I wrote the post the
#1 reason digital transformations fail
nearly five years ago. I shared, “The number one reason digital
transformations fail is because executives fail to embrace that it’s a
bottom-up transformation that will require change across the organization
over a 3 to 7+ year period.”
I feel this statement is true today as much as it was then, in March 2018,
when many organizations were in rounds one or two of their digital
transformations. Back then, it was common to hear executives tout their
digital transformation strategies and watch their town hall performances.
But too many organizations underestimate the effort involved in engaging and
inspiring their staff, and that’s one reason why many digital
transformations fail to deliver business outcomes.
Of course, what I didn’t know at the time is that we’d face a pandemic
starting in 2020, a “new normal” of hybrid work in 2021, inflation, supply
chain disruption, and war in Eastern Europe beginning in 2022, and now you
decide which economist to believe whether we’re in a global recession or
not.
Digital transformation is not a destination or journey; it’s an
organizational competency
In the five years since that post, I believe most companies rewrote their
digital strategies several times, accounting for these macro conditions, let
alone what was happening in their industries and changes in business
strategies. Early last year, I wrote a post about
digital transformation 2.0 to reckon with and advise business, technology, digital, and data leaders
about the next wave of transformation.
It was around the time of that post when I finished the writing and editing
of
Digital Trailblazer. One of my pivotal statements in the book summarizes my feelings on
digital transformation and why it’s more important than ever for leaders –
i.e.,
people I title Digital Trailblazers, to continue driving their organizations:
“The pace of technology change is increasing, and you must reevaluate your
digital strategy and priorities. Frequently. You will always be
transforming, and your organization must establish transformational
practices as essential core competencies.” – Isaac Sacolick, in the preface
to
Digital Trailblazer
I share my aha moments, blow-ups, and other stories you’ll likely face while
leading digital transformation initiatives. I also identify fifty
transformation lessons, starting in Chapter 1 with, “Step out of your
comfort zone and broaden your perspective by seeking outside‐in learning
opportunities,” and ending in Chapter 10 with, “Accelerate bottom‐up
transformation and grow middle adoption.”
You must apply both these lessons if “you will always be transforming.”
Evolving from Driving Digital practices to transformation core competencies
.jpg "StarCIO Centers of Excellence")
If transformation requires growing middle adopters and you will always be
transforming, what does it mean to “establish transformational practices as
essential core competencies.”
I describe transformational practices in many of the agile, devops,
data-driven, product management, and low-code posts on this blog and in
detail in my first book,
Driving Digital. My company, StarCIO, offers
Center of Excellence
and
Digital Trailblazer Advisory
programs to guide organizations.
Going from practice to core competencies requires organizations to
-
Assign responsibilities to transformation leaders (Digital Trailblazers)
who empower self-organizing teams while driving standards -
Write and update
vision statements
so that initiatives have a customer and strategically driven north star -
Build feedback mechanisms through inclusive conversations, brainstorms,
customer engagements, outside-in learnings, experiments, KPIs/OKRs, and
metrics - Define decision-making principles and authorities
-
Commit to continuously improving driving digital practices through a
regular release cadence
In my most recent
Driving Digital Standup video, I provide an update on what it means to be a Digital Trailblazer and one
way to build digital transformation as a core competency — more to come in
future posts and the monthly
Driving Digital Newsletter.
