To reverse the slide, Basalla recommends cutting the fluff and focusing on a single flow. “Find the process with the biggest pain-to-payoff ratio and fix that first,” he advises. “If a digital tool saves someone time, they will use it, but if it takes 10 extra clicks to do the same task they were doing in Excel, it’s a hard no.” People, Basalla explains, vote with their time.
6. Faulty execution
Digital transformations often falter due to a lack of disciplined execution or insufficient focus and commitment from the top of the organization, says Karthik Krishnamurthy, chief transformation officer and CFO at Smith and Howard, a tax, accounting, and business advisory firm. Without strong executive sponsorship, it’s difficult to sustain momentum, he observes. “You’ll begin to see key deadlines slipping, results falling short of expectations, and diminishing engagement — especially from senior leadership.”
Krishnamurthy recommends periodically validating the transformation’s original assumptions and benefits to see whether they’re still relevant. “If they are, it often comes down to re-engaging leadership,” he says. “When a CEO or business unit leader actively owns the initiative — tracking progress daily or weekly — the organization typically responds, and momentum can be regained.”
