Stephen Hayes
Vice President of Delivery, Enigen
Key Delivery Principles for Driving AI-Enabled Digital Transformation
Should the desire to digitally transform a business and deploy AI across departments be the primary driver for such initiatives? Or are there critical delivery principles that should underpin them? And what risks arise from taking a technology-first approach to digital change?
With a career of over 30 years (time flies), I’ve learned many lessons, some the hard way. Technology has evolved dramatically and continues to do so, yet the core principles I adopted early in my career remain relevant today. Whether implementing a telesales system decades ago or enabling enterprise-wide digital and AI transformation today, success still hinges on a few fundamental tenets which are arguably now more important than ever:
Four Core Delivery Principles
- Solution Innovation – Technology is the enabler, not the driver.
- Collaboration – Success comes from working together with colleagues, clients, and partners.
- Honesty & Transparency – Building mutual trust is essential.
- Delivering Value – ROI must be measured in cost, efficiency, and experience.
When Principles Are Misaligned
Throughout my career, I’ve seen transformation programmes falter when these principles were overlooked. Two examples stand out:
- A global bank aimed to automate front-office processes at a granular level, risking a complex, expensive, and unintuitive solution. By shifting to a pragmatic, process-led, configure-over-code approach, the solution was delivered on time, on budget, and embraced by users. This required prioritising user experience, resetting expectations collaboratively, and demonstrating integrity in recommending a significant change in direction, thus delivering better value.
- A retail supply chain transformation had stalled due to fragmented delivery and poor partner alignment. By adopting a cooperative model with clear accountability and business process-led testing, the programme was successfully delivered to a revised plan. This cultural shift, grounded in collaboration and shared ownership, was key to its success.
The Temptation of Technology-First Thinking
Many organisations desire adoption of the latest digital tools and AI capabilities, either to gain a competitive edge or avoid being left behind, often asking “How can we digitally transform our business?” or “How can AI streamline our operations?”.
Whilst valid, this desire risks automating processes simply because it’s possible, rather than because it’s necessary. Without a clear focus on user experience, strategic alignment, and ROI, transformation efforts can quickly become costly and ineffective.
A Better Approach
Organisations shouldn’t try to solve every problem variant with technology. Instead, they should ask:
- Is the solution intuitive?
- Does it align with strategic goals?
- Do the benefits outweigh the costs?
While digital transformation offers vast possibilities, focusing on changes that improve customer and employee experience, deliver measurable cost benefits, and maximise ROI, ensures transformation is both impactful and sustainable. This requires honest dialogue and close collaboration to define solutions that truly meet business needs.
Principles in Practice
At Enigen, our values—innovation, adaptability, quality, collaboration, and integrity—are embedded in our delivery framework, DRIVE: Discover, Review, Innovate, Verify, Evolve. This ensures consistent, governed, and sustainable outcomes that reduce risk, enabling clients to achieve their goals.
A recent engagement illustrates this: we supported a client’s aim to transform their Sales-to-Order process. While digital innovation was key, our focus was on collaboratively shaping a robust target operating model, spanning processes, people, governance, and technology, to ensure long-term alignment with strategic goals.
Success was driven by open collaboration, a willingness to challenge assumptions, and a shared commitment to early value and lasting impact.
Final Thoughts
Successful digital and AI transformation isn’t driven by technology alone, it’s grounded in principles. By prioritising innovation, collaboration, transparency, and value, organisations can avoid common pitfalls and deliver meaningful, sustainable change.
Let’s focus on what matters: solving real problems, simply and effectively. Start with the right principles, and transformation will follow.
If you’d like to learn more, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Enigen team here
About the Stephen:
Stephen Hayes is Vice President of Delivery at Enigen, bringing over 30 years of experience in IT, CRM, and digital transformation. Having led global practices and helped scale a UK-based systems integrator into a worldwide CRM and CX consultancy, Stephen combines deep technical expertise with a people-first leadership style. His approach is rooted in truly hearing clients and colleagues, fostering trust, and setting ambitious yet achievable goals. At Enigen, he thrives in the diverse, family-like culture, where he contributes his knowledge while continuously learning and growing alongside the team.