Digital transformation: 4 steps CIOs should take to stay on track
Given their twin responsibilities in both business and technical leadership, CIOs are in a unique position to facilitate digital transformation. And it’s an important role, given the opportunity and challenges on the road to digital.
Understanding the most common concerns and hurdles to digital transformation, and knowing how to work around them, can speed the journey significantly.
Consider these four essential steps:
For many organizations, the digital transformation starts outside the CIO’s domain, as people running different aspects of the business have a “wouldn’t it be great if we could…” epiphany. But while that may be the catalyst, those theoretical improvements might not match with the reality of business, technical, budgetary, or time constraints.
Many transformations go awry at this most fundamental level, as actual outcomes steadily diverge from the original concept. As the bridge between technical implementation and business objectives, the CIO needs to recognize and address this divergence before it undercuts the actual transformation. This requires clear and consistent communication to foster alignment on the timeline and milestones for achievable results.
With the CIO’s guidance, transformation teams must work in tandem with business stakeholders to understand what they think the transformation is going to accomplish – and as necessary, shift perceptions to match with reality. Co-opting the rest of the organization into the transformation journey ensures they both recognize the destination and that everyone can get there on time.
Beginning radical change can be a challenge. Many organizations face two competing urges: Start immediately on disparate pilot programs (risking control and scalability) or meticulously craft the perfect comprehensive transformation (risking months or years of delay with limited return).
A better approach is to avoid both scattershot and boil-the-ocean extremes and instead strive for an orchestrated series of incremental wins. Having a broad strategy with clear end-goals is an obvious prerequisite, but so are regular, manageable milestones and quick successes. In fact, it’s difficult to overemphasize the importance of these mini-milestones in guaranteeing there are frequent results to share with various stakeholders, including the board.
One possible approach: Identify processes that stretch across different aspects of the business (for instance, a customer journey or fulfillment of a sale) and digitally automate the key steps in that process. Each step becomes a milestone, and the larger transformation provides an organizational roadmap.
The first reaction to change is resistance, and this becomes a key organizational struggle.
