Originally published in Borsen the 12th of February 2020. Click here to read in Danish. English translation below.
Digital transformation is my new pet peeve. If I were to plagiarize the Danish poet Søren Ulrik Thomsen’s poetry collection ”The worst part and the best part” (from Danish: Det værste og det bedste) this term would surely be in there. The worst part is that the term is thrown around without much reflection. As something to be feared if you work on the organisation side and something to be harvested if you work on the consultant side. A recent American poll shows that digital transformation is the number one concern among CEO’s.
All the large consultancies have rushed to make digital transformation an off-the-shelf offer, since, in their understanding, digital transformation addresses the biggest challenges of companies today. And it’s easy to be seduced, since the term plays on the fear of losing relevance in a future becoming ever more digital. But I would invite everyone to do some critical reflection. Slow down. Say no to digital transformation in its current shape. Let me tell you why.
A few years back, ”disruption” was the word everyone felt the need to use when trying to convince others that they knew and understood the direction the world was heading in. The then Danish government even commissioned a disruption advisory board. To everyone’s embarrassment, since they never delivered any results and the members seemed to have been chosen as much at random as the topics they were set to discuss. We cannot make the same mistake with digital transformation – that is, to be collectively seduced by a word rhyming with technology – since this can mislead us and end up overshadowing what is actually important.
The transformation our companies are facing is about much more than technology. It’s about staying relevant in a market becoming more complex and requiring different types of competencies to navigate. Many of our companies stem from a proud engineering tradition and so it’s no surprise that solutions to new problems are often sought out in technology. But it’s about time that we consult other disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, philosophy and literature, all of which are in their core working to understand humans and their relations to the world around them.
The risk of the current shape of digital transformation is that we start from the wrong place – both in our conversations and in our organisations. When we start out by framing the solution as technical, we skip the most important step: the reflection about what problem we actually wish to solve. What value do we wish to create for humans? Questions like this cannot be solved by digital transformation, although digital solutions will of course be part of the solution.
With the risk of sounding very old-fashioned (and not very digital), no technology will give you the innovation or speed to market that you are looking for. Empathy and being in touch with the people you are creating value for will. Understanding the impact structural, societal changes have on our values, choices and hopes will. If you take such understandings as your starting points and utilize them to create loyal and enthusiastic users, you are standing on a strong foundation.
Facebook is a great example of an unexpected digital transformation without the necessary accompanying reflections. Mark Zuckerberg realized much too late that his product is part of a cultural and social context. Had he had a critical sociologist or philosopher by his side from the beginning, he would have been able to build his business armed with an understanding of its potentially destructive powers and could have avoided the problems he realized much too late.
Meaningful digital transformation necessitates the acknowledgement that technology and technological development is starting to become a commodity. As we’ve seen in other commoditized markets, established companies who prioritize their technology get overtaken by companies who put the experience and the customer first. That’s why we need a better understanding of customers as human beings.
If you want to create a sustainable future for you company you cannot simply see digital transformation as an opportunity for optimizing internal efficiency, a modern way to sell more products via digital channels or a tool for upselling across business units. You must see it as the very first step towards becoming customer centric. Digital transformation is your chance to build intimacy in your relationship with your users, so the total user experience forges a strong and loyal bond to your company.
"The best part is that even on the worst days, I'm curious about tomorrow" writes Søren Ulrik Thomsen in his poem. The same goes for me. I am curious about how tomorrow we might start transforming our companies in a way that ensures their continued relevance for human beings.
