Digital Transformation Falling Flat? Bring in the Pirates
IT leaders should reflect on how and why digital transformations fail and tap nonconformists who are not afraid to think outside the box as a start.
Over the course of my career, I've been fortunate to work with clients who have seen tangible and sustainable results on their journey towards transforming their organization. But recently, and with greater frequency, I've observed a few unfortunate trends:
Fragmented, piecemeal efforts at digital transformation vs. integrated and scalable digital initiatives;
New technology initiatives (e.g. AI/machine learning, IoT, blockchain) that spark excitement and proof-of-concepts but yield few new applications because IT teams are bogged-down with keeping the lights on and erasing technical debt;
Companies unable to capitalize on new data, in new ways, to meet new challenges, because it would require headcount that had not been budgeted for the support and maintenance of the application.
I am an avid reader of biographies (from “John Adams“ by David McCullough to “Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley