What is small-t transformation?
A working definition from MIT Sloan
small-t transformation (noun)
A tactical business change that balances ease of implementation, risks, and benefits while stopping short of enterprise-wide evolution.
Generative AI has driven major transformation in enterprises. Right?
Not really. MIT Sloan senior lecturers George Westerman and Melissa Webster looked for examples of major organizational transformations driven by the technology. “Even when we talked to some of the best digital and AI leaders we know, we didn’t find any,” Westerman said.
There are reasons generative AI has had relatively slow adoption among businesses: It can be inaccurate, there are concerns about security and intellectual property, and organizations need time to prepare data and train employees.
Instead of seeing major transformations, Westerman and Webster found “small t” transformations — organizations using generative AI in transformative ways, but not as a driver of the wholesale redesign of major business functions.
As the pair explain in MIT Sloan Management Review, you don’t have to wait for big payoff opportunities to start using generative AI. “For the leaders we wrote about, they decided to take action to resolve uncertainty and build capability rather than waiting for risks to go away,” Westerman said. “Each step in the small-t transformation process addresses a risk or builds capability for greater progress in the future.”
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