Adobe’s CEO can attest that the long-term gains outweigh the short-term challenges. He overcommunicated and was transparent with all its stakeholders: customers, sales representatives, and channel partners
An excellent example to highlight how powerful sharing can be is what Adobe did when it went through a significant digital transformation from 2011 to 2014. They went from the expensive boxed software with a CD that most of you know to a cloud service with a subscription model. Despite the difficulties of transitioning into a completely new business model, they were successful because they focused on transparency with their investment community. They knew they would lose revenue for a few years until the new cloud service was established. Because of this, many haters were against this long-term strategy and warned them about potential losses. Although they lost a lot in revenue during the start of the transformation, they increased their stock price during the entire shift. Adobe’s CEO can attest that the long-term gains outweigh the short-term challenges. He overcommunicated and was transparent with all its stakeholders: customers, sales representatives, and channel partners (Lev-Ram, 2018). This example is one of many that shows open communication is existential during a crisis and essential transformation. As Charlene Li puts it: <block-quote>“What differentiates companies that have successfully adopted disruptive transformation strategies is that they commit to building a relationship through open communication from the start, regardless of the outcome. For Adobe, that meant committing to complete transparency, internally and then externally, from day one.” (Li, 2019)
Lev-Ram, Michal, “For Adobe, Cloud Traction Leads to Record-High Stock Price.” Fortune, June 18, 2014.
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