How do you show the value of digital transformation to your company?

Defining a clear vision and goals is crucial in showcasing digital transformation's value. It guides strategic decision-making, aligns efforts for tangible value creation, and influences choices like "Making the dots" or "Connecting the dots." Transparently communicating these choices, leaders illustrate their alignment with the overarching vision. Effectively communicating these strategic choices ensures the organization embraces the value proposition of the digital transformation journey, facilitating successful execution.

While it may seem somewhat counter-intuitive, in my experience digital transformation success is less about the chosen technology and much more about how it's being applied to achieve the desired business outcome. That's why every project plan must describe the chosen IT solution within the context of that business outcome(s). From a typical CIO's perspective, deployment of the solution is the focal point. That's why it's essential to have Line of Business leaders drive the project, not the IT organization. Moreover, the best results are achieved when the CEO is actively involved in project review meetings. This is what I've learned from two decades of large enterprise project experiences.

Yes, and it must take you faster to your company’s why (purpose). You have to make sure every employee understands the purpose and objectives of the company.

I believe that the key to showcasing the value of digital transformation to our company lies in a strategic approach. From my experience, assessing our current state and identifying gaps is paramount. By evaluating our existing capabilities, processes, systems, and culture against industry best practices, we can pinpoint where improvements are needed. Furthermore, from my perspective, this assessment allows us to uncover potential risks and opportunities tied to digital transformation. By thoroughly understanding these factors, we can prioritize investments and transformations that align with our vision and goals, ensuring a focused and impactful journey toward success.

To comprehensively measure digital transformation success, it is crucial to select relevant indicators for the business. This involves focusing on three key dimensions: customer experience, loyalty and sales; efficiency of operations; and new business opportunities. For customer experience, implement metrics beyond pure sales, measuring real engagement and build long-term loyalty. Assess the impact on operational efficiency using metrics such as process automation and resource utilization. Additionally, evaluate potential new business opportunities, as well as the sustainability dimension. This holistic approach not only satisfies stakeholders by showcasing improvements but also positions the organization for sustained growth.

Communication is key to successful digital transformations. At first you must assure that everyone gets the information, so don’t be afraid of (at least) doubling your communication efforts. It’s a big change for a company and you need people to be willing to join as fast as possible to new ways of working.

Demonstrating the value of digital transformation to our company hinges on the art of effective communication and engagement. By consistently and clearly articulating our vision and goals, while aligning them with the unique needs and interests of our stakeholders, employees, and customers, we lay a strong foundation. Sharing our current state, addressing gaps, and outlining our strategic approach to transformation, alongside transparently communicating metrics and tools for measuring progress, allow us to showcase the true worth of our digital evolution. Most importantly, candidly discussing both successes and challenges, and illustrating how we learn and grow from them, builds a culture of collaboration, trust, and transparency.

Don’t over-index on trying to deliver a perfect value prop on the entirety of the transformation, or you will always come up short. While this is true of a lot of things, it’s especially true in the digital space. Digital tech is changing at a blinding pace, so aside from rough projections, you can’t possibly know all the specifics, especially since you’ll inevitably change along the way. With DT you should established a rough framework on macro value, but spend more time establishing the value of tangible low-hanging fruit, especially in the beginning where building momentum is hardest. This allows you to put your focus on the learning and adaptation that comes from experimentation, so you can achieve overall adoption and success.

Be open to learn and help others get the chance to learn. A digital transformation disrupts many jobs, so training is always needed.

In my experience, I've found rarely do organizations ACT to be the "FIRST" to do something- I know this sounds weird, but it's true. Most organizations would prefer to be the SECOND organization to do something or be within the first round of early adopters at minimum. That's because everyone wants to see a case study of someone else being successful. So, if your organization is doing something unique, be humble, but share your progress with peers as you hit milestones and share challenges along the way. To have far reaching digital transformation, it's going to take lots of us sharing our stories. Celebrating wins AND fails along the way.

Nothing is more important than a strong leadership to achieve great results in a digital transformation. A company which culture enforces leaders to support change and act as role models is always meant to win.

I would add another essential step, the development of a compelling business case that portrays the digital transformation project from the perspective of a savvy CFO. Why? Because return on investment matters, and it's the one metric that demonstrates meaningful and substantive success to the enterprise board of directors. However, this financial assessment should be accompanied by a Value Creation narrative that explains the numbers within the content of the desired business outcome. That's why you must designate a business-oriented digital transformation 'storyteller' that owns this responsibility. It's a key point.

Your digital transformation is just as good as: 1.- Your customers and employees perceive it through a better value proposition. 2.- All the efficiencies you make.