I was thinking about how our industry has changed, and how our ways of living and working have changed because of communications tools and technology including access-anywhere and social networks. Its not only the communications industry that’s affected by the speed of change and uptake of new digital communication technologies  – it is so many other industries as well – press/paper/magazine, security, entertainment, even transport with the growing adoption of virtual meetings instead of travel.

What could our industry learn from others when it comes to high speed transformation?

1. Clear executive leadership and commitment must be made, with clear and senior ownership and drive for transformation.
2. The case for change must be compelling  (this would be the upside of having a burning platform)
3. A transformation project must be referenced continuously to the future state of the organization (a clear vision forwards and strong and inspiring communication of the vision)
4. Be willing to completely transform your portfolio. IBM went from mainframes to Consulting and Software; Xerox from sandpaper to printers and copy machines.
5. Implementation is the riskiest stage of a business transformation project, so it is important to direct attention and energy here and secure continuity in executive ownership and followup.

Here’s a great though somewhat old (yes, 28 months in this line of business is OLD) article on IBM’s transformation, I recommend reading it. 

Its not just history we could learn from, by the way. In nature it takes about 10 days for a caterpillar to become a butterfly. In the process the caterpillar has to change radically including physical changes that include digesting part of its own body … gross, yes – but just look at the beautiful result.

Which of the above 5 do you think is the most critical for successful transformation? Or do you have a sixth rule? Welcome to comment below!