A 2015 study found that 80% of companies with a Chief Digital Officer had created the role within the previous three years1. These executives came from a variety of backgrounds, but the vast majority had come up through marketing and sales. The term ‘digital marketing’ was first used in the 1990’s as marketers began to recognize the web as a medium to reach potential customers2. And, of course, marketers have been forced to embrace technology even further as society itself began to be changed by technologies such as mobile and social.

But today the term ‘digital’ goes far beyond marketing. In fact, many will declare that “every business is a digital business”3. Technology has become both fundamental to the company as well as strategic. It is at the forefront of the customer experience; it is driving innovation in products and services; it is accelerating the supply chain; it is disrupting whole industries and building new ecosystems. In addition, digital transformation potentially requires changes to your business model, organization structure, incentive plan, culture, business processes, leadership, and more.

While many CMOs seek to make a case to lead digital transformation, its holistic scope will soon push far outside their normal realm. And although most CIOs feel that they should have the responsibility for digital transformation by default, fewer than 35% of today’s CIOs are expected to become tasked with the effort. Obviously, your current title does not automatically qualify you for the role. In fact, less than 40% of companies believe that their leaders are equipped to lead their digital transformation.4

So then what are some characteristics of a true digital transformer?

  • Business-savvy. Many give a tremendous emphasis to the technology aspect of digital transformation. Others point to the need for speed, agility, data-driven decisions, and customer focus. But fundamentally this is a business transformation intended to improve the value of your business. The technology is a tool enabling that. Speed, agility, data-driven decisions, and customer focus are attributes needed for continued business value improvement in the digital era. Digital transformers have a solid understanding of business. They must work with the executive team to establish and measure bold goals leading to increased value. It’s not simply about how many likes you can get on your Facebook page. Just using your IT department as an example – High-performing IT organizations implement 30X more frequently with 200X shorter lead times than their lower-performing peers. In addition, they experience 60X fewer failures and recover from failure 168X faster.5 Can you see any value this would bring to the company?
  • Big picture thinker. Instead of simply thinking outside the box, digital transformers don’t even realize there is a box. They are not limited by a closed approach constrained by company resources but see an entire ecosystem of customers, suppliers, and partners that can add value to the firm. They recognize that combining partnership resources causes product/service innovation, development, and deployment to occur at a much more rapid rate by bringing many more resources to bear than a single company can ever afford. And at the same time, it attracts the customers of those partners to your firm. Digital transformers study emerging business models and consider how to apply them. For example, they realize the agility to be gained by concentrating solely upon things that bring direct value to the firm while teaming with other companies to supply any other needed expertise and services.
  • “Fresh Eyes.” The digital transformer must look at things from a completely new perspective. Instead of seeing things as they are, one must envision what they might be while influencing others to do the same. Instead of simply asking what value the company can provide, the transformer will also look to the value that the customers and other networks can bring. They see the advantages of customer co-creation, advocacy, and sharing. They search for ways to digitize products. They look to restructure the organization to better align with the customer while bring drastic improvements in speed and agility. The rapidly changing environment requires the transformer to be a continual learner. This is not a job in which one can rest on his laurels or depend solely upon current knowledge and experience. Looking at things with fresh eyes actually gives an advantage to one coming from outside the company…and even outside the industry.
  • Politically astute. In many ways, the digital transformer will become the CEO’s personal SWAT team to drive the company through transformation. This process is not always smooth sailing and can in fact become rather rocky on occasion. Transformers must be bold and unafraid yet at the same time, they must possess high emotional intelligence. The ability to influence people at all levels inside and outside the organization is critical. They should have experience at leading large-scale changes affecting multiple areas within a business. Ideally they will have also led culture change initiatives and displayed the ability to increase employee engagement.
  • Customer obsessed. You’ve seen many companies claim to provide superior customer service. You’ve also likely experienced cases in which service from those same companies leaves somewhat to be desired. But in the digital era, even superior customer service is not sufficient. Digital transformers must focus a great deal of energy on developing strategies and processes to enhance knowledge of and engagement with the customer. They solicit and listen to “the voice of the customer” and broadcast that throughout the company. They push the entire organization to look at things “through the eyes of the customer.” They use customer journey maps to identify opportunities and pain points in the customer experience. Then they work with departments throughout the organization to unify and tighten up the customer experience across all channels.
  • Humility. The scope of digital transformation touches every corner of your company and reaches into the entire ecosystem in which you operate. A single individual cannot expect to be an expert in every aspect. Transformers must be known as great listeners. They must actively promote collaboration by involving others inside and outside the organization. It is important that they vigorously solicit innovative ideas from others. They must urge open-mindedness and eliminate any vestige of the “not-invented-here” syndrome. They must bring simplicity out of complexity. Obviously they are quick to praise and give credit to others. In the long run, digital transformers must be diligently working to replicate themselves within the company.

Is “digital transformer” a permanent position?

There has been a debate raging as to whether or not ‘Chief Digital Officer’ is a permanent position. But let’s realize that being a digital transformer is a mindset and a skillset – not a position or a title. In fact, there are currently some with the Chief Digital Officer title who are so narrowly focused that they would not be recognized as true digital transformers in many other companies. (This is similar to the issue with CFO and CIO titles that have been diluted by those who are not at all strategically oriented).

Digital transformation is not really about technology. It is about transformation that just happens to be enabled by technology. Change is a constant. It is not anticipated that the need for speed, agility, customer focus, and innovation will diminish any time soon, and companies must continue to transform accordingly. They will benefit by multiplying the mindset and skill set of digital transformers throughout their organization rather than trying to vest it in a single individual.

Sources:

1 Friedrich, Roman, Pierre Péladeau, and Kai Mueller. “Adapt, Disrupt, Transform, Disappear: The 2015 Chief Digital Officer Study.” Strategy&. PwC, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 12 July 2016.  http://www.strategyand.pwc.com/reports/chief-digital-officer-study

2 Monnappa, Avantika. “The History and Evolution of Digital Marketing.”Simplilearn.com. N.p., 9 July 2015. Web. 14 July 2016. http://www.simplilearn.com/history-and-evolution-of-digital-marketing-article

3 Rodríguez, Tomás. “Every Business Is a Digital Business – Accenture.” Every Business Is a Digital Business – Accenture. Accenture, n.d. Web. 14 July 2016. https://www.accenture.com/us-en/success-every-business-digital-business

4 Bhanap, Richard. “Who Is Responsible for Digital Leadership in the Boardroom?” ComputerWeekly. TechTarget, June 2015. Web. 14 July 2016. http://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Who-is-responsible-for-digital-leadership-in-the-boardroom

5 “2015 State of DevOps Report.” Puppet. N.p., 2016. Web. 14 July 2016. https://puppet.com/resources/white-paper/2015-state-of-devops-report

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