7 Best Practices for Your Digital Transformation Projects

Antonio Nieto-Rodriguez is a leading expert in project management and strategy implementation, recognized by Thinkers50 with the prestigious award “Ideas into Practice.” He is the creator of concepts like The Project Economy and the Project Manifesto. He is author of Lead Successful Projects (2019, Penguin) The Project Revolution (2019, LID) and The Focused Organization (2012 Gower). He has been teaching project management for more than a decade to senior executives at Duke CE, Skolkovo, Solvay Business School, and Vlerick. Antonio has held executive PMO positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers, BNP Paribas, and GlaxoSmithKline. Former Chairman of the Project Management Institute, he is the co-founder of the Strategy Implementation Institute and the global movement Brightline.

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The age of digital transformation truly came into existence during the late 20th century, with the advent of the internet and the increasing ubiquity of digital technology in business and industry. However, the concept and term "digital transformation" (as we understand it today) didn't really start until the late 2000s with the growth of internet-based technologies, e-commerce and mobile solutions.

It's important to note that the evolution of digital transformation projects hasn't been a smooth journey. A 2019 report by McKinsey stated that less than 30% of these initiatives succeed in achieving their intended results, which is a quite low performance.

Some high-profile examples of failed digital transformation projects include General Electric (GE) and Ford. GE's attempt to become a digital-industrial leader cost it billions and significantly declined its market value. Similarly, Ford's 2004 "Digital Worker" project aimed to digitize its production process, but after a $200 million investment, the project was abandoned due to an overwhelming number of technical issues.

On the other hand, there have also been many successful digital transformation projects. DBS Bank embarked on a company-wide digital transformation initiative in 2014 that successfully turned it into a leading digital bank. This project involved comprehensive …

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