Jonathan Hensley has had extensive professional experience working for companies that want to transition into a digital platform. This is a well-written and researched book. It's also generous in content. You could pay hundreds of dollars for the advice and guidance Hensley offers up.   I gave this book three stars only because I am not part of this Industry, so it was a little out of my pay grade. But I am confident when I say that you will benefit from having this in your arsenal whether you are running a multinational corporation or small business that wants to avoid pitfalls when navigating through the "wild west" of digital platform options. Now, if you are a Mom and Pop and answer your phone and like to talk to your customers, you might want to pass. This is not your world.  But then again, you never know what the future holds, and it doesn't hurt to be prepared, and when that happens, you'll wish you bought this book.

Every profession speaks a language. For instance, when I started web designing, I did not know what a landing page was an anchor or a slide. And without the tools of language and terminology, it took me forever to navigate through the system. I would have loved a glossary.

Large corporations have thousands of workers working in teams who must report to another team leader and on and on.  Teams need Alignment because when the Alignment is off, "your digital transformation is bound to fail." That will affect your customer base and the well-being of your employees.

When Hensley talks about digital transformation, he is talking about voiding the customer service lady that says, "hello, how do I help you?" and replacing her with a computer that asks you to pick a number or with a customer service platform like Zendesk which I have encountered many times and who I have come to believe has the sole purpose of wearing a customer down until they give up and go away.  I once spent 3 weeks going back and forth to return a product until I couldn't take it anymore and closed my ticket out of frustration. The company looked good because my ticket was closed, and the business I was dealing with had no idea a customer was turned away and will not return. What does type above the line ### even mean anyway? Where is the dang line? 

In my opinion this is a perfect example of a company misaligned. They did not build a strategic foundation that really cared about the customers.  And just like a house, when the foundation cracks, it's too late to buy better cement for repairs. Nope.  The damage is done. The whole thing needs to be torn down. Understanding the concept of Alignment and streamlining your business and employees so that they are all on the same page, rather aligned with the company's vision and goals is the first cornerstone in building a business.  

There are 4 different levels of Alignment; individual, teams, organizational, market, and Hensley discusses each of these, so you'll be able to create an effective, streamlined approach. Part 1 defines Alignment.  Part 2 points out the signs of misalignment with chapters like "Mismanaging expectations," "Ignoring accumulated or inherited debt." Part 3, "Leading with Alignment," has subtitles like "Planning is not a Strategy" and "Servant leadership." Part 4  describes Alignment Strategic foundations, and Part 5 is about aligning teams to win, gaining a collective focus, and includes a sub chapter called, "The case for knowledge management a foundation of accountability." That's a lot of bang for your buck- just the tip of the iceberg.

Did you know siloed knowledge is a business style that works when one Founder (or King) understands the project as a whole and makes a unilateral decision to distribute that information to employees in piecemeal so that no one is privy to the big picture? It's a business structure that probably works in companies that operate in high security and sensitive coding situations. But when other types of companies adopt this strategy, they find themselves severely misaligned.  Hensley wants to get you out of that zone and gives companies other options to structure their teams in ways that align a company's goals to generate results. Hensley with Dave Jarecki, have done an excellent job of clarifying, quantifying, and offering up concrete decisions from two very well-educated men who have worked in the industry for years and felt compelled to share with you what they have learned. Buy. You'll be glad you did.  

Just remember, "all books are good books, but not all books are for all people."