May 04, 2018

Companies invest in digital capability to remain competitive and relevant in an increasingly digital world. With projected global organisational spending reaching $2 trillion a year in 2020, digital transformation is a hot topic nowadays.

With big spending you expect great results, right?

Cisco, for example, has benefitted from digitally transforming their workplace, services, supply chain and security. The results include a 17% increase in employee engagement, 11% decrease in safety incidents and 35% increase in supply chain productivity.

It is, however, a risky business with over 80% of companies that try, fail at digital transformation. A digital transformation requires organisational, strategical and cultural changes throughout all levels of the organisation. To succeed, leaders must constantly challenge the status quo to achieve greater results, but also get comfortable with failure. The changes required to succeed are often difficult to achieve, but is possible if managed well.

McKinsey & Company recently released a report outlining the traps that can derail digital transformation initiatives within an organisation. Following are their 10 most important traps to avoid as a CEO guide:

1. Excessive caution

2. Fear of the unknown

3. Lack of focus

4. Running out of money

5. Lack of talent

6. Lack of discipline

7. Failure to learn

8. Change fatigue

9. Going it alone

10. Going too slowly

Some of the traps sound obvious, others aren't. Make sure you don’t fall for them. Read the full article here and learn how to recognize the traps, how to avoid them and how to manage them to assure great gains for your company.

Want more on this topic? Here are some helpful resources.

17 May 2021 New Horizons hosted an interesting webinar “Digital Transformation or Digital Disaster?” with Myriad Technologies. This webinar provided the audience with valuable insights into managing digital change. Did you miss it? Not to worry, watch the replay here.

If you responsible for leading digital change, and would like more tips on how to corral initiatives within your organisation, take a look at the Change Management short course. It could just make the difference.