Companies typically launch transformations for one of three reasons, or a combination thereof: a new leader joins the company and brings a fresh vision and mandate; shareholders demand action to address underperformance; and/or the company faces disruption from evolving technologies, from new competitors, or from a structural regulatory shift.Regardless of the reason, transformations require deep commitment from the organization, over an extended period of time, from leadership on down. Transformations fail for a variety of reasons, some of these include:Limited Top Leadership Involvement. Because of absence/limit of skill sets and/or complexities of leadership, transformation projects often land down the leadership chain rather than being actively led by CxOs. This reduces the project’s significance, the organization’s focus and limits potential value.Lack of Joint Vision and Clear Outcomes. Transformation projects often lack a unifying vision and shared mission across the organization. This leads to competing priorities amongst business units and ultimately different synergistic and growth results than what was planned.Disconnected Efforts. Without a strong, centralized transformation team in place, the initiative will suffer from weak project management, insufficient or no risk management, and a lack of cross-unit communication and reporting. This leads to over-spending, delays and lackluster results.Lack of Stakeholder Buy-In. Transformations will require support and engagement across the entire organization. Without a communication plan in place to engage and gain stakeholder buy-in early, the project will suffer from delays and lack of support and action as key changes begin to occur.Disjointed Systems & Data. Access to insightful data to make meaningful decisions is key to a successful transformation. Organizations are often reliant on old and outdated legacy systems and, because of forced leadership agenda or other factors, try to build new systems on top of existing and thus derive limited value. Additional reliance on data residing in disparate systems often leads to transactional and sub-optimal outcomes. Without first building a solid foundation of data, a transformation cannot succeed.Build, Build, Build Mentality. Transformations, especially when discussing digital transformations, are typically focused on building new capabilities that are meant to take the organization forward into the future. However, when legacy tools, systems, and ways of working are not taken away as a part of the overall transformation, adoption becomes a challenge. Many clients end up investing heavily in new technologies only to end up supporting both new and legacy systems into the future at significant cost.Some examples of underperforming transformations include:A multi-national conglomerate, that has operated across a wide spectrum of markets including healthcare, consumer electronics and finance, among others, has been struggling to re-invent itself. A previous shift in product focus left the company without a clear vision and direction. Over the past few years, the organization has been challenged with transforming itself from a company spanning numerous industries to a more streamlined and nimble organization. This transformation has resulted in the organization shedding a significant number of employees worldwide, selling several business units and yet still does not have a clear outlook.A document services company underwent a transformation in the mid-2000’s aimed at moving from a product orientation to a customer centric sales model. Organizational levels of hierarchy were streamlined, team-based compensation built around customers was adopted, and pricing and offerings were rationalized globally. Initially, this change worked well, however over time costs began to spiral out of control as the intense customer focus led to customization and a loss of efficiency across the company. This was further exacerbated with an acquisition where a lack of cultural integration and a different sales model ultimately led to the organization spinning off the same unit six years later.See our related Answer on Organizations transforming from a product driven company to solutions focused and article on The Five Keys to a Successful Transformation.