Examples like this reveal an essential truth: the heart of digital transformation is strategic reinvention. It’s about recognising when traditional models, however reliable in the past, are no longer sufficient to compete in a digitally driven world. That recognition must be followed by decisive action—often before the pain of stagnation becomes obvious. Leaders must be willing to make uncomfortable choices, sunset old revenue streams, and invest in new capabilities that may take time to mature.

There is a temptation—especially in large, well-established companies—to equate digital progress with the adoption of modern tools. A cloud migration, a new CRM, a slicker app interface. All of these can be valuable, but without corresponding changes to how the business actually generates value, they are more akin to modernisation than transformation. The risk is that organisations pour effort into technological uplift without questioning whether the underlying model still serves the market—or whether it's merely being propped up by digital gloss.

For transformation to be meaningful, it must reach into the commercial DNA of the company. That might mean reconfiguring go-to-market strategies, shifting from ownership to subscription, transitioning from transactional models to ongoing services, or designing entirely new offerings born from data and insight. It might also mean facing resistance from within—teams invested in legacy success, metrics that favour old ways of working, or customers reluctant to embrace change.

That’s where leadership matters most. Executives must create the conditions for business model evolution. That means more than setting a strategic direction—it requires modelling curiosity, building cross-functional alignment, and supporting teams through the discomfort of change. It also demands a shift in how success is measured. Adoption rates, feature releases, or system uptime are not enough. True transformation shows up in the metrics that matter most: customer retention, margin improvement, market expansion, and resilience in the face of disruption.

The central question is not whether your organisation is investing in digital—it’s whether that investment is enabling new forms of value. If your commercial logic looks the same as it did before your digital programme began, chances are you’re optimising, not transforming. There’s nothing wrong with modernisation. But let’s not mistake it for reinvention.

Transformation, in its truest form, is an act of strategic courage. It’s a decision to lead rather than react. And that journey starts with one powerful shift: reimagining not just what your business does, but how it defines success in a digital world.