“Sometimes, digital transformation means getting bagels in customers’ hands faster. Listen to real-world stories of how to get – and stay – closer to customers.

Organizations engage in digital transformation as much out of necessity as desire, scrambling to keep up with the opportunities promised by technology and threats from technology-enabled competition.

CIOs who’ve logged early success say it has less to do with the specific technology applied than with the transformation part of digital transformation. The biggest thing that has changed about how technology interacts with business is how much transformation is possible.

No matter your industry, that transformation should be laser-focused on customers. IT leaders shared these three principles that work, based on real-world digital transformation projects:

1. Solve the biggest problem first

Whether you are the CEO, CFO, a department head, or a team leader, take aim at the biggest obstacles to success.

“It really does center around the why, making sure you’re centering a team on the why,” says Chris Laping, Chief Innovation Officer of Coffee and Bagel Brands, the parent company of Einstein Bros, Bruegger’s, Noah’s NY, and Manhattan Bagels. With “innovation” versus “information” in his title, his role includes traditional CIO duties but also reimagining company operations.”

The article: Digital transformation: 3 leadership approaches that work