Move First, Align Fast

Foreword

By Dayton Semerjian, Former Chief Customer Care Officer, LPL Financial

Enterprise transformation failure rates have remained stubbornly high for more than three decades. John Kotter's seminal article in the Harvard Business Review, “Why Transformation Efforts Fail,” was published over 30 years ago, and yet recent studies show little improvement. In fact, when it comes to digital transformation, the outcomes may be getting worse. McKinsey reports that 70% of large-scale efforts fail to deliver their intended results. Bain puts the number even higher, at 88%.

With all the intellectual horsepower, capital, and consulting frameworks poured into transformation efforts—digital, cultural, operational, and customer experience—why hasn't the success rate improved?

Speaking from my own 30+ years of experience, on both the sell-side as an enterprise technology vendor executive and the buy-side as a transformation leader inside technology and financial services firms, I've seen firsthand why so many initiatives struggle. I've led large-scale transformation programs myself, accumulating both the scars of implementation misfires and the wisdom of hard-earned successes. I've also sat on industry analyst boards, advisory councils, and technology leadership forums, giving me a front-row seat to dozens of transformations across industries.

The pattern is clear. Three culprits show up again and again:

• Overinflated expectations from vendors and advisors regarding the speed and effort ...