I just finished reading some articles in the WSJ on Digital Transformation and AI. I am fairly well versed on these topics as I have been in the trenches to such transformations ranging from developing user experiences to digital personas.
It continues to amaze me how today's CEO and CIO's know so little about what it takes to move a digital company. The love of labels, titles, acronyms and tools with so little understanding of the organization, process and data elements that are so foundational to enable such a transformation. So, before you claim to be a digital innovation expert or even an evangelist, ask yourself the following questions first:
- Do you understand that digital starts with data?
- Do you understand that digital means and willing to make hard choices on organizational alignment; breaking down cultural, system and process silos?
- Are you willing to suffer the ramifications of being a change agent which often requires undertaking these organizational and cultural aspects of becoming digital?
- Do you even know how to apply the data you have?
- Do you understand the problems you seeking to solve and the questions you need answered?
- Do you really know how AI can be applied in your organization?
- Is a orchestration based ROBOT equal to AI?
- Are you willing to take the journey that is evolutionary and incremental?
A digital journey starts at home. Understand your data, its structure and relationships. This is hard especially in organizations with a years of legacy. Understand your processes and be prepared to reorganize these process. This may translate to reorganizing elements of your organization and systems. Be prepared to deal with all the vested interests across the spectrum of organization and technology within your organization. Lastly, be on the look out for the tool "dejure" that will solve all your problems. Believe me they will be proposed. If you believe that a tool or tool suite is all you need to start become digital, do you self and your organization a favor - solve another problem.
The hard truth is that 80% of executives that claim they are "spearheading" a digital transformation are only touching the problem on the edges and spending a lot of money for little value.
If you understand this, then your are ready to take the next step...
Are you still prepared to undertake this? Good. Next you must be willing to realize that becoming digital is journey and requires long term funding and vision. This requires developing a plan identifying and realizing incremental value along the way and securing investment.
Becoming digital requires you to understand on where you are at as a company. If starting from zero, yield is often low. You will only realize exponentially greater yield as the success of your transformation matures. If you company is exclusively run by a typical short term financial only mindset and insists on reasonable ROI in early years of adoption; then you probably will not be successful not matter at what stage your are.
Executive leadership must be willing to take the journey and be wise enough to understand adoption requires a long term financial commitment. He or she must be willing to accept foundational changes first that often don't immediately yield business results worth the investment.
The Hard Truth...
I am tired of of hearing all the executive pundits claim how they are becoming digital. Most of it is noise. They are not. They are beefing up their ego's and sense of self worth and/or positioning themselves for their next job.
My current CIO, now former, as he just left was like this and left a wake of destruction. The CEO did not understand what becoming digital means. He just read the press and said to himself, yea, I want to become that. He did not even know that in his industry, he had no choice.. either do or die a slow death. Brilliant insight for his salary, bonus and options.
The hard truth, these type of CEO's, CFO's and CIO's are a dime a dozen in today's world. Worse, they think they can buy tools and outsource their way to the future. In their minds, their problem is that don't have enough H type visa's. No self-reflection of their own lacking. After all tacit knowledge equals explicit knowledge and all knowledge is a commodity - isn't it?
All I want is my banner of being a leader. "Digital", "Transformative" and "Innovative". This will allow me to personally survive a few more years then take my parachute. It may even get my investors off my back or even attract new investors. Maybe my stock price will go up. I wonder how may shares I have now? Leave me alone so I can expound on my accomplishments.
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