Achieving the Promise of Digital Transformation

We're certainly believers in the need and value of transformation; so, we're very happy about its forecast by IDC. Its need has been painfully highlighted by the current and past crises.

Transformation, however, is continuous by design or response. Event-driven transformation will happen … upsetting the best laid plans of mice and men, but the capability and practice of transformation - its culturalization - within an organization gives it a distinct advantage; as such, we encourage organizations to leverage crisis-driven transformation to establish a continuous transformation capability. There are important caveats though:

1. Don't silo transformation. "Digital Transformation" is often siloed. Adopting a technology doesn't automatically translate to transformation. It may yield a transformation you didn't expect.
2. "Enterprise Transformation" as a capability has significant implications for customers and across the business: strategy, organizational design, product development, service delivery, and systems among them. Consider them.
3. Transformation doesn't imply chaos or organizational trauma. It should reduce risk not increase it. It should engage an organization in its own change not surpass its ability to do so.
4. The objectives of transformation and its gains should be measurable, significant, and sustainable. Critically, they have to be relevant and meaningful to the markets you serve, your employees, and shareholders and, hopefully, our broader society.

Think of transformation as business-level continuous improvement: proactively anticipating and adapting to pass the tests of ever-changing market, technological and economic conditions and opportunities. With that, I hope the promise and practice of transformation is realized and not tossed into the bin of "been there, done that."