all the people that are involved, I'm tired of seeing innovation strategies that focus so much on tools and frameworks and forget the most valuable resource that they have: People. Companies keep writing Innovation in their slogans and offices with golden capital letters, but the truth is that it is a very delicate process where many people are afraid of leaving their comfort zone, or even worse, losing their jobs! Only by earning people's trust and doing "Responsible Innovation" we will be able to get their insights, and deep dive to find what is wrong with it, so we can transform it.

Craft an innovative digital transformation strategy by envisioning a future where technology enhances every facet of your industry. Define clear objectives that reflect your organization's values and principles. Break down your vision into measurable milestones, using cutting-edge analytics to track progress. Prioritize projects that leverage emerging technologies like AI, blockchain, and IoT to drive your transformation. Engage cross-functional teams, encouraging diverse perspectives to refine your strategy. As you embark on this journey, remember: innovation is your compass, guiding you toward a digital future of limitless possibilities

Sometimes, it's not enough to stick with our familiar software providers. We need to be smart and explore the market for those who can genuinely assist us in steering our organization in a new direction. As we know, Digital Transformation means shifting our focus and vision. This will require us to meet unprecedented requirements and expectations. So, it's crucial to explore various technology solutions to find the one (or a combination of them) that can truly align with our goals. In my experience, when we examine and assess different technologies and potential partners, we can draw insights from the experiences of other companies. This allows us to fine-tune our vision, leveraging their knowledge to mitigate risks and maximize benefits.

When we think about Digital Transformation, the first thing that comes to our mind is all the available technologies and which one of the 1,200+ (and counting) AI tools we should use. In my experience (and I'm a tech guy), choosing the partners that you bring together, is more important than the technology, as it is only a tool that will be used to achieve the desired result. Having strong internal partners, who will support the Digital Transformation process and will empower all people related to it, is much more important! Remember that to digitally transform a process/solution, people will always be responsible for its continuity and evolution, tools WILL expire, and new ones will be needed, no matter how much you automate it!

Selecting the appropriate technologies goes beyond familiarity or following trends. Having a framework to choose the right technology for addressing business challenges or seizing opportunities is crucial. Decision-making during transformation also involves on whether to leverage, build, or source the team is a challenge. Collaborative working is paramount, requiring a shift from a mindset of "invented here" to a more open approach where not everything needs to be developed internally.

Informed Decision-Making Accurate measurement is critical for making informed decisions and optimizing performance. From businesses tracking KPIs to individuals gauging screen time, data-driven insights are key. The absence of reliable metrics can lead to inefficiency, financial loss, and poor strategic planning. Moreover, measurement serves as a tool for accountability and transparency, especially vital in an era marked by data breaches and misinformation. By using robust measurement tools, organizations can validate the effectiveness of security protocols and assure the reliability of disseminated data. In essence, accurate measurement is not just useful but essential for navigating the complexities and risks of the digital world.

This is where the bottom line lies, technology should not be chosen lightly. It must minimally satisfy the business needs and user expectations (from the point of view of our products and services), but it must satisfy two more conditions that are often overlooked when choosing, it is necessary to prevent the vendor lock mechanism and to choose the technology that has the greatest long-term exploitation potential.

After finding the tools/technologies that you will use, and partnering with the stakeholders that will support the Digital Transformation, it is time to get all people involved in the change management process. Where we are and where are we going? As a company, team, and individual? "Responsible Innovation". This is a term that I created to express that union of everything and the evolution of everyone in the digital transformation process, are we seeing all business and people's needs? Am I considering all the massive knowledge that the people who are doing the operation now have, and turning them into SMEs (Subject-Matter-Experts) who will stop doing manual tasks and will use their wisdom to get insights and guide us to the next level?

It’s really important, in today’s world, to keep checking in with stakeholders throughout change, as markets and business needs can change so quickly. Needs articulated at the start of a project could have changed dramatically just a few months later, so maintaining open dialogue and sense checking ongoing requirments is vital.

Shortly after your Project Manager wraps up the first Digital Transformation implementation project, you'll realize that the real transformation is just beginning. This is because becoming digital involves an ongoing review and evolution of our results, processes, and KPIs. Going digital removes the limits imposed by the laws of physics. Now, we can use nearly any methodology. However, if not managed properly, we may end up creating digital chaos by blending different techniques and methodologies across various processes instead of adhering to a clear guidance plan. This highlights the need for a change plan and a thorough analysis of each digital transformation effort to ensure alignment with the new organizational digital vision.

Embrace agile execution: -Adopt an iterative approach: Break down large projects into smaller, manageable chunks with regular checkpoints and feedback loops. This allows you to course-correct quickly and adapt to changing circumstances. -Invest in training and change management: Prepare your employees for the inevitable change that comes with digital transformation. Provide training on new technologies and processes, and actively address their concerns to ensure buy-in. -Monitor and measure progress: Track key performance indicators (KPIs) to assess the effectiveness of your initiatives and identify areas for improvement. Continuous monitoring allows you to fine-tune your approach and maximize results.

Digital Transformation is a journey, not a destination, with goals along the way. When you achieve your first set of technology goals (e.g. ERP software, Workday, SAP, etc.) you have to ensure the process and people goals are also achieved. Measure how people and customers are getting value from the new technology. Optimize the process so it works for the new technology and the new way of business.

Learn and improve is fundamentally dependent on metric driven models. We need to understand that enabling metrics for digital transformation is not an overhead but part of digital transformation itself. Another thing to be considered is measure to the right level .. Its about measuring not the symptom but the cause.. This will not only need technology backing but also but a right culture where leader review metrics, stand up happen on metrics etc. THIS IS A MUST

Implement continuous Improvement and a no blame culture - we are humans, we all make mistakes and hindsight is only possible afterwards !!! External factors create the need to adapt - design this into the system - use the new technology and the people who have been liberated from lower value tasks. Use the 'Learn and Improve' process. Drive value now from the transformation, using data based decision and enjoy a more sustainable and brighter economic horizion. Nurture the new culture and make use of the information to continue innovating and learning.

For a good Digital Transformation process to succeed, we need to set a starting point and goals for it. I'm tired of seeing companies thinking that they are doing Digital Transformation only by digitizing processes and turning them into systems/apps. Without having current numbers such as the process execution time, lead time, throughput, error rate, response time, NPS, and other metrics that can be easily mapped with Value Stream Mapping techniques, you can't assure that the process will improve (I've seen cases where it didn't improve or got worst). Learning more about the current process usually will improve it without additional effort, as unneeded legacy tasks will be mapped and removed from it as a natural improvement.

Computers don't make mistakes, but we humans do. That's what enables us to truly learn and improve. So, it's normal and expected to sometimes adjust our goals, expectations and guidelines in order to achieve our primary objectives. We can have a perfectly valid digital plan at times, but businesses are an ongoing game, where other players also have their goals, likely different and often opposing ours. This doesn't turn our plan into a mistake, but an opportunity to improve. What's important at this stage is to monitor insights from our new platform and make data-driven decisions in the appropriate moment. We can now learn from lost opportunities, analyze them with informed data, and apply that knowledge in the next round to secure a win.

A learning and innovation culture is important to extract the experience and knowledge of frontline workers, who know best how customer engagement patterns are evolving. Gathering continuous feedback and being transparent how usage data is being employed for the customer’s benefit (and not only being advantageous for the company) increases trust and confidence.

One of the biggest truths in the Digital Transformation and Innovation process is that you are never at your best version. "The best version is always the next version.", and that is absolutely true for companies, processes, teams, and individuals, never stop seeking improvements, do your favorite tracking for improvements, Kaizen, PDCA, Hills, SAFe PIs, Scrum of Scrums, doesn't matter. Digital Transformation came to help us cluster everything that we could, should, can, and MUST do now, there is no more space for leaving a process or solution behind and unchanged for 5, 10, or 30 years only because "it works". I delivered dozens of "it works" projects, but I got 95% improvements in some after the Digital Transformation was successful!

Consider how digital transformation lines up directly with your organizational and operational strategies. Often, the reason why an organization exists and it's pain points remains at the heart of digital transformation... position in market, unmet consumer demands, & operational waste... Make sure that you keep tightly aligned to "why" you're moving forward with digital transformation. There are a lot of very shiny toys in the digital transformation space but what will make impact is if you avoid the toys that don't drive value and focus on the ones that really do drive value.

Leverage the opportunities in your business data. Data is not just fuel for analysis; it's one of the key foundations of a successful digital transformation. Invest in tools that capture, integrate, and analyze data from all corners of your business. From customer interactions to operational metrics, every click and transaction holds valuable insights. Choose a secure, scalable data platform that allows for easy access across departments. Data is only as powerful as its accessibility and utilization.

Digital transformation necessitates a balance between proven technologies and innovative solutions. Industry insights highlight the importance of adopting mature technologies to mitigate risks, aligning with organizational readiness. Research analysts emphasize the need for swift adaptation and scalability, while startups contribute innovation. Achieving equilibrium involves discerning sustainable innovations from fleeting trends, fostering adaptability, and navigating risks with strategic foresight to unlock digital transformation's potential.

Consider opportunity costs - what is the next most valuable thing that your team would do with the time and resources? This is what you're trading for any transformation effort or initiative.