A quick read on taking out the role of transformation.
In a Zoom call today I was discussing with a very experienced program/project manager the work we do now versus where we were when we last occupied the same floor, some five years ago.
When I had to use the word “transformation” to describe the work I’ve been involved in since, I added: “you know what I mean, but actually transformation is a very bad term.” Why? Why did I suddenly revolt against the word transformation?
In organizations, especially large ones, ways of working are described as a collection of processes and the tools used in and around those processes. Changes in the ways of working — sometimes because of new tools, sometimes because of a different process step — are already a task in their own right inside a large organization. Making those changes stick and deliver their intended value becomes a task, and sometimes even the task of an entire department: the transformation office (TMO).
In another meeting with a well-known consultancy firm, the word transformation appeared in the title of a slide as a goal: “X … aims to transform the business into a digital business and…” I know my colleagues in the field of this so-called transformation, and I know the partners at the consultancy firm know it too — but articulating “transformation” as a goal just highlights how persistent and widespread the idea of the journey as an end has become.
The friction I want to highlight is this: transformation is not a goal in business. Transformation is an observational statement, made after changes have occurred. (The same applies to innovation, by the way.) Something went from 1 to 10, from A to Z, or from corn to popcorn. Eating the popcorn is the goal of the customer. The net positive return is the outcome sought by the maker. The transformation itself serves no purpose.
It is the pursued outcome that creates the need (or not) for transformation. Transformation is the difference between start point and endpoint. The endpoint is why a transformation is needed. Coming back to my knee-jerk resistance against the word: changes should be the answer to “how to do it?” “How” is ultimately the content of a transformation.
The word transformation has become part of our business vernacular as if it were a goal. “Transformation lead”, “Transformation office”, and so on. It would be much better to sunset the word and start chasing outcomes instead. “Outcome lead.” “Outcome office.” Keep the outcome as the goal of your activities.