Is it time to double down on your digital transformation?

In the next ?ve years we will TRANSFORM How we market, sell , communicate, collaborate, innovate, and educate                – Daniel Burrus, Futurist

Let's face it, transformation is not for the faint of heart. Transformation is not incremental change. Transformation is not changing what is, but creating what isn't.

We are in the middle of a two year digital transformation project to make our association mobile, digital, and capable of supporting the transformation of our members in this exciting period of exponential change (See The Shift Change in Accounting). And it is not easy.

In fact, it is downright hard. We call this project "the shift change" as it involves major shifts in how we work, and how our business works, and how we will be able to do business with our members in the future. Just this past week, we had an all team meeting and proclaimed we are deep in the 'groan zone' of our transformation and it is time to double down. It is time to be tenacious and persevere. 

Gartner and Accenture agree. Gartner's latest CEO Survey has proclaimed 2016 as the year of "digital tenacity"  and recommends "doubling down and forging ahead with digital business transformation plans." The report goes on to say, "CEOs should apply cutbacks to old business model areas to accelerate the digital switchover, rather than falling into the trap of “old IT" and legacy systems."

The 'groan zone' is that point in a project where you start to question your strategy because it is so hard. It is that point where some members of your team begin to think about turning back or giving up. It is one of the biggest challenges you can face as a leader. I admit, it made me start to question our strategy.

We underestimated the challenges presented by our legacy database and that is causing us some delays and a whole lot of extra work getting the data right. It is also causing us some customer service issues. It is like climbing up to the summit and being caught in the thick deer brush where the summit becomes clouded by the hard climb and slow pace as you work though the changes form old to new. It can best be described by IDEO in the Project MOOD Chart pictured below. 

The good news is that each hill and valley creates more organizational learning, more resilience, and moves us closer to the summit. It is also a reminder for leaders to not lose sight of the summit when your team is caught in the deer brush. As we gathered our team together after a few weeks of setbacks, I reminded them of how far we had come in the past two years.

We have converted our physical and technology infrastructure including our open, collaborative office (See Why we went to an open office plan), new office applications (google at work, slack, etc.). We also completed our first phase of digital transformation to the cloud to get mobile for our team. 

The point is to not lose sight of your destination and progress when you are deep in the 'groan zone'. It does not mean you sugar coat the current struggle, but you do need to keep it in context and keep learning and improving. 

Accenture reminds us of the magnitude of digital transformation, “Becoming a digital business—and achieving digital operations— is no longer simply about how we incorporate technology into our organizations; it’s about how we use technology to reinvent those organizations and reinvent operations to get out in front of the dramatic changes that technology is creating.”

I keep hearing Daniel Burrus reminding me of the 'hard trends' of technology and demographics and the question, "will you be disrupted or be the disruptor?" We prefer being the disruptor and initiating the transformation, rather than becoming victims of it.

Place your bets, we are choosing to double down.

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TOM HOOD, CPA.CITP.CGMA is considered one of the most influential thinkers in the CPA Profession and the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs (MACPA). Tom is also the founder and CEO of the Business Learning Institute, the innovation and learning affiliate of the MACPA, a leading talent development, training and strategy organization for CPAs, finance and accounting professionals in the US. They provide customized, competency-based curriculums and a portfolio of “success skills” and technical programs designed for the Finance and Accounting Profession.