The Someday of Digital Transformation is Already Here.
What are you doing about its arrival?
We can no longer take our reality for granted. The opportunity to shape new workflow experiences is here now.
“The opportunity to shape new workflow experiences is here now.”
Phases
Consulting and analyst organizations see the pandemic requiring us to move through three to four phases. Those phases help us get back to an economy that looks normal over the next year. When an outbreak of this magnitude hits, going through stages to get to a reality that seems more sustainable and human makes sense. However, we must process what has happened before our minds can move forward.
Embrace the Phases
The lifestyle changes, the magnitude of the problem, and the new business motions requiring new responses can make life exhausting. Do not make things worse by ignoring the human needs of acknowledging the phases. It’s wise to let the stages receive their proper considerations.
However, when we accelerate our strategic planning, we elevate the corporate mood. When your people are inspired, ideas erupt. You know this to be accurate; the pandemic’s cloud of uncertainty is no long-term match for a unified sense of purpose.
“The pandemic’s cloud of uncertainty is no long-term match for a unified sense of purpose.”
Companies outside of the digital economy will not thrive and will likely not survive.
The good news is that firms such as the Boston Consulting Group expect a full recovery. Economic recovery is more of a question of when than if. The time to act on your digital strategies and improve workflows is now, not someday. Digital transformation is critical to your revenue growth, talent strategies, and survival.
Enough of the retreat, it’s time to advance.
Let us disrupt the great disruption. We can proactively move forward by processing the change faster and taking ownership of our timeframe. Many organizations will miss the opportunity to compress eight weeks into five. Your courage begins with your leadership team’s mindset and depends on a committed culture. Aim for specific achievable milestones giving your company a sense of purpose and influence. Moreover, instead of waiting until mid-Q3 2020 to plan your transformation, start your planning and messaging in Q2.
“Let us disrupt the great disruption.”
Process new facts faster and move forward with energetic planning to give your company an edge in late Q3 or Q4. You knew that someday digital transformation and improved workflows would be operational requirements anyway. Motivate your teams by shifting eventually to now. Thus, creating excitement and purpose around your plans. Your most valuable employees are problem solvers, not problem dwellers. Let’s focus on delivering better workflow experiences for your employees and customers.
Know where you want to be by January 2021
Slow down to speed up by gathering facts, know where you want to be by the end of 2020. January 1, 2021 will be here sooner than you think. Define your milestones and how you will measure outcomes. For example, we require full remote workforce capabilities. Your home office is now part of your company’s IT infrastructure. How will you make working from anywhere a great experience at your company?
“Your home office is now part of your company’s IT infrastructure.”
Your January 2021 North Star guides you, and there is little time to waste. You must think big to meet the digital transformation challenges. However, you can start with an achievable project where you control most of the pieces and can work with an expert. The likely outcome is you will earn credibility by accelerating your vision.
Start exercising those operational muscles as you steer your organization into 2021. A recent study showed 70% of executives in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland are predicting the pandemic will accelerate digital transformation. What has disappeared is the sad habit of kicking the can down the road for digital transformation. Your company must be able to compete in a low-touch digital business environment, or you will be gone too.
Agree on your company’s personalized timeframe
Agile companies pivot based on changing facts, and this event is testing our pivot abilities like nothing else. You want to lead with empathy, flexibility, and resilience. Make this your finest hour as an organization. Use a better tomorrow as an anchoring approach for your company. Thus, giving your employees a sense of purpose and confidence. Redefine your vision, map out your easily-understood plans, and get unanimous C-level support for the timing.
Design your succession planning
In the last 30 years, according to the Brookings Institution, the pace of automation has increased during the previous three recessions. Succession is genuinely about who steers and owns the future. A standard definition of inheritance focuses on who gets to sit in the corner office of the company. A more exciting description for the 21st-century is about enabling the company to compete for shaping the future. Who or what will inherit the status of powering the company to grow and be more resilient to macroeconomic events?
A better tomorrow won’t be the magic of one leader, nor will it depend on one department. Growth will come from a culture of collaborative and fact-based thinkers who work alongside intelligent technology. Modern workflows create effortless employee and customer experiences, better business outcomes, and a higher valuation. In other words, working with seven different applications during the day is so 20th-century and is a growth barrier.
“Modern workflows create effortless employee and customer experiences, better business outcomes, and a higher valuation.”
A company that wastes time and effort moves toward extinction. Indecisive and slow-moving companies plateau or go away, and the tea leaves are an easy read. Succession planning is enabling your company to survive and thrive in a new digital world. The good news is you can take action today for new workflow experiences that give you a better tomorrow.
In summary
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The Reality of Digital Transformation is Here Now
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You Can Process the Change Faster to Inspire Your Company
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Employees and Customer Deserve Effortless Experiences
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Take Action to Survive and Thrive
