Digital Transformation Is Dead

“Le roi est mort, Vive le roi!”

Welcome to the wonderful world of digital “facilitators.” Why shouldn't digital help me evolve my business's leadership? Do I need to transform myself, or can digital help me instead? I'll take the second option.

I'm not a fan of dogmatic titles, though I have to admit they work. Yes, the hashtag #DigitalTransfromation is still “alive and kicking,” and I increasingly run into professionals who are tired of being forced to transform digitally. Nobody enjoys being forced to change who they are. And isn't a gentler transition possible? I believe it is.

Call it the natural evolution of your business toward embracing the possibilities of leading a change where digital is the transformational lever; or you could call it an “owl” (someday, when there's time, I'll tell you the joke). The truth is that inviting someone to transform sounds like saying that none of what came before is needed. And nothing could be further from the truth. And new skills are needed.

This past week I read 2 posts of the kind you keep, and I promise to cite them at the end of this post. Both are related to a new trend: “How advanced is your business when it comes to digital transformation?”. And to measure it, a series of ideas, levers or recommendations appear. In this post I want to pull out some similarities from both papers, which put a smile on my face and are tremendously valuable.

Here are the takeaways I'll keep. I'll leave it to you to turn the “share” into a list, a decalogue, even though some Trend Hunters are already pointing out that “listicles” are coming to an end. I don't believe it. I'm going to call it “decalogue for facilitating digital change” or perhaps “10 ideas for facilitating digital change”:

Leading digital change is a matter of people. And of skills.
Strategy takes precedence over technology, and technology is necessary and, still, not enough.
You can't start digitizing a business without the right push (it's a top-down exercise).
Managing digital talent is the most valuable lever in the process of adapting your business to digital.
The natural adaptation of the company to social media, analytics, mobile and cloud tools is an important catalyst.
Knowledge and management of real-time data is one of the decisive factors in helping you digitize your business.
An attitude of accepting risk, or a test & learn culture, greatly facilitates digital adoption.
The ability to collaborate internally and externally, even with competitors, is another important catalyst for change.
Curiosity, passion, the absence of resistance to change and the exchange of knowledge drive digital strategy.
Adopting digital as a lever for transformation is a journey, not a destination.

Over the last 2 years the force of digital transformation has begun to generate some confusion among companies' decision-makers. And could it be that the ends are being confused with the means? And once I've digitally transformed my business, who sits down with the analysts and explains the benefits of digitization if the results don't follow?

And isn't it possible that something I've already learned could be just as valuable in the digital transformation process?

Now imagine for a moment that your teacher tells you that you have to start writing with your right hand because writing with your left hand is wrong. And you wonder, wasn't there some genius who wrote great novels or works of art while being left-handed? There are, and to name just a few: Aristotle, Julius Caesar, Leonardo Da Vinci, Lewis Carroll, Paul McCartney and even Matt Groening (Bart Simpson wasn't left-handed by chance). Don't ask me to change by force, I might have a lot to offer while we share the road.

"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like". Lao Tzu

Don't call on me to transform digitally if I'm still on the way to “sizing up” the opportunity. Don't force me to evolve while forgetting everything that came before; I know that everything before is the pillar of my leadership and can be the best way to maintain my leadership in the future. There are ways to incorporate digital to strengthen current leadership. And, above all, don't demand that I change if you haven't even weighed the chance to understand my business. I'd rather you make the path easier for me and, possibly, in the end I'll digitally transform my business. Help me maintain my leadership position and “embrace” digital without the jolt. Make the change easier for me.

These are, in my view, the questions that a DIGITAL FACILITATOR can help you answer:

How can digital transformation help me achieve my objectives?
Is it possible to take advantage of the benefits of a digitally native business while preserving the foundations of my traditional leadership?
How can I count on most of my current team to adopt the possibilities that digital offers?
What skills do I need to bring into my team?
What is the first step to drawing up my digital strategy?, and the second?, and the third? Is there a final step?
What are the axes for advancing in digital maturity?
What is the desirable future situation based on my business's strategic objectives?
Is it possible to digitize my traditional sales teams?
What are the skills of a leader in digital environments?

All of us who work in digital have been guilty, more than once, of not making ourselves understood. Self-promotion? Self-defense? “posturing”? It doesn't matter, and the consequence is that these behaviors have generated a growing mass of fervent enemies of digital transformation. As a brilliant professional I had lunch with earlier this month put it, “I've been transforming myself digitally all my life, don't talk to me about digital transformation anymore.” And if we go back to the decalogue above: “Adopting digital as a lever for transformation is a journey, not a destination.”

“Le roi est mort, Vive le roi!”