Digital Transformation is a Leadership Issue, Not a Technology Issue

For over a decade, the focus of my consulting in our industry has been helping businesses punch through and transform their companies digitally. While this is often thought of as some top-down push from investors, the board, or the Chief Executive Officer, you might be surprised that the company leadership lacks the experience and skill to push digital transformation (DX). I’m often hired by leadership to assist a company in digitally transforming – and it just happens to start with sales and marketing opportunities because that’s where incredible results can be realized quickly.

As declines in traditional channels continue and numerous affordable digital media strategies have risen, companies often struggle to shift. Legacy mindsets and legacy systems prevail, with analytics and direction lacking. By utilizing an agile process, I can present leaders with their digital marketing maturity within their industry, among their competitors, and with respect to their customers. That evidence provides clarity on what we need to transform the business. Once we have buy-in, we head on a journey to transform their business.

I’m consistently surprised that the employees are ready to learn and charge… but management and leadership often keep hitting the breaks. Even when they realize that the alternative to digital transformation and agility is extinction, they push back for fear of change.

Poor top-down communication and a lack of transformation leadership are significant problems that inhibit progress toward transformation.

According to a study from Nintex, digital transformation isn’t as much a technology issue as a talent issue. It’s why consultants like myself are in high demand right now. While companies have incredible talent internally, that talent isn’t often exposed to new methods, platforms, media, and methodology. Static processes often settle in with layers of management ensuring their stability… which may very well be hindering what’s needed.

• Only 47% of line of business employees are even aware of what digital transformation is – let alone whether their company
  has a plan to address/achieve digital transformation.
• 67% of managers know digital transformation compared to 27% of non-managers.
• Despite 89% of decision-makers saying they have a designated transformation lead, no one emerges as the clear leader across companies.
• The significant exception to the awareness gap is the IT line of business workers, 89% of whom know what digital transformation is.

In our discussions with IT leaders on our Dell Luminaries podcast, we see the difference strong leadership makes to organizations. These organizations never settle for stability. The operating culture of these organizations – many international companies with tens of thousands of employees – is that continuous change is the norm.

The study Nintex study supports this. Specific to sales organizations, the study reveals:

• 60% of sales professionals have no idea what digital transformation even is
• 40% of sales professionals believe more than one-fifth of their jobs can be automated
• 74% believe some aspects of their job can be automated.

The organizations they work for lack the leadership on how to effect transformation by implementing artificial intelligence and automation to bridge the gap. Sadly, the study also reveals that 17% of sales pros aren’t even involved in digital transformation discussions, with 12% having limited involvement.

Digital Transformation is No Longer Risky

Today’s digital transformation isn’t even risky compared to a decade ago. With consumer’s digital behavior becoming more predictable and the number of affordable platforms expanding, companies don’t have to make the enormous capital investments they used to have to make just a few years go.

A case in point is a company I’m assisting with digital signage. A vendor came in with an enormous quote that would have taken months to recoup if they could. It required a proprietary system owned and maintained by the vendor, requiring both a subscription to their platform and the purchase of their proprietary hardware. The company contacted me and asked me for assistance, so I contacted my network.

Recommended by a partner, I found a solution that utilized AppleTVs and HDTVs off the shelf and then ran an application that was incredibly inexpensive per screen – Kitcast. By not having to make enormous capital investments and utilizing off-the-shelf solutions, the company will recoup the costs almost as soon as the system is live. And that’s including my consultation fees!

In reviewing the case of Sears’ recent bankruptcy, I think this is absolutely what happened. Everyone internally understood that the company needed to be transformed but lacked the leadership to make it happen. Stability and status quo had set in over the decades, and middle management feared change. That fear and inability to adapt led to their inevitable demise.

Employees Unnecessarily fear Digital Transformation

Business employees aren’t getting the memo about transformation efforts – and have unfounded job fears as a result – because there’s no clear leader behind transformation efforts. Nintex found a lack of consensus about who should lead digital transformation efforts within an organization.

As a result of their lack of awareness, line of business employees are more likely to view their company’s transformation and automation efforts as endangering their jobs, even though this is not the case. Nearly one-third of employees worry that using intelligent capabilities will endanger their jobs. Yet, most jobs won’t go away due to intelligent process automation.

Companies have already shaved down their resources to a minimum within the marketing and sales departments I work with. By investing in digital transformation, there’s not a risk of elimination, there’s the opportunity to utilize your talent more effectively. Unleashing the creativity and ingenuity of your sales and marketing teams is ultimately the top benefit of digital transformation!