I think it's important that all the people
out there that don't see why we need to talk
about disruption, digital transformation,
innovation and these other buzzwords need
to recognize that people need context, and
that's one of the big things that is often
lacking in our business world - is we get
fed with so much information and we hear so
much hype but what we don't always understand
is, why it matters.
There's a lot of speculation out there that
digital transformation is just a buzzword
and that it's something that for years and
years as new technologies have been made available,
companies have been always transforming.
And this is true.
A lot of people though are sort of saying that hey can
we stop talking about digital transformation,
it's all hype, it's not that important, there's
a lot of technology, it's just a buzzword,
it doesn't mean anything.
The problem with buzzwords is that it's not
what they're about, it's the fact that they
get repeated so many times that they lose
their meaning.
One of the things that I spend a lot of my
time focussing on is analyzing digital transformation.
I analyze where businesses are going to go
as a result of all the new technologies that
are made available.
I think it's important that we address this
as it pertains to digital transformation.
The rate of change by which new technology
is coming into the market has gone up exponentially
in terms of speed.
What used to have cycles of ten years or five
years or even before that maybe twenty years
has now been compressed into periods of eighteen
months, twelve months, six months.
And seemingly, new technologies that disrupt,
the technologies that we were using in our
businesses every day are basically being launched
over night.
We wake up one morning and the technology
we use is the newest, is the most powerful
platform for our company and then all of a
sudden you wake up the next and there's something
else.
Why digital transformation is so important
and why it needs to be discussed, it needs
to be a key in every businesses' strategy,
is that the technology is only going to get
faster, but the people struggle with the change
required to transform.
So you can something else.
If the idea of an industry buzz like digital
transformation bothers you, then let's call
it what it is - it's change management.
However, the change that's required now is
building a culture of a company that's adaptable,
that's agile - more buzzwords - but able to
change very quickly as new technologies come
out, as new methods of doing business come
to the market, as new customer experiences
are being sought after by consumers.
You can say it's something else but that is
why a business needs to transform.
It needs to have people that believe in the
vision of the company and get behind the new
technologies, the new methods, the new communications
that are required for a business to show value
to both its customers and its employees.
So, why is digital transformation important?
You can call it anything you want but rate
of change is going up, time between new events,
new releases and launches of technology that
impact your business are getting shorter and
it doesn't matter what industry you're in.
Preparation and the ability to manage these
changes are going to be directly correlated
to the type of culture that your business
has.
If your business is unable to deal with rapid
change you will fall victim to digital transformation,
disruption, rapid innovation or any other
word you want to put around this.
Bottom line - change up.
People need to be more able to adapt than
every before.
Digital transformation - very relevant, and
if your business doesn't understand just how
big this change and this transformation is
going to be to their business, then guess
what?
You probably will fall victim to this.
However, just know it's not all about the
technology.
What it's really about is getting the people
to understand your vision, to understand why
all this matters in terms of creating better
bottom lines, happier employees and better
customer experiences.
Digital transformation matters.
I don't care what you call it.
