OK, so digital transformation is still a buzzword (buzzphrase?). Which means it’s still running through the minds of marketers throughout the tech world. Which means companies are still cutting checks for technologies from which they fail to derive the promised value. Why?
A Digital Philosophy
The way we see it (the way we do it), digital transformation is not just the product of “going digital”, migrating to the cloud, or implementing an ERP. Digital transformation is a strategy and a cultural attitude that understands the business and process value of using technology intelligently. That’s a sort of philosophical way of saying that digital transformation (DT) isn’t as much about buying new software as it is about developing a good attitude toward technological practices and adaptations.
All this is to say, DT doesn’t have to be an expensive, extensive project of new software implementation. It certainly doesn’t have to mean buying new apps. It does, however, mean modifying strategies and cultures to ones that nourish innovation, approach decisions strategically, and think in terms of a technology and process ecosystem.
What does this mean in practical, technological terms? Good question.
The Strategies
The first hurdle to overcome–and the one that many companies simply don’t–is realizing that technology, while important, is only one aspect of a DT mindset. Transformation is not a single project, wherein software is implemented and adopted and it’s done. It is as much about an attitude toward working to deliver better products, more satisfaction, lowering operational barriers, and generally just adapting better to dynamic and often chaotic markets. In most respects, this is takes a cultural change.
Fostering a culture in which people are empowered to be inventive about problems, where people see collaboration across channels as an imperative, and where problems are solved in a larger context of the business landscape really is the defining thrust behind a digital transformation. Of course this takes time and persistence.
But perhaps more importantly than time or persistence, fostering a culture of innovation means both communicating a long-term vision for the company and involving team members at every level in the kinds of problem-solving it takes to work toward those visions.
A Matter of Practice
You can’t simply pass down a directive to innovate. Even if that weren’t just a vague mandate, it would still be indicative more of a task than a mindset–and mindsets are what we’re looking for in transformative cultures. Teams and their individual members should be afforded the space to have explorative, inquisitive attitudes toward the problems they face every day, and be willing to take risks in developing new ways to better solve those problems. That’s how DT happens.
For us, that means having “garage hours”: time set aside specifically for exploration, for finding novel solutions to that problem we’ve been struggling with, or for playing with a new tech that has promise. We also make time for team presentations, technology showcases, and knowledge sharing, all in the effort of continually pushing how we understand and use technology as a team and business.
These are small steps toward the kind of cultural attitude that undergirds true digital transformation, but they’re important ways that we maintain a forward mindset and allow technological change to permeate the business from the ground up. Paving stones, if you will.
Why, Though?
Yes, this is a philosophical approach to digital transformation. But any approach will rest on shaky legs if it neglects the philosophical practice supporting it. This sort of cultural work directly influences your company’s implementation of solutions.
Not only are solutions implemented, trained, and adopted better–owing to the general attitude toward tech as well as the shorter ramp-up times–there grows a stronger inclination toward the future, which leads people to think more in terms of ecosystems than just the immediate moment. In turn, the company as a whole becomes adaptable, which in and of itself is a tremendous aspect of digital transformation. This comes all the way back to the misguided notion that DT is a one-and-done thing. Nope. It’s a constant sensibility to update and respond to a moving landscape of business.
Don’t Just Budget Cash
Out on the web, in business meetings, around the watercooler, there’s been cultivated this sense that digital transformation means buying software, moving to the cloud, automating everything you can. And while there’s a kernel of truth in those notions, none of that could possibly see success without a strong technological and progress-oriented inclination suffusing a company. No single initiative, no one app, no wholesale process swap will ever accomplish a transformation.
And therein lies the beauty: Digital Transformation doesn’t have to cost the time, money, and headache of a large implementation. It can be a series of small trials spread out over years. A technological show-and-tell once a week (or month). A small budget for individuals to try new apps that make their days easier, shorter, more fun. These kind of strategies will move the needle in your digital transformation far more than a fancy cloud migration, because they involve changing the perspective around process, technology, and adaptation in ways that better serve everyone, and everyone’s future.
Bill Erickson is Interject’s Director of Communications. Contact him or the Interject Solutions Team at info@gointerject.com
