You’re investing in a digital product, but you’re worried your company might be too set in its ways to fully embrace the change you are seeking to enable. You and your team are up against a universal truth in (digital) product development: whether you’re serving internal or external customers, it’s not all just about technology – it’s about people and processes, too. A rigid company culture can indeed be a significant obstacle, but it’s not insurmountable.

Recognize the challenge

As they say, start by admitting that you have a problem. The first step is acknowledging that cultural rigidity could be an issue. This self-awareness is crucial and puts you ahead of most organizations that fail to recognize this potential roadblock.

Assess your current culture

Before you can adapt, you need to understand where you are. Consider these questions:

How does your organization typically react to change?
Are decisions made top-down, or is there room for bottom-up innovation?
How are new ideas typically received?
Is failure seen as a learning opportunity or something to be avoided at all costs?

Identify potential points of friction

Think about where your new digital product might clash with existing processes or mindsets. One issue might be the process you are using for project management, or maybe your team is involved in running several, potentially conflicting or heavily interdependent projects at the same time. While many established companies prefer a waterfall approach, most digital product teams are used to a more agile approach, delivering incremental updates continuously.

Start with change management

Don’t wait until the product is launched to think about adoption. Develop a change management strategy early, addressing:

Communication: How will you convey the benefits of the new product?
Training: What skills will your team need to develop?
Incentives: How can you motivate people to embrace change?

Create a team of ‘champions’

Identify enthusiastic employees from various departments to act as ambassadors for the new product. They can help build excitement and provide peer-to-peer support. This works well for both portfolio products and internal tools and services.

Give it time Change doesn’t happen overnight. Be prepared for a gradual shift and celebrate small wins along the way. Recognize and reward incremental progress.

Provide a safe environment

An environment that encourages experimentation – with the understanding that experimentation requires the possibility to fail safely – goes a long way. Most product development projects and roll-outs don’t go without a hitch. As new information comes to light or customers don’t respond to your product as you anticipated, you may have to shift gears or even throw away the fruits of your work. Anticipate failure and plan accordingly to avoid waste.

Lean on your partner

A good digital agency has likely helped other organizations through similar transitions. Ask for their insights and best practices in driving cultural change. An experienced partner will be able to point you toward tools and processes that enable you to develop and roll out products that challenge your organizational culture and established ways of working.

Our take

The single most powerful thing for a new product? A true believer. Someone who really gets it and is passionate about it. It could be a product owner, a designer, an engineer—doesn’t matter. Investing in that person, giving them room to shine, is worth more than any marketing campaign. Let them talk about the product, show it off to customers, write about it, make tutorials—whatever they’re good at. Their genuine excitement is contagious and way more effective than any slick ad.

Can’t find that champion? Are you sure? If not, that's a red flag. It’s worth digging into why no one’s that excited. That tells you something important.

Perttu Monthan Head of ecom & loyalty & CCO, DK&A

Example

HERE Technologies, a leading provider of mapping and location data services, faced a significant cultural challenge when developing their Open Location Platform (OLP). Traditionally focused on static maps, they needed to adapt to the dynamic world of real-time, connected car technologies. When they engaged us at DK&A to help design and develop the OLP, it became clear that the project wasn’t just about creating a new product, but also about transforming their approach to digital innovation.

From the outset, we worked closely with HERE to establish new, more agile ways of working. Over the course of two years, we helped integrate user experience design principles, rapid prototyping, and continuous user testing into their development process. Our team always aimed to provide the flexibility HERE’s evolving needs required, providing expertise in various areas as the project progressed – quickly moving roles in and out over the course of the collaboration (3+ years).

By the end of our collaboration, HERE had not only successfully launched its Open Location Platform and Marketplace but had also transformed its approach to digital product development. They had embraced a more flexible, user-centric design process, enabling them to compete effectively in the fast-paced world of connected car technologies. This cultural shift positioned HERE to continue innovating independently, having internalized the agile methodologies and design-thinking approaches we introduced.