Digital Business is not just Technology!
What is Digitization? What Can We Do?
I saw this tweet the other day and was intrigued. We read about “digital transformation” a lot these days, but it is hard to translate that into ACTION.
This graphic provides a fairly straight-forward 4-step approach to thinking about Digital Transformation.
Also, worth a read is a January 31, 2017 article in Harvard Business Review “What the Companies on the Right Side of the Digital Business Divide Have in Common”:
The following graphic from the article is compelling:
As well as the following observations:
“Data and analytics are obviously key. Leading organizations are more likely to have a comprehensive data acquisition strategy and differentiate themselves from competitors based on their data platform. This difference in strategy means that business users are more likely to have access to a consistent set of up-to-date metrics for decision making, and the organization can generate predictions about their business from data they collect.”
“Driving digital transformation does not imply replacing old business assets and capabilities. But, like any significant building addition, doing it well requires modifying the existing structure. There are no blank sheets of paper. Digital transformation is about reconstructing the firm around digital operating principles, integrating traditional assets to address new challenges and pursue new opportunities.”
“Digital Operating Principles..”
So how does a small business get started?
I think about all of this technology and rapid disruption and innovation and wrestle with “what can I do differently tomorrow” to get started?
I want to touch on JUST two of the four areas that the above graphic highlights:
Engagement
“Enabling digital interaction between clients and customers in a more engaging, seamless way”
In today’s world, two things come to mind where a small business can immediately engage clients and customers — social platforms and mobile technologies.
So, here are a few basic questions to explore and then get started:
- What social platforms make the most sense for us to engage on and START down that road?
- How do we instill an “employee advocacy” program using social platforms that make sense for our business?
- Can we adopt a mobile-mindset to drive engagement? The reality is this is where our clients and customers are…most of the time!
Consider:
Digitization
“Digitizing processes to improve employee productivity, supplier interaction, and customer satisfaction”
Digitizing processes to improve productivity. What are the key drivers here? Analytics, cloud and collaboration immediately come to mind!
It’s hard to get into specifics, but every organization has tremendous opportunity to RETHINK how work is done, how we interact and engage with suppliers, and deliver our products and satisfaction to our customers!
- How have client and customer expectations changed?
- What collaboration tools / cloud software services can we leverage to be more effective in how we operate?
- What skills training and development do we need for our organization? Specifically, what DIGITAL skills are necessary to focus on?
Consider:
“In fact, we’re living in a golden age of opportunity for all kinds of businesses, but what’s vital is how these companies approach digital.” — http://www.the-european.eu/story-11449/how-to-be-fit-for-digital-in-the-age-of-disruption.html
“I thought that the article would resonate with a small group of social media pros. Instead, it was viewed more than 100,000 times, with hundreds of comments from people in all kinds of different roles and industries struggling with social media. The problem — this digital skills gap — was deeper and more pervasive than I realized.”
“Inadequate tech skills cause workers to lose two hours every day, translating into 500 lost hours per year, or about $10 million per 1,000 employees. Organizations need to offer focused, continuous training in these areas.”
Every organization is different — but we can all GET STARTED. I hope this has shed some insight on how to get started shifting to a digital mindset and moving towards becoming a digital organization.
“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” — Mark Twain
About Don
“On a mission to challenge the status quo to a more productive and effective end…”
Don Tomoff is a “recovering CPA”, who is passionate about helping professionals and organizations keep up and adapt to the changing business world that we operate in.
One lesson learned over the years is that all of us, regardless of organization type or size, struggle with similar issues — primarily information management, organization, presentation, and effective use of our time. Let’s change that…one person at a time!
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