How to win funding and support for digital transformation.

Maria Morris and I were sitting together after visiting a client, and they asked us the question: how to get budget for digital transformation when the solution is still taking shape?

They wanted to work with us on a digital initiative.
There was one problem: they did not have the funding to start.

We talked about that visit, then about all the other projects we had seen over the years. Many teams knew what was broken. They could describe the system they wanted and the future process they hoped to build. Yet they could spend months defining a solution without getting closer to the decision that would let them begin.

Who would fund the work?
Which executive would stand behind it?
Would the people whose jobs would change want to take part?

That conversation led to a question we could not shake: why do we spend so much time designing a digital transformation and so little time working out how to get it started? It is why we decided to write this book.

Why digital transformation funding gets stuck

If you have worked on a PLM, ERP, CRM or similar initiative, you probably know the pattern. A team finds a real problem. They map requirements, compare systems and imagine a better way of working. Soon they are deep in the details of the future solution.

Then someone asks, “How are we going to get this approved?”

• The need is clear to the team, but the investment case is not clear to others. The people closest to the work see the cost of scattered data, slow processes and unreliable information every day. An executive balancing many priorities needs to see that cost too. What happens if nothing changes? What could improve? Why is this worth investing in now? A feature list cannot answer those questions by itself.
• A budget approval is only one part of executive support. Leaders need to understand how the initiative serves the business and what it will take to deliver. They also need enough confidence to keep supporting the work when priorities compete or difficult decisions arise. A signature can start a project. Active sponsorship helps it keep moving.
• People need to see a place for themselves in the change. Will this make my work easier? What happens to the process I rely on today? Has anyone asked where the real problems are? These questions can expose weak assumptions and improve the proposal. If they arrive only after the major decisions have been made, the team has missed a chance to build support.

We spend a lot of time asking what the new system should do. Digital transformation funding also depends on showing why the change matters to the business and to the people who will make it work.

Movement needs fuel: how transformations get started

The client we had just visited helped us see the starting point differently. They wanted to work with us, but first they needed funding. Their immediate focus was less on defining perfect functionality and more on securing the executive and people support that would allow the initiative to begin.

That does not mean the solution can stay vague forever. It means there is important work to do before every detail is settled.

• Start with the investment conversation. What problem is costly or frustrating enough to solve? What would change for the business? What evidence do we have, and what do we still need to learn? These questions give the technical work a purpose others can understand. They also help the team make a more credible request for resources.
• Build support through conversation. A polished presentation cannot tell you what every stakeholder needs. Leaders, managers and teams see different parts of the problem. Ask what matters to them, what worries them and what they would change. Their answers can strengthen both the case for investment and the plan itself.
• Let people influence the future. A process can look elegant on a slide and still fail in daily work. The people who use it know where handovers break, which workarounds keep things moving and what would genuinely help. Involving them early makes the proposal more grounded and gives them a reason to care about the outcome.

We are still learning from this client’s approach. We cannot claim there is one formula for securing funding, or that a compelling story can rescue a weak solution. But the experience changed the order of our questions. Before asking how to build the perfect system, ask what it will take to get the right people behind the change.

Why we are writing a book about winning support

Maria and I want this book to help the person who sees a better way of working but cannot move forward alone. Maybe you lead a digital program. Maybe you have a strong idea and the technical knowledge to deliver it, but still need a budget and the support to make it real. We know how difficult that stage can be.

• We want to help people make the vision clear. What future are you asking others to invest in? Why does it matter now? A vision must be more concrete than “digital transformation.” People should be able to see what could change in their work and in the business.
• We want to understand how support grows. Who influences the decision? What matters to them? What might people gain, and what might they fear losing? Stakeholder engagement and awareness grow through listening and repeated conversations. They cannot be added as a final communication task.
• We want to make value easier to explain. A credible case connects business outcomes with problems people experience every day. It is clear about what is known, what remains uncertain and how the team will learn. That gives others something they can question, improve and eventually support.

The working title is How Great Transformations Win Hearts Before They Change Systems. We will draw on our own experience and talk with people who have secured backing for their initiatives. We also want to hear about good ideas that stalled. The aim is a practical blueprint built from real experience.

Book Digital Transformation Funding: It starts with people

A digital transformation begins long before a new system goes live.
It begins when people recognize a problem, believe it is worth solving and decide to act together.

That is what we want to explore in this book: how an idea becomes an initiative people will fund, lead and help make real. If you have been through that journey, whether it worked or not, we would love to hear what you learned.

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