The digital transformation failure rate is frequently cited at 70%. I've seen that number debated, but here's what I haven't seen debated: most transformation failures aren't technology failures. The technology usually works. What fails is the organizational capacity to use it effectively.
After 25 years of leading transformations — and earning a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt along the way — I'm convinced that process discipline is the single biggest predictor of transformation success. Not the technology you choose. Not the budget you allocate. The rigor you bring to understanding and optimizing the processes before you introduce the technology.
The Automation Trap
Here's the pattern I see: a company identifies a problem. Someone proposes a technology solution. The technology gets implemented. The problem doesn't go away — it just moves. Why? Because the technology automated a broken process. You've now got a very efficient machine producing the same mediocre results, just faster.
If you automate a broken process, you get automated brokenness. Faster isn't better when you're going in the wrong direction.
Lean Six Sigma teaches you to fix the process first. Map it. Measure it. Find the waste, the variation, the handoffs that add no value. Eliminate them. Then automate what remains.
How I Apply Lean Six Sigma to Digital Transformation
Define: What Problem Are We Actually Solving?
Before any technology discussion, I insist on a clear problem statement. Not "we need a new ERP" — that's a solution, not a problem. The problem might be: "order fulfillment errors cost us $80K per month and are driving customer complaints." Now we have something measurable to work against.
Measure: Where Are We Today?
You can't improve what you don't measure. Before introducing any change, establish baselines for the metrics that matter. How long does the current process take? What's the error rate? What does it cost? These numbers become the benchmark against which we measure transformation success.
Analyze: Why Does the Problem Exist?
Root cause analysis before solution design. Every time. I've walked into organizations where five people had five different explanations for why a process was broken — and none of them were right. Map the actual workflow (not the documented one — the real one). Follow the data. Find where value is created and where waste accumulates.
Improve: Design the Solution
This is where technology enters the picture — after we understand the problem, have baseline measurements, and know the root causes. The technology solution is designed to optimize the improved process, not to replicate the broken one. In practice, this often means the technology scope is smaller than originally planned because we've already eliminated waste that the technology was supposed to "solve."
Control: Make It Stick
The phase most transformations skip. Control means monitoring systems that catch regression. Dashboards that track the metrics we established in the Measure phase. Training programs that ensure new team members understand both the process and the technology. Without Control, every improvement decays back toward the baseline.
The Results Speak
In every transformation I've led, applying Lean Six Sigma discipline before technology decisions has reduced implementation timelines, lowered costs, and — most importantly — delivered outcomes that stick. When you give technology a solid process foundation, it amplifies human capability instead of amplifying human mistakes.
The 70% failure rate isn't a technology problem. It's a discipline problem. Fix the discipline, and the technology takes care of itself.