Digitalisation (ePub)

What we need to do is to envision the digital future of your
business. Without a compelling vision of where you are going
and why it is imperative, you will probably be painting race
stripes on a 20 year old Chevy. What assets will be valuable in
a digitally-transformed business? How can you transform
customer experience? Internal operations? Your business model?
How can units work differently - and work together differently
- in a more connected way? Look at the media industry. It
has been completely transformed by digital technology. Some
are putting their toes in the water. A few have jumped in and
find they aren't drowning. They are reaping huge results.
A very familiar, important and inevitable question we need to
face these days is "Is my business equipped enough to get
disrupted?" The risk that the disruption can happen highly
radically if you are not prepared for it beforehand.
If you do believe it could happen, it is well worth getting away
from the office to consider what to do very soon to avert it.
Taking the time to have a serious answer might make all the
difference in success or failure three years from now.
The next question is this. If you or your company isn't ready,
what should you do about it? It is important to think through
what you personally should do as opposed to what "the
company" should do. You can control your plan. You can only
influence the corporate approach.
The answer will set your agenda for the next six months. A
change is indeed coming and it is coming thick and fast.

Transformation is occurring. It can't be escaped. It is about
how people collaborate and work. It is about the way business
processes are executed. It is most certainly about how we
understand our customers and obsess about the experience. It
is about how we use digital technology to radically shift how
we provide amazing experiences for our customers. It is radical
and it is now.
Customers are in charge. That is a profound shift. At our core,
do we get that shift? There is a convergence of customers
being in control and our designing experiences that easily help
them reach their goals. What if we don't? They will let
everyone know about it and go somewhere else. It is that
simple. Do you see it coming?
As senior managers, you alone possess the skills and resources
to make it happen. You can decide to transform and survive
or you cannot. No one else can make that happen. It is up to
you to create the vision.
It is up to you decide who is "on the bus" and who is not.
Here is the tough thing. Not all of your people and senior
management gets "it". To assume otherwise will hinder you.
You need to decide who is on board and who is not. You
need to get those who are not on board off the bus, as gently
as you can, but as soon as possible. Delay will only hinder you
and you know it.
Your desire to strive to digital maturity and make it happen is
something that really matters. You need to make sure there
are targets for progress, they are well known and they are
met. That cannot be delegated.
Communicating the vision can't be delegated either. It is up to
you to take a stand. It is up to you to communicate it. The
message needs to get through and no one else can do it. Do
develop a serious communication plan. Make sure that it is
followed.