Digital Transformation Game Plan

Chapter 3. The Thin-Slice Approach to Transformation

The thin-slice approach to digital transformation is an iterative and incremental approach to develop the business to organize and operate around the principle of maximizing customer value delivery with digital technologies. We build cars incrementally: build the chassis, add the engine, add the tires, and so on, and at the end of it we can drive from point A to point B. We iteratively find better ways of moving from point A to point B; for example: walking, riding a skateboard, and driving. You need both forms of thinking at scale.

It’s not different from the prescriptive, Big-Bang, all-in approach when it comes to the need to build a strong sense of urgency, a clear vision, a powerful coalition, and effective communication. It’s different when it comes to designing the road map of what needs to be changed and how to change it. The thin-slice approach does not assume that the executives or the change team already have the answers, or that you can just copy from a successful company or peer. It recognizes that the pace of business today requires rapid learning and leading through ambiguity. You need to come up with some hypotheses about the changes you need to make, test them, learn from them, and rinse and repeat to advance the organization incrementally based on what you find works for you. This chapter shows you how.

To better understand the need for this approach, let’s first look back at why current approaches fail.