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Master Your Change Story for Digital Transformation

Leverage a proven methodology for change story creation and communication to enhance your transformation’s odds of success.

Digital transformation offers tremendous value potential; however, not having a meaningful change story to bring employees along on the journey can lead to:

  • Inability to meet initial transformation objectives.
  • Decreased employee confidence in organizational leadership to execute large transformations.
  • Significant value leakage for the organization.

Our Advice

Critical Insight

Create and communicate a powerful transformation change story that builds momentum to drive the change and supports value capture.

Impact and Result

A meaningful and well-communicated change story that aligns the organization around a shared vision increases your transformation’s odds of success.


Master Your Change Story for Digital Transformation Research & Tools

1. Master Your Change Story for Digital Transformation Storyboard – Leverage a proven methodology for change story creation & communication to enhance your transformation’s odds of success.

A change story is a written or verbal narrative that helps employees link their work to the transformation objectives, inspiring buy-in, and building momentum. The change story is a critical first step to prepare and motivate the workforce to understand, support, and take part in the change.

2. Change Story Template – Create a clear, concise, and compelling change story.

A simple template that guides a leader through drafting the six components of a change story.


Master Your Change Story for Digital Transformation

Leverage a proven methodology for change story creation & communication to enhance your transformation’s odds of success

Info-Tech Research Group Inc. is a global leader in providing IT research and advice. Info-Tech’s products and services combine actionable insight and relevant advice with ready-to-use tools and templates that cover the full spectrum of IT concerns.
© 1997-2024 Info-Tech Research Group Inc.

Table of Contents

1

Introduction to Digital Transformation
  • What is digital transformation?
  • Info-Tech’s digital journey framework

3-7

2

Executive summary
  • Analyst perspective
  • Document purpose & deliverables
  • Ways to engage
  • Executive summary
  • Thought model

8-13

3

Change story overview – what is it & why is it important?
  • Work with stakeholders to create a meaningful change story
  • Strategically cascade your change story throughout the organization

14-24

4

How do you master your change story?
  • Work with stakeholders to create a meaningful change story
  • Strategically cascade your change story throughout the organization

25-44

5

Conclusion
  • Related content
  • Key contributors
  • Bibliography

45-51

1. Introduction to Digital Transformation

What is digital transformation…

An at-scale change program – planned and executed over a finite time period – with the aspiration of creating material, sustainable improvement in the performance of an organization by deploying a programmatic approach to digital technology adoption and innovation.

1. INTRODUCTION

Digital transformation can unlock significant value, but getting it right is tough

Digital transformation can unlock significant profits…

26% …is the average increase in profitability for companies that prioritize digital transformation compared to their industry competitors (MIT).

…and will be the largest driver of economic growth…

70% …of new value created in the economy over the next decade will be based on digitally enabled platform business models (World Economic Forum).

…however, most fail to achieve their objectives

84% …of companies that have undertaken initiatives have “failed” – they haven’t seen sustained and material performance improvement (Forbes).

Info-Tech has a comprehensive approach to help you beat the odds and deliver against your digital transformation aspirations

Digital journey framework

Arrow with the word 'Starting' where it begins and 'Benefiting' where it ends.
Digital Strategy
(input to journey)

A company’s articulation and approach to using data and technology to support overarching corporate strategy (e.g. portion of corporate strategy enabled by digital investments).

Establish your digital North Star

Set Aspiration: Vision setting with key BU stakeholders to discuss and align on digital aspiration (e.g., Big-T vs. Mini-T, self-funded and slow burn vs investments)

Quantify the value of digital use cases

Assess Opportunity: Comprehensive E2E understanding of the digital opportunity across BUs/functions (e.g. data analysis, process walks, and interviews).

Create the digital roadmap

Design and Plan: Bottom-up initiative design and holistic initiative roadmap planning (e.g. opportunity to initiatives, financials, phasing, design principles).

Deliver digital use cases and realize impact

Execute: Detailed initiative builds, and implementation; execution with rigor and transparency (e.g. process optimization then automation, test, measure, scale).

Create the infrastructure to drive & sustain change

Enable: Stand up the transformation infrastructure, operating model, and culture to drive value capture and sustain change.

Digital journey asset catalog

This document is part of Info-Tech’s Digital Journey asset catalog. The topics addressed within this document are part of the cross-cutting enablers in element five of the digital journey framework: “Create the infrastructure to drive & sustain change.” Visit the Digital Transformation Research Center to find the full catalog of available materials.

Digital Transformation Research Center

Info-Tech’s approach and team can help irrespective of where you are in your transformation journey

Legend item, square of green. Applicable framework elements for this document

Starting

Arrow pointing right.

Benefiting

Where are you in the journey?

Establish your digital North Star

Quantify the value of digital use cases

Create the digital roadmap

Deliver digital use cases and realize impact

Create the infrastructure to drive & sustain change

Set Aspiration: Vision setting with key BU stakeholders to discuss and align on digital aspiration (e.g. Big-T vs. Mini-T; self-funded and slow burn vs. investments)Assess Opportunity: Comprehensive E2E understanding of the digital opportunity across business/functions (e.g. data analysis, process walks, and interviews)Design and Plan: Bottom-up initiative design and planning (e.g. opportunity initiatives, financials, phasing, design principles)Execute: Detailed initiative builds and implementation; execution with rigor and transparency (e.g. process optimization then automation, test, measure, scale)Enable: Stand up the transformation infrastructure, operating model, and culture to drive value capture and sustain change

Examples of how Info-Tech can help

Digital North Star Placemat
(e.g. industry trends, top-down opportunity, high-level planning)
Digital Maturity Assessments
(e.g. current state digital adoption & transformation readiness)
Initiative Bottom-Up Design
(e.g. initiative ideation and business case creation, workplan, investments)
Initiative Build
(e.g. zero-based process redesign with technology)
Transformation Infrastructure
(e.g. transformation program design, transformation office)
Opportunity Assessments
(e.g. BUs/Function value creation diagnostics, opportunity levers)
Holistic Initiative Planning
(e.g. phasing, interdependencies, investments)
Initiative Implementation
(e.g. testing and pilot, scale-up roadmap, performance tracking)
IT Modernization
(e.g. technology infrastructure required to execute digital levers)
Value Assurance Assessment
(e.g. course correcting & accelerating initiatives underway)
Change Management
(e.g. org-wide change program and stories, comms, governance)
The following content will help an organization draft and cascade a change story through the organization. Change stories are a key change mgmt. component of any transformation and help to create a sense of urgency and momentum for the transformation, build support and buy-in from key stakeholders, and align employees around a common goal.

Details to follow

Performance Management
(e.g. KPIs – leading and lagging, people mgmt. for continuous improvement.)
Workforce Management
(e.g. upskilling, right people, right place, right time)

2. Executive summary

Analyst Perspective

Getting the change story right is critical

Digital transformations are complex, disruptive programs that can affect multiple aspects of any organization, from strategy and operations to culture and people. Given this complexity, it is no wonder that up to 85% of these transformations fail to create their intended value. A well-crafted and effectively communicated change story can be the difference between a successful digital transformation and a missed opportunity. It can help to create a sense of urgency and momentum for the transformation, build support and buy-in from key stakeholders, and align employees around a common goal. Moreover, a change story can help address common concerns and resistance to change, such as fear of the unknown, loss of control, and perceived risks. In short, a great change story is a must-have for any organization that wants to be part of the 15% that sees value creation from their digital transformations. Don’t let your efforts go to waste.

Photo of Jash Shah, Associate, Digital Transformation Consulting, Info-Tech Research Group.

Jash Shah
Associate
Digital Transformation Consulting
Info-Tech Research Group

Introduction

Document purpose

  1. Establish the need for and purpose of a change story for a digital transformation.
  2. Outline the key components to craft a successful change story, including a high-level overview of how to create one with basic templates to support execution.
  3. Establish the process to communicate the change story throughout your organization, with a cadence to follow for optimal execution.

This document is NOT

  • A comprehensive overview of all components required to drive a successful change management program for a digital transformation.

Outcome

Establish a meaningful change story and supporting communication process for your digital transformation.

Deliverables

  1. Change story
Master Your Change Story for Digital Transformation preview picture

About Info-Tech

Info-Tech Research Group is the world’s fastest-growing information technology research and advisory company, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals.

We produce unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. We partner closely with IT teams to provide everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

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Author

Jash Shah

Contributors

  • Charl Lombard, President, Digital Transformation Consulting, Info-Tech Research Group
  • Tod Camara, VP, Digital Transformation Consulting, Info-Tech Research Group
  • Michael Alemany, VP, Digital Transformation Consulting, Info-Tech Research Group
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