Many companies claim they’re experiencing digital transformation. They often focus on tech projects and systems, overlooking the most important parts—people and products.
Since the pandemic, some businesses have tried to return to the past. But in today’s fast-moving digital world, that mindset can leave them falling behind or closing their doors entirely.
According to McKinsey, companies rolled out digital tools 20 to 25 times faster than expected. But most were short-term fixes, like enabling remote work or moving to the cloud. They didn’t lead to profound, lasting change. There was no shift in company culture, business model, or leadership mindset. Fundamental digital transformation isn’t logging into a new tool—whether it’s your CRM or your Betrolla login. It takes more than that to evolve truly. It means rethinking how your entire business runs.
Gartner echoes this view. They say many of these efforts are digitized—meaning companies are using digital tools—but they haven’t truly digitized. True digitalization disrupts how the business and even the industry functions. It’s not about a list of tech upgrades—it’s a long-term, strategic shift.
“A lot of companies think going digital means adding more tech,” says Giles Crouch, Chief Digital Officer at Sapient. “Sometimes, it’s about taking away technology or finding new ways to mix what we already have,” Crouch says. Many executives find it hard to think about both worlds simultaneously. These two worlds—physical and digital—often operate very differently. People act differently in each, which adds to the challenge.
Before the pandemic, a North Carolina State University study found that over half of the companies wasted money on digital transformation.
Behnam Tabrizi from Stanford explains why. Most digital tools can make businesses more efficient and better connect with customers. If the company’s people aren’t ready to change or if the system is broken, new tech can create even more problems.
Mars, a major CPG company, added some impressive digital tools, but the real game-changer has been investing in its people. They’ve trained 20,000 employees in design thinking, 30,000 in data and analytics, and 8,000 in AI and machine learning. Mars isn’t going digital—it’s speeding up its transformation. “We call it going ‘100x’—moving 100 times faster toward our goals,” says Chief Digital Officer Sandeep Dadlani.
Digital Transcendence Versus Digital Transformation
Jim Stadler, EVP and CMO of First Midwest Bank, puts it this way: when you’re stuck in constant motion, you lose sight of what matters. “Being digital is more than a task—it’s a mindset and a way of running your business.” “If it’s treated like another task, it’s not truly part of who you are as a company,” says Stadler.
Easier said than done. Rapidly rising startups are keeping a lot of executives up at night, and for good reason—they move fast and change the game. That kind of speed and flexibility can feel out of reach for older, established companies. Startups today are born and bred digital. If your business can’t think like a startup, don’t be surprised when one comes along and takes your place.
Executives should not let digital-native upstarts be a source of anxiety. It should drive them to adjust their mindsets and evolve their organization’s DNA.
Four Steps Toward Achieving Digital Mindfulness
Being is about staying real and grounded in purpose. Doing is about checking boxes and hitting goals. People—whether customers or partners—notice the difference. While balance is important, being rooted in purpose is what truly elevates a company. They must be balanced.
Mindfulness suggests that our mind primarily shapes our existence. We can become what we think. To practice digital mindfulness and truly become a digital-first business, focus on these core steps:
- Be proactive instead of merely responding to what’s happening in and around the business. Don’t observe the shifts in your industry—lean in and be part of the evolution. Be part of the transformation.
- Being aware of the entire business and market helps form new ideas. Seeing the bigger picture can help you discover new and innovative digital business models.
- Stay open to all sides—your team, customers, vendors, partners, even your competition, and regulators. Understanding the whole system helps you think long-term instead of reacting.
- Self-actualizing means seeing your business with compassion. Try to view your business through the eyes of outsiders, not the usual decision makers. This will help you develop fresh ideas to boost their experience or welcome new people to what you offer.
Western culture emphasizes doing or getting things done. This reflects a focus on short-term tasks instead of building lasting, meaningful solutions. As a result, the organization looks inward instead of focusing on its role in the world. At the end of the day, your employees, customers, and partners are human beings—not checkboxes on a to-do list. The more your strategy connects with their reasons for being, the more your organization will change its culture and grow to a higher level.
