The Metrics Of Digital Transformation, Leading an Engineering Culture Transformation, and Decentralizing Data with Data Mesh

We’ve seen a lot of interest in my most recent blog post, “The Metrics Of Digital Transformation: Small Steps to Outcome-Based Innovation.”

It discusses the frustration product leaders feel about being stuck in failing initiatives, even when their organizations are spending millions on so-called “digital transformations.”

In this blog I share:

• Why so many change initiatives fail
• Examples of how a leadership team shifted their thinking toward outcomes
• Culture hacks to quietly start a revolution

The inspiration to write this piece, and my upcoming case study with American Airlines (which will be published tomorrow) came from the steady flow of emails I get from business and technology leaders bemoaning their situation and wondering what to do about it. Both pieces provide strategies for opening up conversations to start inciting meaningful change.

My question for you is: how open is your leadership to empowering your teams to experiment, iterate, and focus on outcomes that matter?

I discussed one example of real culture change on my recent podcast episode with Chris Goddard, CTO of G-Research. When I worked with Chris and the team several years ago, the resulting surge in creativity led to many positive changes, including the switch to open-source coding. This effectively gave G-Research the power of 10,000 engineers, instead of a few hundred.

My other recent podcast guest was the amazing Zhamak Dehghani, founder of a new concept in data management called Data Mesh. Her framework is providing a new level of efficiency and effectiveness for companies using data to drive investment decisions.

What I've been writing...

The growth of investment in digital transformation is compounding at 18% year-on-year. By 2023, an estimated $7 trillion will be spent on these initiatives annually. To put that in perspective, total US expenditure on healthcare for 2020 was about $4 trillion—during a pandemic.

Companies are spending a fortune on these efforts, but are they good investments? Often, the sad answer is no.

80% fail, most often due to lack of alignment and understanding among leaders on how to execute against a digital transformation strategy. Only 16% of employees said their company’s transformations have improved performance and are sustainable.

Leaders feel the pressure of diminishing market share, and they know something needs to change. But with such poor outcomes, why haven’t they recognized they need a different approach?

Unfortunately, many still aren’t seeing the source of the problem. They’re still fixated on outputs, and they’re being sold billion-dollar pipe dreams by digital transformation “experts” with impressive-but-useless PowerPoint decks and flow charts. [read]

Who I've been speaking to

Leading an Engineering Culture Transformation with Chris Goddard, Chief Technology Officer at G-Research

Using open source software is like getting “the power of 10,000 engineers when you only have a few hundred,”. As G-Research found out, when you have a strong engineering culture, open source can create massive competitive advantage.

Decentralizing Data: From Data Monolith to Data Mesh with Zhamak Dehghani, Director of Emerging Technologies at ThoughtWorks and Creator of Data Mesh

Instead of seeing data as an asset – which you want to hoard and get more of – Zhamak advocates that data can be seen as a product which should be used to serve internal and external customers.

Want to absorb these kinds of ideas on the go and hear from industry leaders?

Listen and Subscribe to the Unlearn Podcast at

Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Google Play | Google Podcasts | Spotify | iHeartRadio

Harley-Davidson LIVE Innovation Strategy Session with Barry O'Reilly and Diana Kander, serial entrepreneur, former MBA professor at Mizzou, and a New York Times bestselling author

Harley-Davidson is not only an iconic brand, but also a very popular one in the B2C world. However, it is well known that they are having problems in the B2B world after being unceremoniously dropped off of the Fortune 500 biggest companies list. How could this have happened? Well, we have some ideas.

Here's a short clip from another livestream, Machine Unlearning with Bill Higgins, Director of IBM Watson Core Platform

Here's a livestream perfect for people who want to explore Machine Learning, how to get started with it, what are some of the biggest hurdles that people run into and what to do about them.

Lastly, the latest addition to the Chapter Two series, Chapter Two with Laurie Ruettiemann, former human resources leader turned writer, entrepreneur, and speaker.

Packed with advice and stories of others who regained control of their lives, Betting on You is a game-changing must-read for how to radically improve your day-to-day, working more effectively and enthusiastically starting now. Watch the recording of the livestream!

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As we approach the end of Q1, how are your organization’s innovation efforts coming along? If you’re feeling stuck, check out the resources above for insights and inspiration.

As ever—let me know your reaction to what resonates, or what you would like to see more of from me in the weeks and months ahead.

Best,

Barry