McKinsey reports (2019) that roughly 70% fail when corporations launch transformations. A new BCG research(2020) also shows that 70% of digital transformations fall short and Scrum inc. reports 53% fail an agile transformation (2020) – new research but old news 🥱.
Not only do companies fail transformation, but they also waste time and money. Even worse, the organisation loose trust in future transformation because next time the management introduces a new change program, employees will be sceptical and properly just nod, play along but think ‘here we go again’.
We will argue that the reason for failure is that many companies try to change strategy, structure, people, processes, and technology with the only focus on how to match customers’ needs. No doubt the customer centric approach is correct, but it is also similar if you only changed one tire on a Formula 1 race car going to pit.
We believe to launch and execute a successful transformation, companies need to collaborate, calibrate, and balance customers’ needs with key stakeholders’ demands but also with organisational capabilities across silos.
To balance these three elements wisely, it will automatically foster alignment and commitment to a business transformation.