Chapter 4: Consulting Under Conditions of Uncertainty: Microsoft’s Journey Toward Digitalization

Digitalization has driven a major increase in the pace of change and disruption, and the COVID pandemic has only accelerated that pressure. As consultants, we face the same level of uncertainty and disruption that our business clients face. Change consulting requires more effort than ever to remain relevant and credible as our focus shifts increasingly to digital transformation. This chapter explores a two-year, multi-organizational effort to define the contours of digital transformation and then digs more deeply into the initial consulting interventions at one of the participating companies, Microsoft. While it is clear from the research that our understanding of digital transformation is still evolving, the challenges facing internal consultants charged with driving digital transformation are present and urgent. To be of optimal assistance in these situations, consultants must be able to work from a sociotechnical basis; that is, understanding both the technology being applied and its impact on the human system in which transformation is occurring.¹ Consulting in an organization as complex and demanding as Microsoft, which is not only a driver of digital transformation but undergoing its own massive transformation and renewal, requires a delicate balance between providing direction while allowing discovery and learning to shape what happens next. The authors provide an insider-outsider examination of how the early changes at Microsoft unfolded and use the case to suggest how consulting to digital transformation efforts varies from consulting involving more familiar challenges. We conclude by offering observations to assist those consulting to digital transformation efforts.