Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A CEOS GUIDE TO
LEADING DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
By Martin Danoesastro, Grant Freeland, and Thomas Reichert
This article is part of an ongoing series explor- Learn from the Outside but
ing changes in the workplace and in the nature Stay True to Your DNA
of work. The first piece explored 12 megatrends, Established companies need to embrace
such as automation, big data, demographics, the innovations that are powering the digi-
and diversity, that are revolutionizing the way tal economy. Digital natives such as Uber,
work gets done. Subsequent publications will Airbnb, and Spotify, for example, have suc-
explore digital governance, talent, and culture. cessfully attacked the taxi, lodging, and
music industries by meeting customer
T he success of a transformation
depends on an organizations leaders,
especially the CEO. In digital transforma-
needs in new ways and taking advantage of
technological innovation. Equally import-
ant, these companies have created new op-
tions, the CEO is even more critical because erating models and cultures.
of the magnitude of change, the degree of
disruption, and the power of inertia. Incumbents need to learn from the success-
es of these attackers, not assume that such
Digital transformation requires new ways lessons dont apply or make only slight ad-
of working, not just new technology. The justments to the status quo. CEOs should
scarcest resource at many companies is not carefully study how they can broadly apply
necessarily technological know-how but new ways of working, new levels of custom-
leadership. Leaders need the ability to sift er service, and new technology platforms
through an avalanche of digital initiatives, to their own organization. Its not enough
manage accelerating innovation cycles, and to take a quick road trip to Silicon Valley or
reshape the organization around new ap- Bangalore or put a tech executive on the
proaches such as agile. board of directors.
Here are five golden rules of digital trans- At the same time, companies should not
formation for CEOs to follow. abandon their core strengths and culture.
Grant Freeland is a senior partner and managing director in the firms Boston office and the global lead-
er of its People & Organization practice. He focuses on large-scale transformation and leadership. You may
contact him by email at freeland.grant@bcg.com.
Thomas Reichert is a senior partner and managing director in BCGs New York office. He is the firms
chairman of global practices and its global leader of digital and analytics. You may contact him by email at
reichert.thomas@bcg.com
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the worlds leading advi-
sor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public, and not-for-profit sectors in all
regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform
their enterprises. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and
markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients
achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results.
Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 85 offices in 48 countries. For more information, please
visit bcg.com.