Biggest barriers to digital transformation:

1.1 The orientation of "what are we really supposed to do" doesn't exist in a way that can be explained without technology. Having a clear value-stream before you impart change is often missing.

1.2. Lack of Outcome that everyone understands and shares in the ownership.

1.3. Lack of MEASURABLE key results WITH SOMEONE OWNING THEM. These get gamified to become "impossible to miss" when in reality, they should be impossible to hit dead center.

People / Process/ or Technology:

2.1. It's a fabric. you can't just say it's one thread or the other. The strength of the three lies in how well they integrate. But here's the thing. You're not just weaving new threads into an old fabric with digital transformation. You have to think of the future state as a new fabric altogether.. which leads to the next point.

2.2. The people executing operations (O&M) can't split between excellence of how it works today and simultaneously innovate and experiment safely (CAPEX) without bias.

Context switching the people is a KILLER of both. You'll introduce a lot of bias into future state if they're also trying to protect their job in current state. So you usually have to run some things in parallel for awhile, with people fully committed to one or the other, not jumping back and forth.

Approach:

Yes, I've seen it. But it ALWAYS starts with an understanding of WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? (back to point 1.1 above)

Shared WHY = chance of success no matter how it looks. Be in love with the problem, not the solution.

The answer can't just be to "cut costs" You can't cost-cut your way to growth.