A 2019 HBR article "The Two Big Reasons That Digital Transformations Fail" by Mike Sutcliff, Raghav Narsalay, and Aarohi Sen referenced an Accenture study on Digital Transformation and cited two root causes as to failure. These were:
1. Unspoken disagreement among top managers about goals.
2. A divide between the digital capabilities supporting the pilot and the capabilities available to support scaling it.
They went on to say "If top managers aren’t on the same page, it makes it difficult for their direct reports to agree on what to prioritize and how to measure progress. The remedy: Define and articulate not only the opportunity but also the problem it solves, and how the company will build the organization around the desired solution before investing".
How many times have you heard the question "Are we on the same page?" It is a proxy for alignment and is often asked but rarely answered. Next time you hear it ask what it means and answer it. It may save you from digital transformation failure.
What is alignment? How do we align around an initiative? How do we know we are aligned? These are the really hard questions. Questions we are answering at AlignedAround. I would welcome your thoughts.
Photo by Tamara Gak on Unsplash
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