Buy nice or buy twice, or why 70% of digital transformation projects fail.

Buy nice or buy twice, or why 70% of digital transformation projects fail, according to Deloitte. Organizations believe that digital will disrupt their industry, but why it is so hard to achieve?

I did my research, trying to understand the real root cause. You will understand later why 70% fail, not 50% or 40%.

??Digital 50% / Transformation 50%.?Basically speaking, to succeed in such kind of project, you should be up to speed with part of "digital" - 50% of success. High-level understanding, of what does it mean AI, ML, etc. where applicable and where not. "Transformation" is another 50% of success. Leadership skills to energize, empower and connect the organization is at the center of the digital revolution. Like yin and yang, like hard and soft skills. Clear.

??Why? Why do we need digital transformation??Digital transformation is the deliberate, strategic, repositioning of one’s business in the digital economy. In simple words - we want to be present in the digital economy, to be competitive, and earn more money. We do it for future earnings, not for pleasure.

??Limited resources.?We live in the real world and real companies, where forced daily to take tough decisions and prioritize one thing over another due to limited budget. According to the report (Sounding Board, Inc | 2021) on the question: What are the challenges your organization faces in providing leadership coaching?

• 59 percent of respondents identified budget to be a challenge to offering leadership coaching.?
• 41 percent of respondents said the lack of ability to measure ROI is a challenge to offering leadership coaching.?

A couple of days ago, I did a Poll on LinkedIn:

Having a budget for only one training, what would you choose?

a) #AI training course (70% of votes)

b) #Softskills training course (30% of votes)

And here we go, having a limited budget:

• people tend to prioritize tech/digital in their learning path due to the easier and clear way of monetizing, as a result, faster ROI.
• leadership/soft skills become a second or third priority for organizations, people can't convince their employers to invest in it without clear ROI.?

??What about HR, what they would like to see in your CV "Soft skills training" or "AI training training", i guess, they will follow the hype. Who cares about leadership skills, you should be born already a leader, or even worth, probably he/she participated in "leadership training" because has a weak side there.

In the project management industry, you can hear frequently: "quick wins" and "low hanging fruits". Surely, by passing "AI training" you can create a great presentation, telling that your Devs are ready to start a digital transformation project, but all of us know about the consequences of a poorly prepared organization without leaders.?

As a result - a lot of frustration, disappointed people, lack of trust.

??What is next??Companies are forced to go externally and find Digital leaders in IT consulting. Who have practical knowledge and heavily invest in both: hard and soft skills.?

????Practical advice:

1. Revision. What makes you unique? Explore your strengths in 4 key areas of your personality, by passing "Wingfinder" personality test from Redbull. It is a free test, but i still don't understand why.
2. Create an improvement plan.
3. Execute.

Technologies will come and go, they quickly become obsolete. Invest in yourself, and become a true leader tomorrow. ??????

#Digitaltransformation #AI #ITSM #Softskills #leadership #future