One of the most common mistakes is believing that business transformation can be carried out by just a few people and without additional resources. So says “Telia Lietuva” Head of Digital Transformation and Technology Vygintas Domarkas. “If there is no support at the shareholder level, it simply hangs in the air – until one day the CEO changes, and everything starts over,” says “BMI Executive Institute” EMBA programme participant V. Domarkas.
For more than a decade, V. Domarkas has worked in the fields of technology and business transformation. His experience spans telecommunications, innovation, and business development projects, where he has led both technical and strategic teams. He is currently responsible for the large-scale transformation underway at “Telia Lietuva”, aimed at redesigning the company’s processes, technological foundation, and customer service model. This hands-on experience allows him to speak about transformation not from a theoretical standpoint, but from the perspective of everyday organizational reality.
– What early signs indicate that a business model has reached its limits and change is needed?
The early signals usually emerge from the company’s financial plan and strategy. The first sign is a shift in customer needs. The second comes from market trends – especially by observing more advanced markets. In telecommunications, it is crucial for us to look at what is happening in South Korea or Singapore, how customer behavior and expectations are evolving there. The third sign is new technologies and their impact on the industry. The fourth – internal company systems and processes: will the current technological foundation allow us to execute planned changes in five years, or is it time to renew it to move forward?
These signals do not usually appear in one person’s head – they arise from discussions within the management team. That is where strategic directions are debated – where we are headed, what we are investing in, and what priorities we are setting. It is one thing to notice the signals, another to reach consensus on what they mean for the organization: what teams will be needed, how many financial resources will be required, and whether we will need to “lock down” part of our capacity temporarily in order to rebuild and accelerate later.
– Once the decision to transform is made, how detailed should the vision be?
Transformation is not a project. Although many call it that, in reality it is a long-term programme – and yes, it almost always evolves as the process unfolds. As you dig into the details, it often becomes clear that the transformation needs to extend into more areas than initially planned. But that is not a bad thing. What matters is not being afraid to adjust scope when new dependencies or risks emerge.
When it comes to precision, the first step is to agree on clear acceptance criteria – to define what result will be considered acceptable and what we are aiming for. This helps prevent situations where one department nearly stops because of the changes, while another doubles its workload. It is essential to define early on how each unit will be affected by a specific change.
It is a mistake to think transformation is only an IT project. It impacts organizational processes, which means everyone feels its effects – some teams will need to increase their resources, and there can be turbulence among employees. That is why alignment within the leadership team is critical.
– What does the word “transformation” mean to you personally?
For me, it is about ongoing change, not a one-time event. In transformation, the first step – the initial change – is always the hardest, until it becomes standard and you start seeing real value. Once you feel the benefit in one process, you naturally want to improve the next, and the next.
Every step of transformation is a step into the unknown – into uncertain KPIs, into doubts about whether it is necessary, how much it will cost, and whether it will pay off. That is what transformation truly is.
– What is the human side of digital transformation?
On one hand, digital transformation often aims to reduce the need for human intervention – for example, to serve more customers faster and more efficiently. But that is where the human side lies – how to “sell” this goal to people so they see it as an opportunity, not a threat.
The key is to define and continually reinforce those acceptance criteria. Even if it seems that everyone already understands what the transformation is and what we are trying to achieve – it is worth reminding them again. We dedicate a lot of attention to this: we have change managers who work with different teams – from sales and commerce to legal and IT. Each team experiences transformation differently, so we need to speak their language – explain why we are doing this and what it means for the organization.
And it is not just about employees. There are three groups that must be engaged in continuous dialogue – employees, managers, and shareholders. With all of them, you must maintain open communication, share progress, be transparent even when things do not go as planned, and keep restating the goals. Otherwise, it risks becoming just another project with unclear value – and more questions will follow.
– Have you learned any lessons so far? Is everything going according to plan?
It always feels like things are moving too slowly. That is probably a natural state. (laughs) But the truth is, when we were talking about digitalization back in 2020, we should have already been there. If a company had not fully automated its processes by then, it was already late. By 2023–2024, generative AI became mainstream, and if today a company has not yet implemented it, it is already behind again.
So there is always that feeling of lagging behind. That is why it is important to structure everything in stages and move forward step by step. Then comes the moment when we decide we are ready for a new kind of change. We sit down, analyze what it is about, what outcomes we want, what trends are emerging, what others – like Silicon Valley companies – are doing, and where we want to go next.
– You lead your organization’s transformation. Are your studies at BMI a coincidence, or a conscious step – a kind of personal transformation alongside Telia Lietuva’s?
They are definitely connected. For me, BMI is a chance to look at the role of a leader from many different perspectives – personal leadership, finance, entrepreneurship, sustainability, and other aspects essential to executives. How much each participant takes away depends on their own experience and specialization.
For me, BMI offers numerous case studies of how other organizations have changed and evolved. It provides food for thought about where I can take my own organization. “Same You. Only Sharper.” perfectly captures how I feel. Am I becoming a different person? Probably not. But I am gaining more insight, more examples, and more knowledge I can apply both now and in the future.
– So how should transformation not be done? What is a bad example?
One of the most common mistakes is believing that transformation can be achieved by just a few people. Definitely not. The initiative must start at the top – from shareholders and the CEO. The tone, direction, and commitment to transformation must come from them.
If there is no support at the shareholder level, or if it is assumed that transformation will happen without extra resources, it usually ends up suspended indefinitely.
In such cases, when a new CEO takes over, the question arises again – whether to continue or stop the process. This is one of the most frequent reasons transformations fail to reach their goals. It is rarely discussed publicly, but it happens often.
Another bad example is when the transformation’s acceptance criteria and goals are constantly changed every time leadership changes. Each new leader has their own vision and approach, and as a result, the transformation never truly happens – it becomes a continuous rewriting of what was already started.