While digital is such a pervasive trend impacting every industry, and while most enterprises are committing significant investments to digital transformation, the impact of these investments has fallen short of expectations in many cases. Why is that? The failures are both those of strategy and of execution. However, there is something more fundamental at work here. Most traditional companies underachieve at digital because they fail to recognize that many of the fundamentals of business have changed in this VUCA world.
Customers are very demanding, data is exploding in volume, variety and velocity, technology is becoming mission critical, the pace of change is very high and business/product cycles are getting crunched, to name just a few of the fundamental shifts. Despite these changes, many enterprises’ approaches to digital lies in extending what has worked in their traditional business to digital. Such an approach is doomed to fail.
Every enterprise needs to understand how the fundamentals of their business are changing and based on that define their ‘new rules of business’ for application to both strategy and execution to drive a successful digital transformation. In section one, we look at the above challenges and gain perspectives on the ‘new rules’ at three different levels:
- The general level of the VUCA world and overall implications for business
- The digital transformation level
- The level of specific technology elements of digital
Curriculum
- 8 Sections
- 15 Lessons
- Lifetime
- Winning in the VUCA World: Key Principles and Transformation Priorities for EnterprisesIn this chapter, gain insights into forces shaping the VUCA world and how the unprecedented velocity of change could be disruptive for many, but it also presents an opportunity to get ahead for those enterprises who are able to understand the new rules and transform themselves. Learn about the eight new rules of business - that are essential for every enterprise to internalize and adopt.
Key Takeaways
What is VUCA?
Key forces leading to change
Complications of operating in a VUCA world
Rules of management to win in the VUCA world3 - Digital Transformation in Business: An IntroductionIn this chapter, I have tried to provide a better understanding of the key aspects of digital transformation. It operates at two levels, changing how a business interacts with customers using technology and leveraging technology to automate or digitize operational processes to drive greater efficiencies and reduce turnaround time. I also introduce the core steps of a digital transformation journey and the technology building blocks involved.
Key Takeaways
What is digital transformation in business?
Five steps to digital transformation
Who should lead digital transformation?
How to lead digital transformation?
The technologies enabling digital transformation5 - Framework for Digital Transformation, Part One - Six Reasons why Digital Demands a New Business ParadigmAs we move to the next stage of the digital transformation dialogue, it is important for us to be aware that the business impact of transformation initiatives has been underwhelming in a number of enterprises. Therefore in part one of the two-part series, I share my observations on the fact that a digital business is fundamentally different from traditional ones in at least six ways: the customer is younger and more demanding; there is an explosion of data; the velocity of change is unprecedented; technology is not a support function, it’s at the core; a ‘right the first time’ approach does not work, and last, digital problems are highly interdisciplinary.
Key Takeaways
Why companies need a new business paradigm1 - Framework for Digital Transformation, Part Two - Five Rules for Successful Digital TransformationHaving recognized that drivers of digital are different, enterprises need a new mindset and a new approach to succeed. I have recommended a five - point action plan: rethinking the business model adapting to the needs of a digitally savvy customer, anchoring digital programs on business KPIs, harnessing the power of data, taking an integrated end-to-end approach, and implementing with a two-speed model.
Key Takeaways
Five action points to achieve transformative success1 - Maximizing Returns from Digital Technology Investments: Part One - Why the Problem PersistEnormous resources are being poured annually into digital technology initiatives. However, there continues to be a gap between the promise and impact of these initiatives. The primary reasons for this are legacy processes and IT infrastructure that are not agile and unable to handle big data or other expectations of the digital age. If the current technology infrastructure and processes don’t get upgraded, firms will be stuck trying to catch up and thus playing defense.
Key Takeaways
4 key reasons why Digital initiatives do not deliver results for businesses1 - Maximizing Returns from Digital Technology Investments: Part Two: Play Offence, not DefenceDiscover the high-level technology principles to address the problems identified in the previous chapter. To change the play from defence to offence and compete, legacy firms can learn from the digital natives. It should leverage the tremendous advancements in cloud technology and adopt a cloud-native architecture; build agile processes that enable experimentation, measurement and adaptation; and adopt a Two-speed approach to implementation.
Key Takeaways
Critical shifts to make to maximize returns on Digital Technology Investments1 - Building Scalable Models in the VUCA World: the CIO viewMost industry leaders realize that the VUCA environment is here to stay and that it has farreaching implications across three dimensions: people, process, and technology. Digital transformation is an unavoidable organizational imperative in such an environment, so much so that technology strategy has now become ‘The Strategy’ for enterprises. The only way to win in this VUCA world is to build a customer-centric organization with leaders as the change agents and with an agile architecture that delivers high quality experience to the end customer.
Key Takeaways
"What VUCA means for CIOs
Key priorities for digital strategy in VUCA world
Challenges in implementing digital strategy"3 - Quiz1