Strategies For Scaling Digital Transformation

Part 5: From Capability to Culture — What It Takes to Scale Digital Success By now, most of us know: launching a shiny new platform or rolling out a fancy AI tool is not the hard part. Keeping momentum going? Embedding new ways of working into the DNA of the company? That’s the real game. Here’s one lesson that keeps showing up across every transformation I’ve been part of: Tech gives you scale. Culture gives you staying power. If culture doesn’t evolve alongside the tech, even the best tools turn into expensive shelfware. In my experience, making transformation sustainable isn’t about piling on more technology—it’s about reinforcing the right behaviors, building the right systems, and creating rituals that make change part of everyday life. Here’s what that looks like in practice: 🔹 Reward experimentation and intelligent failures Transformation thrives when people feel safe enough to try, fail smart, and try again. If failure gets punished, innovation dies quietly. Leaders set the tone—either you create psychological safety, or you create hesitation. 🔹 Spotlight internal champions Change moves faster when people see their peers succeeding. Not because of another keynote speech—but because they see someone like them doing it. Champions aren’t just influencers; they’re accelerators. 🔹 Make new behaviors part of the rhythm Weekly OKRs. Regular demos. Quick retrospectives. Rituals matter because they force conversation, reflection, and adaptation. They operationalize change without needing a “transformation initiative” stamped on it. 🔹 Upskill broadly, not narrowly AI and digital skills can’t live in a center of excellence. Everyone needs a level of fluency—whether that’s using #GenAI responsibly, interpreting data, or simply knowing how new workflows work. Tools like citizen development platforms or internal learning hubs (like Kraft Heinz’s Ownerversity) help democratize skills at scale. 🔹 Leadership must show up—and mean it Culture shifts when leadership doesn’t just approve transformation, but lives it. When they clear roadblocks, celebrate intelligent risks, and model the new behaviors themselves. If there’s one thing digital transformation taught me, it’s this: The real transformation isn’t what happens in the technology. It’s what happens in the mindsets, rituals, and behaviors of the people who use it. That’s how you move from digital launches to digital living. And that’s where sustainable, scalable success is built. #DigitalTransformation #Culture #Leadership #ScalingTransformation #ChangeManagement #AI

𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝟳𝟰% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟱𝟬𝟬 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗨𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝟵𝟱% 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹. 𝗪𝗵𝘆? 𝗣𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. When I stepped in as CTO, it was clear that if our transformation was going to succeed, we had to improve execution. So, instead of chasing shiny tools or trendy models, we relentlessly focused on the basics. 🧱 Here’s my advice for anyone on this journey: 1️⃣ 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 Standardization doesn’t limit creativity — it removes roadblocks. Certified pipelines, test plans, and frameworks eliminate chaos, helping teams deliver faster. 2️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗠𝗮𝘅𝗶𝗺𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆 You need rules, but only enforce the “no-regret” ones. This gives teams the flexibility to innovate solutions for different regions or customers. 3️⃣ 𝗦𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 Take it step by step and front-load complexity. Doing everything in parallel or saving the hardest for last will result in gridlock and deflating surprises. 4️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 Tech teams know a lot, but the business knows best. Demand clear requirements so you can build what's needed... and not bridges to nowhere. 5️⃣ 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 They’re called ‘digital transformations,’ but they’re really business transformations. Everyone — not just tech — must own it. There's always more to do, but we’ve made huge strides this year:   ✅ Cut over four 40+ year-old mainframes to the cloud ✅ Migrated all North American mainframe pipelines to data fabric ✅ Closed data centers from Alpharetta to Australia ✅ Beat our all-time stability records ✅ Achieved our best-ever tech hygiene stats 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀? We won’t be in the 95%. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄𝘀? We’re now seeing the transformation benefits we envisioned at the start: AI innovation, model precision, next-gen services, enhanced resilience, and more. 🚀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀—𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. What are digital transformation lessons you've learned? I’d love to know! 👇

12 critical questions before you scale AI across your enterprise. Answer wrong and join the 95% failure rate. You're not alone if this sounds familiar. 95% of companies hit this exact wall. MIT's latest research shows a brutal truth: Most organizations can run successful AI pilots. But they completely fail when they try to scale across the enterprise. The gap between "proof of concept" and "business transformation" is where careers get stuck. Where companies get stuck. The problem isn't your technology. It's your strategy. Scaling AI isn't just "do more pilots." It requires answering fundamentally different questions: → Authority and accountability at scale → Infrastructure that can handle enterprise workloads → Change management beyond early adopters → Governance that prevents AI chaos These 12 questions separate the winners from the losers: WHO ↳ WHO will have authority to override departmental resistance? ↳ WHO will be accountable when AI decisions create consequences? WHAT: ↳ WHAT data infrastructure must be rebuilt for enterprise workloads? ↳ WHAT governance framework will prevent AI sprawl? WHERE: ↳ WHERE will legacy systems create integration bottlenecks? ↳ WHERE will you establish AI centers of excellence? WHEN: ↳ WHEN will you pull back if pilot metrics don't translate? ↳ WHEN is the optimal sequence for rolling out AI? WHY: ↳ WHY are successful pilots failing to replicate results? ↳ WHY will your approach create defendable competitive moats? HOW: ↳ HOW will you maintain AI performance as complexity increases? ↳ HOW will you transform culture from "AI as tool" to "AI as capability"? The companies that answer these questions first will dominate 2025. The ones that don't will spend another year in pilot purgatory. Save this for your next strategy session. Your competitive advantage depends on it. ♻️ Repost to help leaders avoid costly AI scaling mistakes ➕ Follow Gabriel Millien for AI strategy that works Infographic style inspiration: @Prem Natarajan