Hey there, fellow digital warriors! ⚔️

How’s the battle going on your side of the screen? Grab your coffee, energy drink, or whatever fuels your day, because we’ve got some exciting talk coming your way. We’re diving deep into the wild world of digital transformation (DX), where the struggle is all too real and the stakes are sky-high.

Remember our last get-together episode ? Yeah, that one where we peeled back the layers on why:

only a pathetic 7% of digital transformations actually succeed. 🙀

Let that sink in for a second—7%! That means a whopping 93% go up in flames, taking trillions of dollars with them. We’re not just talking about numbers here; we’re talking about millions of lives and families getting caught in the crossfire of corporate fumbling. It’s like watching a slow-motion train wreck, and we’re all tied to the tracks.

Today, we’re kicking off a five-part deep-dive analysis into the major culprits derailing your DX success. These are the silent killers I’ve spotted time and again, and trust me, after countless post-mortems with boards and big-shot companies, they weren’t even on their radar until they called me in for a last-ditch rescue mission.

We’re talking about hidden economic assassins that are burning through 15% of the European Union’s GDP. And if current trends keep up, by 2027, that could skyrocket to 27%! 🤯 That’s a jaw-dropping figure that should make every C-level exec and employee involved in a DX sit up and ask where their money and efforts are going off the rails.

So buckle up, and let’s start unmasking the first DX failure principle.

The First Culprit: Lack of Talent in a Dysfunctional Environment

So, what’s causing this colossal faceplant? Let’s cut to the chase—the lack of talent and the dysfunctional environments we’re often stuck in are the primary culprits. Companies are trying to sprint in the digital marathon wearing flip-flops, folks. They’re stuck with leadership with a previous-century academic pedigree and social cultures that treat IT and innovation like it’s got the plague. Talented people are either jumping ship or getting their wings clipped by colleagues who’d rather keep everything status quo.

Without the right passionate talents leading the charge in your digital transformation, you can forget about evolving your company or transforming it—no amount of brute force will make it happen.

Why is it happening? A Quick Trip Down History

Now, let’s rewind a bit and give a shout-out to Professor Ron Westrum. Back in 🗓️ 2004, he broke down organizational cultures into three types with the ‘A Typology of Organisational Cultures ’ publication:

1. Pathological (Power-Oriented): Think Game of Thrones, but with fewer dragons and more backstabbing.
2. Bureaucratic (Rule-Oriented): Keep your head down and trust the process. Innovation? Not on their watch.
3. Generative (Performance-Oriented): The dream team. High trust, high cooperation, and a breeding ground for innovation.

Then, in 🗓️ 2018, we got the book “Accelerate” by Nicole Forsgren, Jez Humble, and Gene Kim, which took Westrum’s theories and slapped them onto the IT world with the famous DORA model . They showed us that to achieve the status of high-performing in digital transformation, you need to nail the socio-technical aspect of your company. A scientifically proven way of saying

you must evolve your tech and your people, like upgrading your hardware and software simultaneously; one doesn’t work without the other.

Interestingly, the socio-technical systems theory that “Accelerate” and R. Westrum tap into dates all the way back to the 🗓️ 1950s, originating from studies in British coal mines. This shows that the secrets to successful transformation have been around for decades, just buried in different fields. The foundational research was conducted by Eric Trist and his colleagues at the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations. Their studies of British coal miners led to the development of socio-technical systems theory, emphasizing the interplay between social factors and technology in the workplace. [ Trist, E. L., & Bamforth, K. W. (1951)“Some Social and Psychological Consequences of the Longwall Method of Coal Getting.”]

This groundbreaking work showed that:

technological advancements alone weren’t enough; understanding and optimizing the social dynamics was crucial for improving productivity and job satisfaction.

Talent Retention Woes and the Mediocrity Dilemma

This is where many boardrooms fail to turn theory into practice. The fact that, over 70 years ago, people were already linking socio-technical evolution with well-being and happiness shows just how crucial people are to the equation. Back then, the theory was applied to coal mines, with workers using pickaxes and brute force. Now, we’re in a whole new ballgame where work is powered by the brain, emotional intelligence, and knowledge.

When talented individuals are deprived of fun and psychological safety, they’ll perform at, best, 10% of their potential. Research shows that a simple context switch can sap cognitive power by 50%. A disengaged talent might give your organization only crumbles of their brainpower on their best day. What a colossal waste of potential! So listen up, my dear C-level executives, because here’s the kicker:

in these pathological and bureaucratic cultures, talented folks are heading for the exits faster than you can say, “I’m outta here.”

They’re either rejected by colleagues who feel threatened or bored out of their minds doing soul-sucking tasks that don’t challenge them. Meanwhile, the people who stick around are often just coasting—comfortable but not exactly setting the world on fire. This creates a mediocrity mindset where the whole organization settles into a low-performance rut. It’s like a sports team where all the star players have left, and the rest are content just collecting a paycheck.

Bottom line? Only below-average employees will fill your roster, unable to find a better place with a better wage. This fuels HR to create salary policies that pay just enough to keep them, knowing they won’t perform. Guess what? No new talent will ever join your DX mission. And so you’re doomed to hire high-stakes consultants to run playbooks that make you think something is moving. The same consultants, by the way, are reporting that 91% of the DX projects worldwide are failing. Isn’t that ironic? 🤣

The Gigantic Upskilling Band-Aid (That Isn’t Working)

So, what’s the corporate world’s grand plan to fix this mess?

Massive upskilling programs!

Sounds great, right? Except they’re throwing a measly $1,000 per person per year at the problem. Seriously? That’s barely enough for a decent online course these days. Companies might publicly announce these huge training initiatives, but typically, when you peek under the hood, it’s all market fluff and no substance. Otherwise, why are 96% of all these guys going out from renowned companies joining our SW Craftsmanship Dojo® unable to pass our simple white belt graduation test? 🤦🏻

Furthermore, these programs often lead to productivity loss and churn out cookie-cutter roles that follow the “by-the-book” transformation playbook—an anti-pattern that ignores the human element and the business domain’s intrinsic complexity. Instead of empowering people with active learning and coaching, they’re shoving everyone into the same ill-fitting mold, hoping that’ll somehow spark innovation. Spoiler alert: it won’t.

The Game Changer: Introducing the SW Craftsmanship Dojo®

But hold up, all is not lost! Let me introduce you to the SW Craftsmanship Dojo® . This isn’t your typical training program; it’s a whole new ballgame. The Dojo is a continuous-active learning and practice model rooted in behavioral engineering and neuroscience, following a holistic socio-technical evolution model. Yeah, we’re getting science-y here.

Here’s how it’s different:

• Developers at the Center: It puts the spotlight on the developers—the critical mass of the modern industry. They’re not just cogs in the machine or the IT cost center to shut down; they’re your company’s engine driving innovation.
• Behavioral Engineering: It leverages how our brains actually work to make learning stick, and to reduce social friction. No more death by PowerPoint. Welcome to neuroscience and social-behavioral psychology!
• Continuous-Active Learning: It’s not a one-and-done workshop (like the larger majority of dojos out in the market). It’s an ongoing process that becomes part of the daily workflow. Welcome continuous mentoring, tutoring, and coaching, transforming vanilla profiles into the talents your company is so desperate in need of!
• Formula 1 Standards: Inspired by the high-performance world of Formula 1 racing, it aims to elevate engineering standards to elite levels. Forget the actual no ethos, zero quality code of conduct the market has forced you to accept and believe in!

This model has been battle-tested for nearly two decades and showcased at multiple conferences. It started in the adrenaline-fueled world of Formula 1 and has been fine-tuned to help organizations transform their teams from the ground up. The Software Craftsmanship Dojo® doesn’t just upskill; it transforms cultures, sparking with the right data to turn pathological and bureaucratic environments into generative powerhouses.

Wrapping It Up: Time to Flip the Script

So there you have it, digital comrades. We’ve got a DX landscape littered with failed projects, wasted money, and disillusioned talent. But it doesn’t have to be this way. By understanding the real issues—dysfunctional culture, talent drain, ineffective upskilling—we can start to turn the tide.

The SW Craftsmanship Dojo® offers a revolutionary data-driven approach that’s all about empowering the people who make digital transformation possible with the right tools to take the right decisions. It’s time to ditch the cookie-cutter programs and invest in models that actually work. Trying it as the cornerstone of your DX or integrating it into an already started one is your game-changer! And trust me, it’ll save you a lot of money in the long run!

So, are you gonna keep spinning your wheels, or are you ready to shift gears and blaze a new trail? The choice is yours, but one thing’s for sure—doing nothing isn’t an option. Hiring who claims 91% failure rates, asking for an 8-digit invoice, either! So try something new , and be smarter than your competitors.

Let’s gear up, get our hands dirty, and transform your organization.

⏭️ Stay tuned. In the next episode, we’re gonna correlate how the talent issue is affecting the next one, triggering a vicious domino loop: Failure to Translate Economic Objectives into Tactical Goals.

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