Regardless of the organizational structure, there is a real need to build the transformation on what we call each company's unique DNA in terms of what it knows how to do, what it wants to consolidate, and what it does not. Doing as others do is usually a guarantee to miss these three pillars and focus the attention of the company's resources solely on Time-to-Market at all costs. As unpredictable as it may seem, it is sometimes just as important to know or dare to say no to digitalisation at all costs! Indeed, this approach makes sense if the organization is not ready or if prerequisites have to be built before going any further in the transformation project: alignment of vision and strategy, coherence between strategy and structures, articulation of structures on relevant project portfolios, and the commitment of employees around projects and the global vision. 

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Another very important observation: any digital transformation effort must include the "customer focus" box, which should certainly not be a slogan, but above all a constant practice. Reviewing the organisation starting from the customer through design thinking is a necessity that will make the organisational and collaborative model refocus on the customer. The methodological tool is, in this case, only one piece of the puzzle to be rebuilt, the other pieces being change management for the appropriation of new operating methods and information flows, the adaptation of managerial practices and the empowerment of employees for better decision-making and self-management. In this case, flattening organizations also means that information and steering systems must be rethought. It is no longer a question of considering managers as actors in the hierarchical dissemination of information, but rather as facilitators. The data and information resulting from this hierarchy therefore become accessible to all employees, in full transparency, to promote individual decision-making and steering. This conception supposes the existence of a real consideration of an architecture that federates data, the ability of managers to reinforce the role of employees as producers and users of data, and finally, an organizational alignment that allows digital transformation to find fertile ground for its development.

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At the top of their companies, executives are swamped with information, indicators, and dashboards. They find themselves, whether they like it or not, in the grip of fashion effects and in a permanent race towards the endless Time-to-Market. In this race, the company and its leaders find themselves unable to assert themselves as a structure with its own distinctive identity. The danger, therefore, would be to continue trying to decipher trends, when they are so volatile and it is useless to explore them through usual methods, such as commissioning a study, establishing a diagnosis or identifying a plan of action. This raises the question as to why this would be a dangerous approach. The answer is quite simple: these tools, which are certainly very good solutions, are unfortunately not sufficient when it comes to situations involving complex problems and environments.

 

Taking all these specificities into account, the Trusted Advisors transformation model has been enriched by gateways that take up practices that allow for evolution between the previously defined boxes and zones. These gateways can be intermediate steps that will consolidate the process as a whole and create homogeneity and consistency between the four zones.