Insights on Service - Inspired From Outside

#5: Why Digital Transformation is NOT like Running a Marathon

by Gerardo Pelayo, Ph.D.

The 2024 edition of the Boston Marathon, the world’s oldest annual marathon (since 1897) and one of the most iconic competitions of its kind, took place exactly a week ago. Whether one runs the 26.2 miles, cheers from the sidelines, or reads about the stories, it’s undoubtedly easy to get inspired and search for applicable parallels in our personal and professional day to day. 

Along these lines, I’ve seen multiple posts on LinkedIn and other social media platforms which explained that digital transformation should be seen much like running a marathon. While the idea appears initially compelling (it is indeed a long journey), I've come to the conclusion that this perspective is not only incomplete, but that it encapsulates a major reason for why digital transformation often fails: too much focus on the objective and not enough attention to the foundation.   

Digital transformation is not like running a marathon; this is dramatically incomplete. A more appropriate, even if less exciting, equivalent of digital transformation is the preparation for running a marathon.

What are some of the common elements across successful digital transformation and marathon preparation journeys?

1. Purpose: preparing for a marathon demands a lot from an individual, and without a clear motivation for doing it, it’s very tempting to get distracted, prioritize alternative activities or quit altogether. [Have your digital transformation efforts suffered from a lack of focus and commitment?]
2. Timing: the choice of the race you want to run is limited by both the time you need to prepare given your current athleticism, and the competing priorities that you may have during that window; choosing the right timing is critical for a good outcome. [How are you choosing the right time to embark on digital transformation efforts?]
3. Right-fit levers: there’s a wide array of training programs and trainers, brands and models of running shoes, or food supplements; however, what works great for one runner will make little impact for another, and it could be detrimental for someone else. Getting informed and choosing in consequence regarding the benefits, requirements, downsides and intended market for the potential levers is the difference between these resources becoming accelerators (at best) or deterrents (at worst). [Can you separate the most advanced resources out there, from the ones that are best for you?]
4. Uncertainty management: on the day of the race, the weather could be anything (especially true for Boston); or perhaps your incoming flight could be delayed and a traffic jam might block some roads. Some of these risks can be almost completely eliminated at a cost (e.g., paying for an extra hotel night to arrive two days early), while others require you to be prepared to react on the spot (e.g., ability to mentally and physically adapt to extreme cold or heat conditions during the race). Managing all this requires informed awareness, robust preparation and thinking critically about trade-offs. [Which risks are you predicting, which are you reacting against, and which would you need to recover from?]
5. Earning the opportunity: given the popularity of the Boston marathon, the most common way to be able to run it is by qualifying for it (i.e., by demonstrating you can complete the race in a competitive time through submission of your official time on another certified full marathon). Even from amongst those who qualify, thousands get rejected every year due to field size limitations. Above and beyond your willingness and ability to run the marathon, others need to be convinced. [How are you building a compelling business case that secures the needed resources and the team's buy-in for digital transformation programs?]
6. (Almost) memoryless properties: having been in shape three summers ago or even having run multiple marathons the previous decade, won't be a significant factor for the next one if you don't prepare; one can't sustain future outcomes by building exclusively on past glories or assuming the same body will respond the same way it did years ago. [How are you preventing your digital transformation efforts from becoming one-off projects?]
7. Run it: the decisions made, the actions taken, the adjustments applied over time, all build up to the day of the race. That's go-live time. It's critical and exciting and extremely rewarding when you get there. But it's also wise to internalize that running the marathon is the result, and that the probability of that day being a great experience will change significantly depending on how you approached the first six elements. [Once you've put in the effort, will you be ready to go all the way?]

Are there other important common elements that you can think of?

P.S. Fun fact: John Carroll , Service Council's Founder and CEO, ran (and completed) the Boston Marathon in 2018, which was held under unexpectedly bad (39°F) weather. Feel free to get his rear-view mirror perspective on his experience against this list.