Since childhood I had a fascination for butterflies, marveling at not only their beauty and freedom, but their entire metamorphosis. Monarchs also exhibit tremendous strength and will-power as they migrate long distances. As I continued to grow professionally becoming a Transformational CIO, I could not help drawing similarities between butterflies and enterprises during the transformation process. This article will attempt to give you a new lens to view from the perspective of our winged brethren on what we should watch out for as we embark on Digital Transformation in our enterprises.
Most of us have learnt that there are 4 stages of a butterfly – Eggs, Larva (Caterpillar), Pupa (Chrysalis) and Adult butterfly. However, it is the metamorphosis between these stages that is intriguing.
First Stage: Butterfly – Eggs; Enterprise – Emerging Stage
Eggs of butterflies come in various shapes and sizes. Some are round, some oval and some may be ribbed. In some species like Monarchs, you can see the tiny caterpillar already growing inside it. Although not all eggs make it, there is a clear vision of the end-state when the egg is hatched.
The parallel to the Enterprise is its Emerging stage when they are coming up with their ideas and making their first investments in the transformation. The ideas are usually pretty diverse and not all ideas are successful. Companies should start with small ideas, while having a clear end-state vision in mind. The outputs at this stage of the transformation are usually early digital products such as Mobile Responsive Sites, Apps and active sponsorship by a Business Unit or a department.
Second Stage: Butterfly – Larva (Caterpillar); Enterprise – Growth Stage
The second stage is all about growth. Within a span of few weeks, larvae grow exponentially. The caterpillar will molt several times to gain size and mass and can go through 5-6 instars (stages between molting) before pupating. It starts eating its eggshell as a source of protein and develops 4000 muscles with 12 eyes and 6 real legs and multiple false legs. They use the toxins from the host plant for its own self-defense. Some fall prey to the predators even though they have tried their best.
The parallel between this growth stage of the butterfly and the enterprise can be easily drawn. Once the ideas/eggs are hatched, enterprises need to focus on rapid growth of those ideas. It needs to create agile teams that are experimenting and creating solutions. Enterprises should be willing to accept failure and shed its biases as the team grows from the learnings. Organizations need to have patience at this stage as people may end up with low self-esteem if their failures are criticized. The team will get stronger from the learnings (similar to the muscular caterpillar) and be watchful with multiple eyes at other organizations who have gone through a similar journey. It is very important to gain this knowledge through consultants and research agencies as they have a large portfolio of companies that they worked with. It is also very important to hold on to the vision of the main purpose/goal and stay true to the values of the company. It is also very important to co-exist with the eco-system and leverage the startups and other companies which it can use for its own self-defense and accelerated growth. Organizations should make sure they don’t lose focus on Security as they may fall prey to predators who are waiting for organizations to take shortcuts in development. The outputs of this stage for the Digital Transformation are emerging digital products, quality-based metrics, and partially integrated systems.
Third stage – Butterfly – Pupa (Chrysalis); Enterprise – Change Management/Adoption
The pupa stage is one of the coolest stages of the butterfly. This stage is inward-looking and transforming from within. After the caterpillar has reached its target height and weight, it becomes a pupa/chrysalis. Although from outside, the pupa may look as if it is resting there is a massive change happening within. Before hatching, when a caterpillar is still forming in the egg, it creates an imaginal disc for each of the adult body part. Once a caterpillar has disintegrated all of its tissues except for the imaginal discs, the discs use the protein-rich soup all around them to fuel the rapid cell-division required to form the wings and all the features of an adult butterfly. Disturbing a caterpillar inside a chrysalis can botch the transformation.
The parallel to the Enterprise is striking. This is the stage when enterprise needs to look inwards and focus all its efforts on change management, which is the hardest part of the Digital Transformation. If this part is botched, then the transformation is not successful. In the first 2 stages, enterprises need to start creating their own imaginal discs, which are in the form of enterprise platforms that need to be built. Enterprise Architecture teams need to work closely with the business to start building the foundations of the platform in form of API platform, Identity Access Management platform, Data Analytics platform etc. As the enterprise gets to this stage of the transformation, it leverages the foundational aspects and its own domain expertise to build competitive advantage for itself. The organization should be willing to shed its past practices and leverage these foundational assets along with its core business expertise to evolve into a new organization. The outputs of this stage are complete business alignment, DevOps, clear metrics & benefits articulated, and active investment made.
Final Stage – Butterfly – Adult; Enterprise – Fully Integrated/Mature
When the butterfly first emerges from the chrysalis, both of the wings are soft and folded against its body as it had to fit all its new parts inside of the pupa. Once the butterfly emerges, it pumps blood into the wings to flap and fly. Usually within a 3-4-hour period, the butterfly masters flying and will search for a mate to reproduce. They are in constant look out to reproduce and when they do, they start from Stage 1 again.
The Enterprise is similar as it becomes fully integrated/mature after emerging from a successful change management/adoption of its digital transformation initiative. It cannot rest on its laurels and needs to constantly strive for related diversification and growth. In its Maturity stage, it needs to constantly look for avenues for growth by geographical expansion or through partnerships/alliances or by acquiring companies/technology to achieve related diversification or accelerate innovation. Enterprise Transformation is a constant loop like the lifecycle of the butterfly, and it needs to constantly evolve and continue its growth, while ensuring that it is able to integrate the acquisitions well and drive change across the enterprise to adapt its processes and be agile to respond.