Topics Covered
• Failure of traditional transformation methods
• Enterprise orchestration and its advantages
• Four levels of transformation maturity
• The role of tech-enablement in success
• Steps to move toward predictive enterprise orchestration
Summary
Traditional transformation projects frequently fail due to outdated methods, with up to 70% of such initiatives falling short. According to our CEO, businesses must shift from static transformation projects to a continuous, tech-enabled enterprise orchestration model. This approach facilitates ongoing evolution and agility in the face of rapid change. Goldman identifies four maturity levels in transformation:
1. Reactive: Enterprises have siloed, manual processes and minimal tech-enablement, resulting in limited cross-functional visibility and a highly reactive posture.
2. Informed: Emerging cross-functional teams begin using tech tools, but governance and tracking remain inconsistent across the enterprise.
3. Proactive: Centralized project management emerges, typically through traditional platforms, but processes still lean on manual efforts and outdated methods.
4. Predictive: Full enterprise orchestration occurs, integrating automated workflows and real-time governance. Predictive intelligence allows proactive decision-making, rapid planning cycles, and minimal manual tracking efforts. Successful organizations leverage this level to shift into a constant state of evolution.
The article encourages organizations to assess their current state, break down silos, and adopt modern platforms to automate processes, enabling a “single source of truth” for decision-making. Transitioning from reactive to predictive levels is crucial for sustained success in an ever-evolving marketplace.
Frequently asked questions
Why do most transformation projects fail?
Because transformation is usually a fail state, not an opportunity: it's the recognition that the world changed and the organization didn't. Jay Goldman's Forbes piece puts the failure rate of traditional transformation projects at up to 70% and attributes it to outdated, static methods applied to a world where leading companies exist in constant evolution, what he calls survival of the fastest.
What are the four levels of transformation maturity?
Four, in Goldman's model. Reactive: siloed, manual processes with minimal tech enablement and little cross-functional visibility. Informed: cross-functional teams begin using tools, but governance and tracking are inconsistent. Proactive: centralized project management on traditional platforms, still heavily manual. Predictive: full enterprise orchestration with automated workflows, real-time governance, and predictive intelligence that enables rapid planning cycles.
What is enterprise orchestration?
A continuous, tech-enabled operating model in which the organization is always evolving rather than running discrete transformation projects. It replaces static plans and manual tracking with automated workflows, real-time governance, and a single source of truth for decisions, so the enterprise can respond to change as it happens rather than after a project is chartered.
How does an organization move from reactive to predictive transformation?
Assess which maturity level the organization is at today, break down the silos that keep teams working from separate data, and adopt a modern platform that automates processes and provides one source of truth. The article treats the move from reactive to predictive as a progression, not a single leap; each level removes a layer of manual effort.
