By: Andrew Ranson

iStock_000045419120SmallSeveral of the organizations that I’ve been working with lately view themselves as fairly conservative: banks, law firms, insurance companies. Unlike the photography, publishing and music industries, these industries are in some respects just on the cusp of massive disruption. Generally speaking, their revenues are still strong; their business models seem to be working just fine; and their executives and staff would really rather just keep doing what they’ve always done. At times the conversations in these organizations sound a lot like what you might expect when the topic of putting in a traffic light at a particularly dangerous intersection in a small town comes before that town’s City Council meeting: “Yes we know it’s dangerous, but we have other priorities, our budget’s tight, and besides, it’s not like someone’s died there.” You know where I’m headed…The day a child dies in the intersection is the day that project gets on the urgent list. Everyone knows it’s dangerous; everyone knows it will happen; but until the shattering event, the political will to do what needs to be done just isn’t there. When it comes to digital disruption of an organization, the “child dying event” could be two or three years of backward revenue trending, flattening growth, or a sudden failure to convert as many new accounts in spite of valiant sales efforts.

Some of these traditional businesses are still in the pre-event City Council meeting, but too many will wait until they have lost market momentum and are losing money – then they will try to transform – because they are forced to do it. The problem is it may then be too late – the “event” can actually signal a death spiral.

Digital transformation is hard. Digital transformation requires learning new skills. Digital transformation requires combining a sense of urgency with the fortitude to push through to a longer-term vision. Digital transformation requires investment, commitment, and perhaps most difficult, cultural change! It truly is difficult to stimulate change if the pain of staying where you are does not exceed the pain you envision going through to make a change. That is why dangerous intersections don’t usually get fixed before a tragic event. The problem with waiting is that by the time the event occurs it may already be too late. If you lose that chunk of business to a more flexible and responsive competitor, it could hurt your profitability. The hit to profits cuts into your ability to reinvest in making changes or at a minimum further degrades profits. Worse still, since changing a culture, becoming more adaptable, and building technology mastery all take time, even valiant and heroic efforts at this stage can be too little too late.

If you’re in a “conservative” industry or company, that does not mean you have to move slowly. Take the time to evaluate those things in your culture that may be slowing you down and ultimately putting you at greater risk! Then find ways to do “cultural alchemy” and insert new higher velocity elements into your culture… intentionally:

  • Create an X-prize for great ideas that get implemented along with a budget and mechanism to get them implemented.
  • Add a “rivers of information” component to your employee learning program, and assess progress during annual reviews.
  • Pick 3 to 5 technology focus areas where you will be better than anyone in your peer group, then set specific goals to start moving towards those.

The bottom line is this: if you choose to wait for the tragic event in the intersection, it may be too late.

What would it take to motivate you to make the changes today you know need to be made?

Who in your organization needs to sound the call to make the transformation?

Do you have a way to assess if your organization may be at risk?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.