Live  the  transformation  you  want  to  be  Why   the   key   to   successful   digital   transformation   lies   not   in   capabilities,   but   in  mobilising   the  hearts  and  minds  of  those  involved.  

   Ask  any  CEO,  CTO  or  CMO  about  how  they  intend  to  deliver  the  digital  transformation  of  their   business   and   they   will   more   than   likely   reel   off   a   list   of   technologically   led  capabilities   from   their   roadmap.   Too   few  of   them  will   talk   about   the  human   value  or  meaning  they  seek  to  create  within  their  organisation.      It   is   this   fundamental   misunderstanding   of   digital   transformation,   which   prevents  organisations   and   their   employees   from   realizing   the   true   transformative   value   of  digital.    This  paper  proposes  a  new  four-­‐step  framework  for  business  leaders  seeking  to  deliver  meaningful   and   enduring   digital   transformation,   the   basis   of   which   is   the   need   for  creating  an  on-­‐going  dialogue  within  the  organization  driven  by  internal  storytelling.        

Figure  1:  Four-­‐step  framework  for  leaders  to  help  embrace  new  ways  of  ‘thinking’  and  ‘doing’:  

 

                                 

 Step  1:  seeing  through  complexity  

Step  2:  collaboratively  aligning  for  success  

Step  3:  embracing  a  culture  of  “wrong  thinking”  

Step  4:  unleashing  your  internal  storytelling  

Step  1:  Seeing  through  complexity    Today  one  of   the  key  constants   is  change.  New,  disruptive  digital   trends  emerge  daily   to  disrupt  consumers’   behavior   and   the   way   businesses  operate.   Understanding   how   to   successfully  capitalize   on   this   is   increasingly   key   to   survival  and   ultimately,   success.   It   is   no   wonder   then,  that   R&D   spending   by   the   Global   Innovation  1,000   companies   reached   $638bn   in   2013,   the  highest  level  ever  recorded.      

However,  despite  such  levels  of  investment,  new  research  from  Capgemini/MIT  suggests  that   two   thirds   of   global   enterprise   companies   are   failing   to   evolve   digitally.   This   is  because   the   instinct   of   many   is   to   create   new   tech   capabilities   and   features,   which  ultimately  only  serves  to  magnify  complexity  and  paralyze  organisations  from  advancing.  The   less   obvious   but   more   effective   route   to   digital   transformation   is   through   an  organisation’s  people.    Empowering   people   to   transform   the  business   should   start   with   adopting  ‘visualization’   to   bring   to   life   abstract  concepts.   This   builds   common   and   coherent  ways   of   seeing   the   world   you   are   trying   to  transform   and   avoids   any   over   reliance   on  words   alone,   which   –   with   their   multiple  interpretations   –   can   quickly   create   false  assumptions.   At   SapientNitro   we   embrace  visualization   from   the   moment   we   map   out  the  ecosystem  of  touchpoints  in  the  world  our  clients  want  to  transform  (see  figure  2).          Step  2:  Collaboratively  aligning  for  success    Whilst   visualization   helps   to   reduce   complexity,   it   is   just   the   start   of   a  much   greater  challenge  for  any  digital  transformation  project:  alignment.      

Figure  3:  Visualsing  touchpoints  (ecosystem  maps)    

   Figure  2:  Increased  annual  R&D  spend      

Often  evolving  in  an  additive  manner,  department-­‐by-­‐department,  product-­‐by-­‐product,  the   siloed   nature   of   most   businesses   can   be   an   insurmountable   barrier   to   digital  transformation,   which   requires   multi-­‐disciplinary   teams   to   work   together.   As   such,  transformation   leaders  need  to  find  systemic  ways  to  engage  and  align  diverse  sets  of  stakeholders.    Collaboration   is   in   SapientNitro’s   DNA   and   shapes   our   unique   approach   to   the  ‘discovery’  phase  of  any   transformation  project.  Fostering  co-­‐creation  upfront  enables  us   to   understand   and   align   around   what   is   important.   Far   from   relying   solely   on  analytical   research,   we   engage   stakeholders   in   a   heavy   cocktail   of   observations   and  insights  that  are  expertly  mixed   in  facilitated  environments.  Leveraging  non-­‐traditional  creative  techniques,  we  help  our  clients  collectively  shape  where  they  want  to  play  and  how  they  can  win.        

 A  key  step  for  any  transformation  project   is   to   define   its   vision.  SapinetNitro   does   this   with   a  technique   that   aligns   disparate  sets   of   stakeholders   through  slowly   building   up   the   values   of  their   vision   one   post-­‐it   note   at   a  

time,   before   organizing   and   prioritizing   into   meaningful   themes.   We   call   this   the  ‘newspaper   headline   exercise’   and   its   simplicity   enables   stakeholders   to   use   tangible  outcomes  to  assemble  the  vision.        Step  3:  Embrace  a  culture  of  “wrong  thinking”      A   key   challenge   of   transformation   is   that   it   inevitably   deals   with   the   future,   and   the  future  is  desperately  hard  to  fathom.  It  is  hard  to  understand  what  customer  needs  will  be   and   therefore   what   requirements   and   capabilities   your   transformation   should  deliver.    

 The   path   to   discovery   is,   and   should   be,   full   of  mistakes   and   false   leads.   Some   of   the   most  transformative   moments   are   born   out   of   ‘wrong  thinking’   –   the   kind   of   original   ideas   that   only  

Figure  4:  Co-­‐creating  visions  (making  physical  talismans  of  the  future)        

 Figure  5:  Embracing  lots  of  ideas  (divergent  thinking)    

come   to   life   when  we   dare   to   be   different,   keep   an   open  mind   and   have   no   fear   of  failure.    You  can’t  do   things   that  are   radically  different   if  you  are  afraid  of  making  mistakes  or  follow  convention  wisdom.  Market  research  and  analytical  thinking  are  useful  tools  but  only  inventiveness  and  abductive  thinking  can  help  organisations  leap  into  the  future.      Nothing  is  more  prized  at  SapientNitro  than  the  willingness  and  ability  to  generate  new  ideas,   take   chances   and   fail   fast   in   the   pursuit   of   transformative   innovations.  Our   co-­‐creation  workshops  build  on  the  principle,  “the  best  way  to  get  a  good  idea  is  to  have  lots   of   ideas”   and   use   forced   association,   ‘what   if?’   statements,   with   other   non-­‐traditional   creative   techniques   to   achieve   just   that.  Once  myriad   ideas   are   generated,  participants  self  select  and  prioritize  the  best.      The   second  principle   our   transformation  process   is  built   upon   is   “a   culture   of   making”.   Whether   it   is  developing   conceptual   ideas   or   testing   solutions,  our   process   puts   ‘making’   at   its   heart.   It   is   only  through   prototyping   and   experimentation   that   we  can  begin  to  understand  the  future,  which  customer  needs  we  can  solve,  what  solution  requirements  are  needed   and   which   associated   capabilities   will   be  required.  Anything  else  is  just  guessing.        Step  4:  Unleashing  your  internal  storytelling    

The  quality  of  collaboration  within  a  team  is  key  but  so  is  a  team’s  interaction  with  the  rest  of  the  organisation;  especially  key  stakeholders  such  as  board  members,  budget  controllers  and  staff  on  the  front  line,  who  are  the  most  likely  to  feel  the  effects   of   any   transformation.   As   such,   the  communication  coming  from  the  team  is   just  as  important  as  the  communication  within  it.    

 Figure  7:  Using  video  as  a  cultural  prototype  to  inspire  employees    

 Figure  6:  learning  through  doing  (prototyping)  

 Bringing   brands   to   life   through   storytelling   is   at   the   heart   of  what   SapientNitro   does.   Leaders   must   learn   to   embrace  ‘cultural   prototypes’   to   communicate   their   vision   and   plan   for  transformation  to  the  whole  organisation,  and  thereby  win  the  hearts  and  minds  of  employees.    SapientNitro  has  a  dedicated  process  deigned  to  achieving   just  this.   Our   ThirtySix   process   involving   creative   workshops   for  stakeholder  groups  generates  video  content  of  the  vision,  along  with   posters,   PowerPoint   presentations   and   seminars,   which  can  be  used  to  involve  and  inspire  the  whole  organisation.        Conclusion      Ultimately,  the  most  successful  organisations  are  able  to  combine  both  an  authentic  and  a  human  approach  to  their  digital  transformation.  Their  ‘purpose’  and  an  open  and  collaborative  corporate  culture,  combine  to  inspire  the  whole  organisation  to  create  meaningful  value  for  customers.  Peter  Drucker  once  said  “your  first  job  as  a  leader  is  to  take  charge  of  your  own  energy  and  then  help  orchestrate  the  energy  of  those  around  you”.  The  four-­‐step  framework  can  help  guide  leaders  to  do  just  that  by  empowering  all  employees  to  embrace  and  live  the  transformational  change  desired.          

 Figure  8:  Using  infographic  

posters  to  communicate  change