The Art of Transformation

Strategy is a word that has shaped the destinies of nations and the fortunes of businesses. Its origins lie deep within military contexts, where it defined the art of planning and directing operations. As we faced with the complexities of digital transformation, these ancient principles remain quite relevant. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu offers apt wisdom that we can draw upon to guide our modern strategic ventures.

Today, let’s explore how the insights from this timeless book can help us overcome the practical challenges of change in business transformation.

The Origin of Strategy

The term "strategy" comes from the Greek word "strategos," meaning "generalship." It has its roots in military operations, where planning and direction were crucial to success. The Art of War by Sun Tzu, remains one of the most influential works on strategy. Flexibility, preparedness, and a deep understanding of both oneself and the adversary— are the principles that are vital in business today.

3 Insights from The Art of War

1. Know Yourself and Your Enemy

In the context of business transformation, this means understanding both your organization's capabilities and the competitive landscape. Before diving into digital transformation, assess your strengths and weaknesses and those of your competitors. It’s quite easy now days to do research on your competition and establish where you stand against them, but the difficulty is do you know yourself? Be honest with yourself and do the same for yourself- evaluate your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). This knowledge will enable you to use your strengths to your advantage and compensate for your weakness by surrounding yourself with top experts (generals) in their fields to bolster your strategic advantage.

Once you “know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.”

I remember a time when my team and I embarked on a major digital overhaul for a 150-year-old company. We were preoccupied with the competitor’s capability and that we were ignorant of the technical gap in our own capability. It was only after conducting a inhouse talent gap we were able to ‘know ourselves’, then strengthen our team with talent required not just to beat the competition but disrupt the industry. Start with the ‘gaps’ internally, strengthen the team and then pursue the complex journey of organizational change.

2. Flexibility and Adaptability

Digital transformation often brings chaos—new technologies, shifting market dynamics, evolving customer expectations and most importantly cultural clashes. “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.” Opportunities to build a culture of change – failing forward, becoming agile – keep iterating from the original blueprint and innovate to find novel solutions to problems. Success requires the ability to adapt swiftly to these opportunities. Leaders must create environments of trust to take advantage of opportunities allowing teams to adapt and pivot dynamically.

During a particularly turbulent phase of our digital transformation journey, we faced unexpected challenges with a new software implementation. Instead of sticking rigidly to our original plan, we embraced flexibility. You see, we had created an environment of trust and allowed our team the freedom to experiment with different approaches, leading to agile solutions that we hadn’t initially considered.

“Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape” - Michael McGriffy

3. Strategic Planning and Preparation

Preparation is a recurring theme in The Art of War!

“The victorious warrior wins first and then goes to war, while the defeated warrior goes to war first and then seeks to win.” – Sun Tzu

In business transformation, meticulous planning is essential. This involves creating a transformation map, analyzing the domains that need to be transformed, investigating their dependencies on other departments, establishing budgets, setting success criteria, setting SMART goals, developing a detailed transformation roadmap, and anticipating potential obstacles. By planning intricately, organizations can execute their strategies effectively, arrive at their pre-planned destination and achieve their desired outcomes and arrive.

I recall a project where our initial excitement led us to jump into execution without a integrated and well thought out plan. The result was chaos, missed targets and a team that was left defeated in their capability. Learning from many such experiences, we adopted a more strategic approach in subsequent programs, meticulously planning each phase, reviewing progress daily and weekly using the SCRUM method. The difference in outcomes was obvious—our projects ran like a “well-oiled engine” – smooth and productive, achieving our intended goals. This also created confidence to take on larger and completed transformation programs.

A weak and hurried plan will undermine the expertise of the team. No matter how good they are, you may never arrive on purpose!

Parallels Between The Art of War and Digital Business Transformation

Drawing from Sun Tzu's insights, we can see clear parallels between the art of war and digital business transformation. Both require a deep understanding of the landscape, the ability to adapt to changing circumstances, and meticulous planning. By applying these ancient principles to modern challenges, we can navigate the complexities of digital transformation with greater confidence and success.

The Winning Business Transformation Checklist

To put these insights into practice, here is a five-point checklist for developing a winning strategy in digital transformation:

1. Conduct a Comprehensive Assessment Evaluate your organization's strengths and weaknesses: People, Processes and Technology – Plot them out on a SWOT grid Research the competitive landscape and identify key threats and opportunities for disruption
2. Create an Environment of Trust Establish a “Trust manifesto”: Where you document permission for innovation to encourage flexibility within your teams. Implement processes that allow for rapid adaptation to changes.
3. Develop a Detailed Transformation map Review the domains that need to be transformed, investigate their dependencies, create budgets, set success criteria & establish SMART goals Create a month-by-month plan to reach these goals, with contingencies for potential obstacles.
4. Invest in Technology to Accelerate progress Stay updated on the latest AI tools that can ‘augment’ your capabilities. Watch out for ‘Cyber risk’ as you will be the most vulnerable during transformation phases that might distract you from securing your intellectual property.
5. Monitor and Adjust Daily and Weekly review your progress and make necessary adjustments to your strategy. Be prepared to pivot when new opportunities or challenges arise. They will!

Conclusion

In the complex domain of digital transformation, the principles of strategy as outlined by Sun Tzu in The Art of War provide practical guidance. By knowing ourselves and our competition, remaining flexible and adaptable, and meticulously planning, we can navigate the complexities of transformation with confidence.

“Opportunities multiply as they are seized.” – Sun Tzu

Call to Action

As you reflect on your own transformation journey, consider how you can apply these principles to your strategy. Have you read the book “The Art of War”, by Sun Tzu? Let me know what other parallels you can draw from your ingenious insights?