How to Sabotage a Digital Transformation

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Digital transformation is essential to the success of most companies today. Nevertheless, what may be good for the company may not always be perceived by every executive or employee as good for them.

As are result, every transformation has actors who are trying to resist it, either actively or passively—hoping it will go away.

So often I focus on helping those who are trying to drive digital transformation, but that may be a little unfair. So in today’s final newsletter of 2022, I’ve decided to provide some tips for the other side. I’ve seen many many efforts at digital transformation sabotage over the years and have collected a list of some of the top techniques here.

If you’re one of those people who has reasons for wanting to see digital transformation at your company fail, this article will show you some tips on how to effectively block change at your company.

And if you’re trying to lead digital transformation, this article will offer a look at some of the most effective techniques being used by the opposition. As the old proverb says, “Forewarned is forearmed.”

1. POINT OUT THE COSTS

When someone presents a transformation opportunity, put a spotlight on how much the transformation is going to cost. Not just the capital expense (which may be substantial), but the organizational change, training, customer communications, and more. Transformation can be very expensive, and it impacts OpEx as well as CapEx.

Then, question whether all the costs have been truly identified. Most transformations wind up costing more than originally planned. Technology implementations are notorious for going over budget.

Then focus not just on the hard dollar costs but the opportunity costs as well. What projects will be sidelined because of this transformation? What won’t you get if you spend money, time, and energy on this digital transformation? Try to find some pet project of the CEO that might need to have its funds and efforts diverted in order to support the transformation. That will land hard.

2. POINT OUT THE RISKS

Change is inherently risky. Use this to your advantage. Identify everything that could possibly go wrong, and paint a vivid picture:

1. “We are not a technology company--can we really do this well?” is often a successful angle.
2. Changes to key systems could cause downtime, pausing sales.
3. Customers could reject expensive new digital experiences and it would all be a waste.
4. Distraction from the transformation could impact focus on short-term financial goals.
5. Investors may punish the stock if transformation problems make the company look bad.
6. The board may punish the c-suite if the stock gets pummeled. “Do we want to bet our bonuses on IT’s execution?”
7. Changes to business processes may have legal or regulatory risks.
8. There are plenty more—get creative!

Then for a dramatic flourish, ask for volunteers, “Who is going to go on CNBC to explain when the transformation is over budget and under performing?”

3. ARGUE THAT RADICAL CHANGE IS NOT NEEDED

Remind everyone that you’ve been doing things the same way for a long time and have been successful for many years. This gives you the opening to argue that transformational change isn’t really necessary. I mean why incur all that cost and risk if not essential?

Of course this argument is it can be challenged by simply pointing out how rapidly the world is changing. Things have probably changed in the last year more than in the prior nine years because of the continued acceleration of digital technology due to COVID. But you can still try to find reasons why your company is an exception. Yes, the world is changing, but somehow the demands of your customers are more static.?After all, even post COVID they are still doing business with you despite their lack of transformation.

You may also find an example of a prior initiative that tried to drive sweeping changes and failed. Make a generalization based on this one instance to prove that radical change is a mistake because it didn’t succeed in the past.

4. ASK FOR A GUARANTEE OF SUCCESS

See if you can undermine the leaders that are proposing the transformation.

Ask them the impossible question: Are certain that this investment is going to yield the promised results.

This is win-win. If they say they are absolutely certain they totally destroy their own credibility and then you can go in for the kill. Nobody can be sure of the outcome of a massive transformation. And of course when they (more likely) admit nothing is guaranteed, throw up your hands and say, “You are asking us to bet the company on something you yourself aren’t even certain of?”

Take advantage of the fact that it’s impossible to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that this transformation is necessary for the company to succeed.

5. DOWNGRADE

Of course you should never take a position against improvement in general. That’s a losing argument. Advocate for a “less extreme” approach. Identify some mild enhancements that can be implemented with limited cost and risk. Argue the “80-20” rule proves you can get 80% of the benefits of transformation with only 20% of the effort. (Expert trick: after the 80/20 rule is applied and a new, more incremental plan devised, insist that it be applied again to that revised plan, which actually gives you a supposed 94/4% ratio of effort to improvement if you do the math, hee hee).

If you get pushback from fans of “digital transformation,” simply argue that your incremental plan is digital transformation. After all, “transformation” is just a fancy term for change. And adding an animated logo to the home page does change it. And it is digital. So there!

Title your decks with the term “Digital Transformation.” Make a poster. Come up with a slogan that rhymes with “transformation.” Need help with that? Here’s a list of words that rhyme with transformation. You’ll have to find one that works for your industry. Perhaps condensation? Or litigation? Starvation? probation? Have fun with it.

Bottom line, rhymes are much less costly or risky than actual transformation. Use them to your advantage.

6. DELAY

But if the rhymes don’t work, and you find yourself losing the argument on the necessity of transformation, then disagree with the specifics—the vision.

Agree with the idea of change in general, but raise the specter that, if the vision isn’t right, the business could actually transform into something worse.??Agree to transform but disagree with the direction. More time is needed to develop a better vision.

If the other side tries to present market research to prove that their vision will work, question the methodology of the research or the validity of market research in general. “I mean didn’t they focus group New Coke? Look how that turned out.”

This same delay tactic can work around the approach. If the stakeholders seems to be aligning around the vision for transformation despite your efforts, argue that the method to get there is not sound. Have the precise right technologies been picked? What about the rollout plan? Hosting? After all, “Haste makes waste.”

7. WAIT FOR A SLIP-UP—AND THEN POUNCE

Sometimes there’s just too much excitement around a transformation, and you lose on all of the above points. The transformation gets the green light.? Don’t worry, you haven’t really lost yet.?

The change is going to take time, and it is inevitably going to hit problems. These problems can cause those who were initially supportive of digital transformation to start losing faith. Capitalize on that.

Wait for the problems to start rolling in, and try to make your case that these issues prove the transformation was the wrong idea to begin with—that it’s off the rails and needs to be put out of its misery. For example, if the project is behind schedule, point out how the costs will pile up if this problem continues. If the early tests of the new experience are disappointing, use these as evidence that the team will never get it right.?

If there are any customer complaints about changes resulting from the early part of the transformation, collect them, curate them, and use them to prove that this initiative is annoying your customers and may cause the downfall of your entire business. It doesn’t matter how many happy customers there are, just focus on the negative reactions.

A lot of great projects were successfully killed 20% or even 60% of the way in, because people who had the initial enthusiasm for pursuing them just lost faith. Magnify the slightest reason for doubt; there will be people who will get buyer’s remorse and decide that it’s better to cut their losses.

Sabotaging digital transformation efforts can feel quite daunting, but don’t be disheartened. Many talented and intelligent executives have been able to block change at their companies very successfully.

It can be done, especially when the people who fund and support transformations don’t know what they’re getting into and fail to make sure that everyone understands the risks and has realistic expectations about what’s going to happen next.

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YOUR TURN?

What other sabotage tactics have you observed while carrying out your digital transformation? I’d love to know in the comments below.

I talk more about the strategies that help organizations win the resistance to change game in my Wall Street Journal bestselling book: Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance. Get the first chapter for FREE here, or purchase the book here.

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Howard Tiersky is the founder of FROM, The Digital Transformation Agency where he works with leading brands on digital transformation.

• Check out his Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Winning Digital Customers: The Antidote to Irrelevance.
• Howard did an episode with the Customer Experience Speaker, Consultant, & New York Times Bestselling Author, Dr. Joseph Michelli, who talks about his career and what he’s learned talking to over 140 top global business leaders on all aspects of leading through and beyond COVID while writing his new book, Stronger Through Adversity: World-Class Leaders Share Pandemic-Tested Lessons on Thriving During the Toughest Challenges. Listen to the episode here.?
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