Canadian Government Executive - Volume 23 - Issue 09

16 / Canadian Government Executive // December 2017 Digital Transformation “When digital transformation is done right, it’s like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, but when done wrong, all you have is a really fast caterpillar.” George Westerman, Principal Research Scientist, MIT Sloan Initiative on the Digital Economy many years, and in different quarters within government, has been one that was met with great resistance. This opposition, as strange as it may seem, comes from our human nature. It does not want to change. It does not like changes and will only change or consider changing if maintaining the status quo is going to be detrimental to our wellbeing. English Naturalist and Geologist Charles Darwin once said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” It is by adapting to change that a person, F or many years now, the buzz in government has been around digital transformation. A techno- logical metamorphosis is a must for any government, so as to deliver great- er value to its citizens. But this change, even though it has been proclaimed for business, community or government can survive. This is a law that once complied with can increase our chances of surviv- ability. It is how well a business adapts to digital transformation that will ensure its future competitiveness, and eventually its survival. This digital change is not a one-time change though. It is a transformation that must be ongoing. As innovation continues to grow and evolve, so must digital trans- formation. It is about transitioning with the new technology, accepting updates, learn- ing to embrace new ways of doing things to better serve the overall goals of an or- ganization. The Roadmap to Digital Government Transformation Marcello Sukhdeo