Back in 2022, I witnessed approximately 180 tonnes of spoil (mostly chalk) being loaded and transported away from my house as preparations were made to build a new ‘subterranean’ garage and extension above. With six months scheduled for the entire build, it took 9 weeks of that time just to prepare the space, the first construction (foundations) not starting until week 9 itself! However without this preparation (and excruciating attention to the accuracy of measurements) the structural works to follow would almost certainly be problematic and potentially doomed to ultimately fail.
It is this reliance on foundations that made my original post back in 2022 a fantastic analogy for digital transformation within business – so join me for a couple of minutes taking a look back and I’ll explain.
When building, getting the foundation right allows the continuing building work to be structurally sound, true to the specified design, remain ‘trouble free’ through the expected lifetime, deliver on its promised benefits, be built on time and within the specified budget.
With digital transformation the same principles apply…
The right preparation
Like anything in life, if you start incorrectly…
“…forever will it dominate your destiny” – Jedi Master Yoda
Planning. You cannot build a house (well not in the UK anyway) without a formalised plan and structural calculations. You need to understand what benefits the structure will bring and the environment in which it needs to provide those benefits.
Neither can you provide a technology solution without understanding how it will fit. This initial preparation will ensure the first phase of any digital transformation project will deliver on the initial promised benefit - with minimal disruption and within the expected time and budget constraints.
Before the solution proposal is even offered, knowing what issue is to be addressed and what the expected outcome of any change should deliver is critical. Not understanding ‘where you are’ and ‘where you want to be’ will lead to a path of indecisiveness, project bloat, implementation delays and potentially completely the wrong solution solving a completely different issue.
The right foundation
“Without a solid foundation, you’ll have trouble creating anything of value” – Erika Oppenheimer
With the issue identified, your chosen consultant will (or should) provide a solution proposal that, once installed, will certainly meet the requirements outlined. However, this initial solution is just the start – it will be what resolves the initial issue but also provides the solid base on which further transformation and therefore further benefits can occur.
In the same way that the foundations of a building dictate everything after, so does that initial informed, strategic choice of software or service - its strengths and limitations will influence the process from that point forward.
The abandoned foundation
“It’s not failure, it’s unfinished success” – unknown
Having spent a year designing, applying for planning, obtaining the funding, 8 weeks digging out solid chalk and another week pouring concrete, why would we then just build a new garage and stop? There is an office, kitchen and master bedroom suite unbuilt – the potential unrealised of those foundations fully realised.
This is essentially what occurs when organisations consult and digitally transform only that initial single process having discussed the wider potential during planning. A great foundation has been created with unrealised potential for further benefits across the organisation – unfortunately this stage is where many organisations remain having taken the first step!
Realising the potential
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese proverb
Having created a solid and trusted foundation, to not continue to build would be a travesty. With the foundations laid, the really hard work is done, what happens now is the fun bit, taking the potential and creating further benefits. It is nearly always true that the solution provided has core functionality that far exceeds the initial implementation parameters and it is just there, waiting…
In building terms, that would be like us having the foundations put in and the initial structural walls completed but then not using the space created – putting a garage door on and parking the car in it but then not fitting a kitchen in the room above, not fitting the bathroom suite in the ensuite, not using the new bedroom or new office space. Essentially going to all the trouble of building something with great potential and then walking away.
Food for thought? Not quite sure what else your existing document management platform could do? Want to maximise the potential of your digital transformation foundations? Perhaps you haven’t yet even started planning! Come and have a conversation - see what further beneficial potential could be unlocked using your existing tools.
An initial conversation with PacSol costs nothing and it comes with far less (chalk) dust than digging new foundations!
Toby Gilbertson, Director. October 2024
(Based on an original article published March 2022)
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