Desperately Seeking Digital Transformation

Over the past five to seven years, there is a question I am almost always asked when talking about “digital transformation”.?The question is, “Can you give me an example of anyone who’s really done this—who’s successfully digitally transformed?”?

It’s asked with an undercurrent of desperation.?People want to believe.?They have seen some aspects of organizations change and transformation materialize.?But they are struggling mightily against themselves, and the world they live and work in, to truly find an example to look to.?

Sadly, I have never yet been able give them an unqualified “yes” when asked that question.?There are lots of reasons for that.?The biggest being is that most organizations are just not willing or able to take on the magnitude of change required.?Among those who have taken it on, many are just too soon into the journey to call it a successful transformation.?There is also a great case to be made that transformation is not a static noun, something we accomplish and then cross the finish line, but a dynamic verb, a new way of working and being.?Whatever the reason, they leave our conversation still yearning to know that it can really be done.

Which is why this last week was such a great week for me as I finally found one!? Now, I know that as soon as anyone touts one organization’s triumphs that they open themselves up to the vagaries of tomorrow.?So many great books have highlighted what they see as model organizations and then have found that those organizations, over time, fall short of the accolades and congratulations bestowed upon them.?

And, it is certainly possible that the organization I learned about this week might do the same.?In fact, I think that they know this is a real possibility. I also think that knowing they are fallible is very likely not only a motivator but a daily topic of conversation there. Because they have learned that digital transformation is a continual journey.?They have learned that it is all-encompassing because they have learned that it is about transformation, period.?Digital is just the context and enabler of the age we are in.

Moreover, they have realized that transformation, while now an ongoing way of living and working, is only really a tool to achieve purpose. They have learned that it is really, really hard.?They have learned that you cannot just talk about it, you have to live your words.?They have learned that you need the best, most committed, most passionate, smartest people you can find—people that embrace your purpose, that are deeply committed to your north star.?They have learned that technology is a critical enabler of purpose, but it is not the purpose.?They have also learned that you have to bring every single person along, one way or another, and that entails some hard choices.?Finally, they have learned that you have to have the courage, determination, and optimism to drive towards your north star purpose regardless of the fact that it will most likely change everything, including asking you to walk away from what you do best to do what you now must to achieve your goals.

And if you are waiting for the story of transformation, the previous paragraph is it.?The details of what their digital transformation has produced will continue to roll out in the coming weeks, months, and years.?What is important is who they had to be to get it done.

So, my advice is to keep an eye on the Portland-based company known as Cambia as they seek to change the way we perceive and experience healthcare in the U.S.?They have truly transformed to get where they are today, and I am confident that they will continue to transform tomorrow and the day after tomorrow—or go all in trying.