It's not the technology, stupid!

Okay, it's not very original to start an article by modifying a famous phrase, but it's perfectly apt for explaining the main mistake in many digital transformation processes: they confuse the means with the end, appearing with being. 

Let's start with the data to clarify the context a bit. Digital leaders achieve 1.8 times greater profit growth than those slower in digitalisation and more than double the total enterprise value growth. This assertion isn't ours; it's from one of the many studies, surveys, and reports that underscore the need to lead organisational digital transformation. But that's not the problem; it's not that companies and managers don't understand the necessity, advantages, and opportunities of change; what they don't understand is how to carry it out effectively. The diagnosis is clear; what's not clear is the treatment or the prognosis.   

Many companies are currently reviewing their transformation plans (according to a BCG survey, 80% of companies plan to speed up the process), and in their quest to adapt as quickly as possible, they will come up against the harsh reality: 70% of digital transformation projects fail. 

Why does this happen? Because they don't understand that it is about a strategic change that affects all business processes, the organisation, and the company culture. If not addressed with a global vision, Possibly, specific improvements will be achieved in various areas, but it will be difficult to obtain all the benefits that digital transformation promises. 

We have asked Cristina Gallego, Executive Director of MIG Embryonic, to explain how we can help these companies manage this transformation process, minimising failure and maximising impact on the organisation. For her, the key is not just technological, it is methodological. “Digital transformation entails profound organisational change that cannot be carried out without a method. Personalisation and understanding the customer are fundamental and are the basis for the success of the process. Digital transformation must take into account the resources and needs of each company, which is why we do not aim to break with what already works but to optimise it and make it more efficient,” points out Cristina Gallego. 

Holistic approach to “being” and not “appearing” 

For MIG Embryonic, “digital transformation is a holistic process, so we focus our attention on creating organisations that combine digital and human capabilities, capable of applying them to all aspects of the business. Transformation must be linked to objectives and results, but it must also minimise errors.”. 

Therefore, and more importantly, to begin a process of this nature, “it is necessary to have the support first of the General Management and the Directorate Committee to map out the roadmap that considers the evolution of a company that competes in a world that is already digital. It is not about doing digital business, digital marketing, digital communication, digital processes... It is about doing business, marketing, communication, processes, etc. in a digital world, which is why transformation cannot be approached from a single perspective and without the decisive support of senior management.”.  

Cristina Gallego believes that another of the mistakes is the choice of partner in that process. “The ideal partner for that transformation should bring together business consulting, creativity, marketing, technology & data, and change management with the aim of driving and guiding the organisational transformation process from the digital and technological perspective, to make it a useful experience for all brand stakeholders and to find, develop or perfect new business avenues. This is what differentiates MIG Embryonic from other partners. Our capacity to act in large organisations as an expert partner in technology, data, and digital innovation with a global vision of the transformation process, or to take on that process comprehensively in other smaller companies and organisations thanks to the global capabilities of MIG Group, uniting in the process our omnichannel marketing agency MIG PRISMA, our experiential marketing agency MIG Tack, and our expert consultancy in people culture management MIG Wellhuman.”.  

And the third problem is the lack of method, acting solely on one focus – normally only in the technological sphere – without considering the implications that this fact has on the organisation as a whole. “MIG Embryonic has developed its own methodology that contemplates this transition towards a digital world by defining objectives and strategy in order to maximise impact on the business and customer experience (BE), defining the roadmap and stages that will lead us to achieve these goals (THINK) and implementing a plan to execute it (DO) and truly BECOME a digital, agile, effective, sustainable and profoundly innovative company.".  

In each of its phases, MIG Embryonic combines its own capabilities or those in synergy with the rest of the MIG units to implement that holistic transformation which transcends the merely technological framework. 

It's clear that transformation is not technology. It is ideas, technology, data, customer experience and organisational culture; it is holistic methodology; it is executive drive; and, above all, it is business, people and future.