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Whenever any new technology emerges that challenges the way people and businesses have been doing things for years or even decades, the initial excitement is often overshadowed by uncertainty and reluctance to try something new. In the early days of the cloud, it was almost inconceivable to think that it would lead to such a profound shift in how businesses operate. More recently, the drive toward digital transformation has caused even greater anxiety in some organizations.

In this age of digital transformation, all industries -- from manufacturing and banking to hospitality and retail -- are evolving. This means that decision makers must identify key business issues, not technology issues, that digital transformation can tackle. Companies need to not only harness the power of the latest digital technologies and platforms to stay relevant and competitive but also course-correct their business models based on evolving customer demands.

This type of transformation should be seen as a journey, not a destination. It is a cycle of change and progress, both from a technological and organizational standpoint. It’s about constantly reassessing opportunities to do things better, faster and with greater scale in the evolving environment in which one’s business operates.

Actions necessary to support longer-term corporate-performance objectives, on the one hand, and a rapid performance transformation, on the other, might seem at odds. But our research paints a different picture. When coupled with organizational health, long- and short-term performance can become interdependent and complementary—just as yin and yang in Chinese philosophy are inseparable, unable to exist without each other, despite their apparent opposition.

Simply put, healthy organizations are more likely to orient themselves toward the long term. And companies in the midst of a rapid performance transformation boost the odds of sustaining those efforts when they improve their health. The evidence for these propositions is substantial, and it underscores the fundamental link between organizational health and performance.

On December 31st, 1929 the Indian National Congress, the foremost nationalist group on the subcontinent, issued a Declaration of Purna Swaraj, or complete independence from British rule. It also announced a campaign of civil disobedience, but no one had any idea what form it should take. That task fell to Mohandas Gandhi.

The Mahatma returned to his ashram to contemplate next steps. He needed to come up with something that would unite the Indian people, but not get them so riled up that it would lead to violence. After weeks of meditation, he emerged with an answer that impressed no one. In fact, it seemed like a joke. He would march for salt.

Yet it turned out to be a stroke of genius that would invigorate the movement for Indian independence like nothing else could and break the British hold on power. In doing so, Gandhi proved himself to be not only a potent spiritual leader, but also a master strategist. Today, there's still a lot we can learn from Gandhi about making change happen.

Big Bang reorganizations don’t work. They are lengthy, ineffective and hard.

Organizations reorganize all too often. This resets the culture changes of agile transformations. They are also expensive, and it is hard to attract and retain talent when they get tired of yet another reorganization. 

There is a better way: incremental reorganization. It's like incremental Product Development for your organization.

I have been writing a series of articles on culture-enabled organizational transformation. Much of my philosophies on this subject are derived from learnings on the battlefield as a Navy SEAL, and in the boardroom as an entrepreneur. There are three phases to my transformation model, each with several components: building the change culture, preparing for the change battle, and winning the change fight.

Once a company is well-prepared for change and high levels of trust and accountability have been woven into the fabric of the organization's culture, only then can they start preparing for the change battle. Behaviors and mindsets must adapt and a plan of attack developed and communicated. The first phase of winning the change fight is to empower the team and enlist as much participation as possible at all levels.

Today’s organizations and institutions are suffering from a severe case of responsiveness lag, where their internal structures, operating procedures and time signatures are increasingly out of sync with the external pace and scale of change. As Jack Welch, the legendary chief executive of General Electric, famously quipped: “If the rate of change outside exceeds the rate of change inside, the end is near.”

Today, organizations and institutions are disappearing at increasing rates because they are failing to adapt to the increasing complexity of the economic ecosystem. To survive digital Darwinism, organizations and institutions must evolve into ‘instant enterprises’ that maintain a perpetual state of readiness to respond to the unexpected.

Caution is in order because "Agile Transformation" always is a roller coaster ride where you and your teams must hang on for dear life!

Now - before getting on to the Agile roller coaster band-wagon ask “Why do we need to do it?” first. Don't get on the newness rollercoaster until solid answers are articulated and a clear destination is envisaged as to "why" we need it.

In one of our most-read articles here on Leadershipwatch ‘What Does Change Mean to You?’ I describe how change always has been and always will be a natural part of our lives. We’ve dealt with change ever since we humans started to wander this globe. We have seen over and over again how it works, how we can turn it into a motivating, inspiring and successful experience instead of feeling burdened by it. But somehow some persistent myths about leading change are still alive. These myths hinder us instead of helping us. It is time we stop believing them.
Let me give you a quick overview, some food for thought, and then hand it back to you: