Questions for starting on a digital transformation journey

We see companies putting in significant resources into their digital transformation programs, even up to 10% of their annual revenue. Most organizations know it is very important to invest in digital in these VUCA times where technology is rapidly changing the way we do business. It’s a make or break need across industries and a lifeboat to keep moving. However, statistics say that only up to 16% of the digital savvy firms and 3-4 % of the traditional firms are being successful in their digital transformation story .

 Why is this so ?

 Let’s ask ourselves – what is a digital transformation program for us ?

1.  Do you look at digital transformation as a “me-too” technology initiative or a “critical futuristic” business and customer experience initiative to start with?
2. Do you look at the breakthrough value creation opportunities for customers, employees and shareholders when you start on the digital transformation journey ? Is business case of the transformation roadmap a decision factor into deciding projects , initiatives , customizations and like .
3. Do you think of each transformation program more holistically as a comprehensive change in strategy , business operating model , organizations , processes , people , culture to be different and open up for discovering more unexplored value , build more profitable opportunities?
4. Is it just taking a todays cumbersome process or set of processes ( e.g. we see siloed initiatives around process busting in organizations using a mobile first approach) , or a bunch of internal ideas, or still benchmarking competition initiatives, pick an off the shelf product innovation to plan a move to mobile , cloud and AI based solutions based on vendor sales pitch or alternatively, do we think of digital transformation as an opportunity for new prospects , an opportunity to redefine what the organization does ahead.
5. Do you use first principle thinking to decompose your current business models , decompose the process and products , explore the market and surround disruptors , ask the right questions and challenge the status quo ? There are no sacred cows , so do you try to rebuild the digital ( not the twin ) of your organization with more courageous models , solutions that address the current and future needs of the customer.
6. Have you future mapped out your ” Future of industry with future of technology company and operating model” with your customer brand promise . Are you open to challenging the status quo operations and the current ways of working built over years and are flexible to manage the change? We still see today that a lot of our implementation programs start with a “DRG process” detailed requirement gathering process where the focus is on finding an automated less people effort coded way to do the same things , operations handled by people.
7. How do you think this would address the quick paced disruptions from the FinTech’s and AI players in this winner takes all ecosystem play ? Just read an interesting article today of FinTech’s challenging banks even in hiring of engineers and business graduates also where the potential employees think of FinTech’s as a place for faster growth , innovation , different work culture , empowerment and results.
8. How to you prepare the organization culture for the change right at the start to run the full mile ? Does your organization have a mature agile product organization set up even if you are from a traditional industry . All companies across industries will soon become tech companies and their products are fast becoming tech products . see connected cars for example for automotive.
9. Are you designing “Exponential” digital organizations – Do you consider the successful design principles and learnings of these FAANG ( Facebook, Apple, Amazon , Netflix, Google and like ) organizations to design for exponential improvements in performance and profitability to open up to a new high-performance future for your organization .
10. Are you using a “Future forward” vision for your organization ahead : Are we using the digital transformation opportunity to design our operating model for a hybrid workforce of tomorrow around principles of a live sentient , on the move , data decision model , constantly learning Live enterprises , building sustainable organizations ready for the future net zero world , ready for upcoming regulatory requirements on process resilience etc. looking forward .
11. What is your Digital organization target breakthrough goals? Have you reviewed your company business and financial plans to explore a radical profitable leap of transformation for breakthrough outcomes by challenging why we are doing what we are doing now to target significantly greater value for your customer and employees ?
12. Have you challenged you company’s legacy vision , mission and goals from the non digital times to a refreshed new digital vision , mission and goals for a digital firm ? The old mission was built in a different era and was good to bring us till here and not further.
13. Is business & customer value the centre of your decisions? What is the size of opportunity or loss avoided for the company to radically change the current business model canvas ( what to change , what’s the new to create ) , process and technology ? Have you set up a business value realization COE and office for your digital factory.
14. Who leads your digital transformation initiative – CIO , CDO or technology ( I see a lot of conversations on automation first , mobile first , AI first approach ) . Is this putting the cart before the horse ? Should customer and employee journeys and experience, their needs and alternatives not lead and organizations digital transformation program . Do you have an elaborate “design thinking” capabilities , customer empathy sessions , alternative solutions design skills , future mapping models and trends at the core of the digital transformation journey each time .
15. Do you have a clear directional multi year strategy and roadmap for your digital vision and goals, initiatives and selected your best ecosystem and service partners ? We understand there is nothing constant when digital is a try fast theme. The fast agile approach still needs a direction and target architecture.

We all know why a planned and agile approach to digital is a survival strategy for all organizations now . A few months was good enough for Amazon to wipe of the Borders book stores because they did not sense the way customer preferred their reading habits was changing fast to the e-model . We also realize that digital transformation is not filling a PAM ( Process application map ) gap area with the latest competitive product in the market . Digital transformation is a customer and employee first program to build exponential, resilient , sustainable organizations for the future. Future mapping new industry business models with a lot of creativity using enablers like digital technology, process simplification, data insights, new organizational ways of working etc.

Suggest we look at digital transformation as an opportunity to rethink 10x business models , amplify processes, solve really complex industry problems, polevault with data driven insights to finally deliver really new customer experiences and solutions for their day to day needs .

Is agenda this worth a discussion ? Look forward to hearings your thoughts and experience of how you have handled this in your organization . I will have some more ideas to share in the days ahead.