We’ve been trained by Hollywood and the Brothers Grimm: Transformation should feel like a combination of Cinderella and Spiderman. A dramatic transformation unfolding in front of our eyes in a very short period of time. Just like the transformation of caterpillars to butterflies or from an ugly duckling to a beautiful swan.
We love these dramatic stories, they are part of our upbringing, the way the world should work, an escapist dream. But these stories are like lottery wins. They happen once in a blue moon, but they are a major exception. The rule and reality are different.
99.9% of transformations are akin to an erosion process. According to Wikipedia, erosion is “the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth’s crust, and then transports it to another location[1] (not to be confused with weathering which involves no movement). This natural process is caused by the dynamic activity of erosive agents, that is, water, ice (glaciers), snow, air (wind), plants, animals, and humans.”
Erosion doesn’t happen overnight and it’s not a beautiful Hollywood story. It’s a daily process that might affect changes it desires of a period of months and years. And it occurs when the transformational forces keep at it every day.
Has your Digital Transformation Plan more chances of succeeding if you throw away the Cinderella storyline and focus on the daily erosion process?
Digital Enlightenment 