A digital transformation thread: 1/n

It works. People who had already put in place a digital transformation plan / infrastructure before the pandemic are incredibly grateful they did.

It didn’t change, it accelerated. It typically hasn’t *changed* organizations’ plans — instead, it has vastly accelerated the move to things like omni-channel customer experiences, more sustainability, more emphasis on purpose, etc.

“Agility” has been proven to be more than an abstract marketing buzzword. The new platforms have enabled people to cope better with supply chain disruption, home working, etc. and enabled them to pivot quickly to new customer needs and new business models.

What’s the ROI of stasis? The ROI of “agility” is very hard to calculate in advance.

From efficiencies to opportunities. After several decades of emphasis on increasing efficiencies and cutting costs with digital systems, in the last few years the pendulum has clearly swung to using technology to take advantage of new opportunities.

Cloud culture takes to the skies. The pandemic often meant that cloud was the only choice to keep the business running; and the result has been that many of the cultural barriers to further moves have broken down, accelerating adoption.

Business uncertainty booms. There’s been an explosion of business uncertainty, and business people are more desperate for data than ever, so they don’t have to navigate in the dark.

New shoots. Companies are looking to the future and new opportunities — we’ve all been through a forest fire — but it means that the survivors have more room to grow.

Wanted: reliable sherpas. People can see the next ledge, but they’re not sure of the route, they know there are crevasses, they don’t know what gear is best, and there’s a shortage of guides. Organizations are looking for help with digital transformation (at the right price).

A golden age for midsize organizations. A 15-person organization can now access the same AI power, say, as a GE, Unilever, or Nestlé, easily, on-demand at a reasonable price, in the cloud. Some of the best transformation examples I know are from old, family-owned organizations.

Data: the spoke in the wheel. I have never met a company that *over* estimated the time and effort it would take to gather, cleanse, and process they data they needed for their digitally-transformed business. It ALWAYS took longer than they expected (even when it was expected).

Digital transformation: with people, not at people. When digital transformation goes wrong, it’s almost always because of people: culture, skills, training, organization, leadership, expectations, and (most of all) incentives.