Use your Headlights when Driving Strategic Transformation

By: Nitin Mistry, NM Advisory – August 2nd 2023.

As you drive while the sun is out your ‘Daytime running lights’ are on, as the sun sets you transition to ‘Headlights on’ and for those challenging times you turn on the ‘High beams’. There are times when you might just want to turn them off all-together, however, this is an exception to the norm.

[ In 2022, spending on digital transformation (DX) is projected to reach 1.6 trillion U.S. dollars. By 2026, global digital transformation spending is forecast to reach 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars. ^3.]

Taking this same approach to Strategic Transformation regardless of the focus being around Business, Technology, Process or Organizational you need to know when to use each type of ‘head light’.

Daytime Running Lights: This provides constant oversight to ensure the strategy is being implemented according to plan and yielding the outcomes as defined. Setup a multi-disciplined stakeholder team that meets at a scheduled frequency to ensure progress is being made, decisions are acted upon, and outcomes are generated in near / mid and long term. This is the STEADY state of Strategic Transformation.

Headlights On: Leadership needs to sponsor, promote and at times Lean-in. Strategic Transformation needs constant ‘care and feeding’ at all levels of the organization, most importantly from leadership. You will have to ‘turn-on’ the headlights during times of internal communication or external marketing, show process as it’s made, elevate excitement and success. Typically, you turn your headlights on during key accomplishments or on a schedule of monthly, quarterly, half-year or annual depending on the size and complexity of it.

[ By 2025, 70% of digital investments will fail to deliver the expected business outcomes, due to the absence of a strategic portfolio management (SPM) approach. ^1.]

High Beams: Driven by shifts in the market, industry or internally within the organization. There are times when we need to take a step back recalibrate and push forward or adjust and then push forward. You will encounter speed bumps along the way in any Transformation you do, it is important to ‘get out of the weeds’ at times and focus on the Why? you are doing this transformation and What? outcomes you seek to achieve. Again, in any good Strategy, these Goals, Objectives, and potentially Outcomes may need to be refined or adjusted to ensure value is driven for the organization.

Headlights Off: Hey! What happened? You might come across a time when it makes complete sense to just hit the pause button for a little or potentially come to a screeching halt. This is when your ability to prioritize what is right for the organization comes into play. Transformation is always happening around us in our business and our personal lives in some capacity, but sometimes you need a break. This is true when significant market impacts happen or when a macro economic situation occurs. Typically, when you turn off your headlights, it might be the beginning of a pivot of the Strategy or the Organization. Be aware of these signs, take action, but don’t forget to turn your headlights back to daytime running or headlights on when the time is right, otherwise you might be caught blindsided and miss a key milestone in your transformation.

[By 2024, half of enterprise program management offices (EPMOs) will have the ability to rapidly sense and orchestrate changing conditions and become the central nervous system for the enterprise. ^2.]

Every organization needs to Strategically Transform, this can be at the macro level organization-wide or within a given business unit or across functional areas (technology, human capital, finance, field operations, etc.). Be sure to get leadership on the same page, communicate your plan to the organization and setup an agile governance model to handle curves, speed bumps, storms, day and night conditions as we straight-a-ways don’t last for too long, but when it does accelerate and enjoy it!

Sources:

1.,2. Gartner. Elevate Your Discussion to Drive Strategy Execution. 17 August 2022 – ID G00746675. Anthony Henderson.

3. Statista Research Department. Jul 7, 2023. https://www.statista.com/statistics/870924/worldwide-digital-transformation-market-size/.