Most C-suites are not engaged in digital transformation. They are engaged in digitisation.
It sounds like semantics, but the difference is the reason 70% of digital projects fail.
If your "strategy" is to buy a new CRM to make your sales team 10% faster, you aren't transforming. You are just polishing the engine of a sinking ship.
1. The Difference is Survival
We need to stop using these terms interchangeably.
- Digitisation: Converting analogue information into digital formats (e.g., scanning paper invoices).
- Digitalisation: Using digital tools to improve existing processes (e.g., using Slack instead of email).
- Digital Transformation: The deliberate, strategic repositioning of your business in the digital economy.
If you are just doing the first two, you are an Optimiser, not a Transformer. You are using 2026 technology to run a 1990 business model.
2. The "Random Acts of Digital" Trap
When you don’t know the difference, you end up with "Random Acts of Digital."
This is where a company buys AI tools, launches an app, and moves to the cloud—all without a cohesive strategy.
It’s like buying the best ingredients in the world but refusing to use a recipe. You don’t get a Michelin-star meal; you get a mess.
3. The 5 Building Blocks (In Order)
- Strategy: Where are we going? (The Map)
- Culture: Do we have the stomach for this? (The Team)
- People: Do we have the skills? (The Talent)
- Innovation: How do we create new value? (The Method)
- Technology: What tools do we need? (The Tools)
Notice that Technology is last. Most companies put it first. That is why they fail.
The Bottom Line
Stop asking "What technology should we buy?"
Start asking "What is our strategy for the digital age?"
If you can’t answer the second question, the answer to the first one doesn't matter.