@Ben - How do you suggest an organization navigates this kind of digital transformation if there aren't leaders on the team who are either digitally/technologically savvy, or simply leaders who are tired and unprepared to lead such a transformation? I see this on the regular in organizations today.
@andrew, Great point! Ironically, you have that take the technical out of the mix. The misnomer is that "digital transformation" (DT) is about technology. It's actually about delivering business value efficiently and at scale.
The system architecture and data flow will shift over time as the organization's needs change in order to support strategic execution.
This is a common cadence I've utilized to lead DT. The design of it provides a series of investments with regular jump off points to mitigate risk and increase learning:
First Decision Gate: The very beginning of that process requires all key stakeholders to be in the room to work through a structured decision support process where they agree on current reality, root causes, preferred future, pathways to achieve it, and acceptance criteria.
<Go/No Go Decision>
Second Decision Gate: Then, if there is agreement, they need to move into the planning phase where they understand the cost of time, money, and people to make and sustain the change.
<Go/No Go Decision>
Third Decision Gate: Implement the change with a continuous value delivery approach. This includes incremental delivery, feedback loops, documentation, etc.
Every idea should be tested to determine the resolve, readiness, and requirements to make the change. Just because you don't make it through all three gates doesn't make it a failure. Blindly committing to change without the first two gates is reckless.
If a leadership team and stakeholder group will follow this process and work through each gate, the new reality will be owned by the organization, its leaders, and the appropriate permission systems will be adopted that will sustain the change and create a new current reality.
@Ben - How do you suggest an organization navigates this kind of digital transformation if there aren't leaders on the team who are either digitally/technologically savvy, or simply leaders who are tired and unprepared to lead such a transformation? I see this on the regular in organizations today.
@andrew, Great point! Ironically, you have that take the technical out of the mix. The misnomer is that "digital transformation" (DT) is about technology. It's actually about delivering business value efficiently and at scale.
The system architecture and data flow will shift over time as the organization's needs change in order to support strategic execution.
This is a common cadence I've utilized to lead DT. The design of it provides a series of investments with regular jump off points to mitigate risk and increase learning:
First Decision Gate: The very beginning of that process requires all key stakeholders to be in the room to work through a structured decision support process where they agree on current reality, root causes, preferred future, pathways to achieve it, and acceptance criteria.
<Go/No Go Decision>
Second Decision Gate: Then, if there is agreement, they need to move into the planning phase where they understand the cost of time, money, and people to make and sustain the change.
<Go/No Go Decision>
Third Decision Gate: Implement the change with a continuous value delivery approach. This includes incremental delivery, feedback loops, documentation, etc.
Every idea should be tested to determine the resolve, readiness, and requirements to make the change. Just because you don't make it through all three gates doesn't make it a failure. Blindly committing to change without the first two gates is reckless.
If a leadership team and stakeholder group will follow this process and work through each gate, the new reality will be owned by the organization, its leaders, and the appropriate permission systems will be adopted that will sustain the change and create a new current reality.