Digital transformation is a necessity for many businesses. But so many of these efforts fail due to a lack of change management.

Companies of all types and sizes are investing heavily in the digitization of their business models. Driven by the changing consumer expectations that B2C digital juggernauts like Uber, Netflix and Amazon have created, many companies are investing in reimagining their business using change management strategies. To achieve relevance in what is being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution the convergence of offline and digital, mobile, artificial intelligence, social and cloud companies must be more customer focused, agile, lean and interactive.

As organizations grow, particularly in the global space, change is inevitable. As businesses take on a more global-facing model, management must be ready to facilitate the changes that ensue. This means creating plans for introducing and managing change. Kotter 8-Step Change Model or Hayes model (Choose any one) that is widely used to help overcome barriers to change in organizations.

Select a problem and its solution either from your professional experience or personal experience and apply the Kotter or Hayes model as an approach to deliver and sustain the Digital Transformation solution implemented by the organisation that you worked for or witnessed. You may share your contribution to plan and execute change. Provide specific details about the problem and the solution. Then guide the on how the Hayes or Kotter model might be applied to sustain the solution.

Start by considering these five Ws:

Why is there a need for digital transformation?

What do you need in technology, processes, and management?

Who is responsible for the execution of the plan?

When will the changes take place, and what are the milestones?

Where will these changes occur?

Remember: Digital transformation is key to the survival of many companies, yet digital transformations are tough and frequently fail. Without successful change management, digital transformation efforts will fail to deliver results.