The Truth About Transformation

Why do so many transformation efforts fail—despite clear strategies, strong leadership teams, proven frameworks, and massive investment?

Because organizations continue to underestimate the only force that determines whether change takes hold: human behavior.

In this revised and expanded Second Edition, strategy and transformation expert Kevin Novak exposes the truth behind why business model evolution is so difficult—and why the gap between vision and execution remains stubbornly wide, even in a world transformed by artificial intelligence.

Drawing from decades of frontline experience leading large-scale transformations across industries, Novak reveals how organizations unintentionally sabotage their own change efforts through misaligned incentives, cultural blind spots, unexamined assumptions, and the deeply ingrained behaviors that keep legacy thinking alive.

New in the 2025 Edition:

• The real impact of AI and automation on culture, leadership, and decision-making

• The rise of transformation fatigue and why employees are out of capacity

• How Gen Z’s expectations are reshaping organizational norms

• The growing crisis of trust, misinformation, and perception distortion

• Why leaders face a new identity crisis in the AI era

• How AI acts as a mirror that reveals—and accelerates—organizational dysfunction

• A contemporary framework for navigating the emotional and psychological realities of disruption

Through case studies, lived experience, and unvarnished insights, The Truth About Transformation reframes change as a fundamentally human process. Technology may accelerate the pace of transformation, but it does not alter the psychology of fear, identity, trust, or meaning. Only leaders—and the environments they create—can do that.

If your organization is stuck, stalled, or struggling to execute on its strategic vision, this book will show you why—and what to do about it.

Clear-eyed, deeply human, and urgently relevant, The Truth About Transformation provides the roadmap leaders need to navigate the era of AI, uncertainty, and relentless disruption.

Kevin Novak is a recognized leader in strategy, change, and transformation. He is the Founder and CEO of 2040 Digital, LLC, a strategy and transformation consultancy serving clients since 2014, and an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, where he teaches marketing and digital media. Kevin is the author of The Truth About Transformation (2022) and publishes the weekly Ideas & Innovations newsletter, now with more than 231 issues exploring organizational change and decision-making.A four-time Webby Award winner, Kevin has advised leading organizations including APA, AAFP, NEJM, Wiley & Sons, and the World Bank. He previously served as Vice President of Digital Strategy at the American Institute of Architects and as Chief Digital Officer at the Library of Congress, where he spearheaded initiatives such as the World Digital Library and forged partnerships with Google, Microsoft, and Stanford.Kevin has held significant governance roles, including Board President of the Business Information Association (BIA-Connectiv), board member of SIIA and SIPA, and chair of national and international working groups with the W3C, the U.S. National Academies, and the MOBI Foundation. His work bridges executive leadership, technology, and organizational culture, making him a trusted advisor to associations, enterprises, and global institutions.