At the most recent Think IT Leadership Group meeting we had a great discussion, with a packed room, on digital transformation and the many challenges our companies face, on a daily basis, to overcome them. I want to take a minute to thank Paul Haisman for leading the meeting, and AAOS for hosting.
We started off the meeting by defining what digital means. Digital is not only defined by a companies technology transformation but by trying new ways to engage with customers, new ways of doing business and redefining your organization. You need to create a core value, a building block and have the leverage to meet a customer’s needs. Organizations are suffering from digital transformation fatigue, we need to realize that digital transformation is transforming. Chris Lebeau stated, “ Everyone fears change, they need to change the way they work.”
Paul then touched on transformation challenges. Companies always talk about innovating but how do you regroup? How do you get out of the comfort zone and make the change happen? Here are nine things that may get in the way of transformation within your company: More than just Innovation, “Big Bang” theory has lost luster, Disrupting too much too fast, Talent war, Legacy Applications, Vendor/Partner capability, Data Privacy & Security Regulations, App & Vendor Market Explosion, and Lack of Expertise and/or Skills. At the end of the day, companies need to reset and so down the process in order to manage digital transformation more effectively.
So what can we do to solve these issues? Break down the “Big Bang” transformation into iterative and smaller parts with technology, skills, and culture. We need to put more focus on innovation with quick tangible results. Companies need to return to operational efficiency and product management approaches. Robert Black stated, “We tend to focus on the shiny, and the big bang but we need to work on focusing on the quick wins, go back to the basics, go back to Step one.” And lastly, companies need to seek out new B2B efficiencies with stakeholders and look to AI for insights.
Thank you to those that attended the meeting and we hope to see you next year. We will kick off our first Leadership meeting on January 11th. Have a wonderful holiday with friends and family and thank you for being part of Think IT.
To learn more about what was discussed during this meeting, please check out the slide deck here.