Tag: digital transformation

Daily note for 28 September 2023

A new Wilco album! Ace.

I newslettered: “Mark [Thompson]’s rallying call around this stuff – that digital age operating models that make use of what computers are good at, and what the private sector is good at, in order to free up public servants to do what they are good at – feels increasingly like an idea whose time is now. At the very least, it should be part of the conversation. We should not take localism to mean doing things in exponentially ineffective and inefficient ways for the sake of it. There has to be a point where local configuration of nationally adopted standards kicks in at the delivery level as well as at the policy level.”

Weeknotes rules by Giles Turnbull – helpful because they “set expectations about what good weeknote behaviour should look like”.

Team manual and team charter – my two favourite workshops to run with new teams or teams with new members – I love Alan Wright’s blog, so full of insight and useful, practical advice.

Stacks of really, really useful stuff in this guide to digital transformation in HE from Jisc. Lots that can be applied to other sectors.

Digital transformation

The term digital transformation is being bandied about rather a lot at the moment.

That’s fine – people often argue about words and phrases and what they mean and whether they are helpful.

Usually they aren’t perfect but do a job as a sort of shorthand that everyone has a broad – if occasionally divergent – understanding of.

However, if by transformation people are meaning making a lasting and sustainable change in the way an organisation works (which is how I understand it), then I don’t think transformation is what you really want.

It’s a bit like words such as disruption. Disruption is a good way of getting people to notice something – but it’s not always in a positive way, nor in a way that will convince people to come with you.

Transformation to me feels big, and quick. Maybe that is what organisations want. I don’t think it is what they need though.

Developing the culture of an organisation is hard work, and it takes a long time. For digital transformation to happen, it needs to be incremental and slow. It has to be given time to bed in, for the laggards to catch up, for everyone to be comfortable.

It also has to take place in small chunks, not trying to fix everything at once.

Remember, ‘digital’ is all about small changes, made responsively in line with the needs of users. Not frantic efforts to build giant edifices.

Organisations need to use the mindset, skills and tools of digital to make digital happen, otherwise it makes no sense, and just won’t work.

So, if you’re planning a digital strategy, or are in charge of digital transformation, make sure you start small, iterate, don’t promise too much, and don’t be tempted to go for big, flashy high profile activities. They might make a short term splash, but won’t change much in the long term.

Reminder – if you need a hand with this stuff, the 10 Think Digital principles might be useful. Check out the slidedeck or the webinar recording.

Digital transformation report from Altimeter

A quick post as I am just back from a short break with the family and didn’t have anything lined up to publish today!

digitransAltimeter Group have just published a really interesting report called Digital Transformation: Why and How Companies are Investing in New Business Models to Lead Digital Customer Experiences. It has its own microsite and everything.

There are seven key findings in the report, detailed on page 5. I found the following most interesting:

1. Social, mobile, real-time and other disruptive technologies are aligning to necessitate bigger changes than initially anticipated.

3. Mapping and understanding the customer experience is becoming critical in guiding transformation efforts.

5. Digital transformation is driven partly by technology and also by the evolution of customer behaviour.

In other words, digital matters because customers are using it.

All in all, it’s a great report and well worth trading your email address to get access to it.