Gone are the days, when companies used to
decide strategy and then execute it for next five years as planned.
Today company’s
life on Fortune 500 or S&P 500 is just 15 years. Digital businesses like
Uber, Airbnb did not exist before 2008 but now they are multi-billion dollar
poster children for digital disruption.
Today due to digital, every
business has to change how to operate, interact with their customers every day.
Long term strategies are no longer valid or sustainable and change is constant
feature.
Culture is a key determinant of this successful
digital transformation. We can change our technologies, our infrastructure, and
our processes. But without addressing the human element, lasting change will
not happen. Culture is the operating system of the organization. It is like
air, it is there but you can’t see it.
It's important for leaders to
understand the business's current culture to map the right solution and
timeline that will work for that business. No two organizational cultures are
the same. Executives
underestimate the importance of culture in an era of digital. Most cultures are risk averse at a time, when
taking risks is the most direct path to innovation.
But we have to remember that without
the involvement, cooperation and feedback of the workforce, any digital
transformation will struggle to maintain momentum.
Building an
organizational culture for a successful adoption of digital technologies like IoT, Big Data Analytics, Mobility requires everyone in the organization, from leaders to front-line employees, to
be prepared to work in an open and transparent way. It’s hard for an
organization to undergo digital transformation if the culture is one built
around silos. In cases like these, cultural change would need to be addressed
before the transformation process could begin
Culture leads the
adoption of technology. The ability to innovate depends on the impatience of
the organizational culture. Organizations have to build the culture and
community, making the time for people to share experiences, test and learn what
works, brainstorm and collaborate.
It takes time to
develop a digital culture; the sooner a company acts, the more quickly it will
be in a position to compete in this fast-paced, digitized, multichannel world.
Southwest Airlines, in
operation for more than 40 years, brought in culture change and empowered
employees to go Digital and help customers.
Imagine how GE, which is
more than 130 years old and operating in more than 175 countries now, has a
quest for cultural change to be leader in Digital and Industrial Internet of Things.
Coca Cola has
reinvented itself with culture change by focusing on digital natives while
offering more than 100 flavored drinks.
For Digital
Transformation Culture is top most enabler. Without people, tools won’t make
any difference!!
Very pertinent point and a issue that most companies struggle with today, specially in Sri Lanka. They also find it difficult to engage the younger generation ( Gen y and z) as they don't understand how to make the best of the emerging trends, and needs.
ReplyDelete