Transformations

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change."                               

Charles Darwin

Most often I focus my articles on political developments in our global village.

However, as author of four books on strategic communications and a former professor and diplomatic practitioner of this discipline, I am always fascinated about how organizations maximize their potential using information technology (IT) and communications specialists as integral components of their business development teams.

In this article, I will discuss how technology is affecting organizations – public and private sector – and how they can adapt to survive and thrive in a competitive environment.

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Jim Whitehurst, President of Red Hat says that “Disruption is a common thread running through nearly every conversation I have with Chief Information Officers (CIOs). Industries are changing so quickly and technology evolving so rapidly that even the most seasoned organizations are having to redesign fundamental aspects of their businesses”.

The world has come a long way since I obtained my MBA back in 1975.

Technology has created tectonic shifts in human behavior and communications, and business models have had to keep up to survive.

As Charles Darwin once said, it is not the strongest of the species nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change that will survive.

And those most responsive to change are using technology and communications strategies to adapt and respond.

Rapid advances in technology are enabling remote group work easier and are breaking down corporate silos thanks to broader, more participative communication and information sharing.

Working across organizational and geographic borders is now standard for many businesses.  Financial technology has changed how we manage money. Teams, Zoom and social media have changed how we interact with clients and suppliers, along with massive changes in marketing, selling, and distribution models for the delivery of products and services.

Companies are more than ever driven by data and measured by their responsiveness and customer satisfaction.

According to my brother, who is leading his company in this transformation, the collecting, organizing, reporting, and analyzing of data is at the base of competitive advantage to enterprises seeking to better understand their business, their customers and the users of their products or services.

At the heart of the digital transformation many companies are undergoing is the need to better organise and manage data. This requires IT staff to work closely with other professionals in the organization to ensure they understand the nuances of the business.  With this knowledge can they be best prepared to build well-structured data warehouses from which reports and analysis can be derived and optimized for use by marketing sales, finance, logistics and planning professionals in the organization.

In successful business models, the customer’s experience with the enterprise must be at the center. In the ever-growing data driven, online economy, creating a customer centric data culture is what is at the heart of companies successfully leveraging digital tools and data.

This requires an ongoing dialogue between provider and consumer to understand customer needs. From here, the enterprise can work to optimize the customer experience, using metrics and customer feedback to measure progress and to drive improvement.

This, in addition to staff leadership and training along with the degree of excellence in its products or services, is how an enterprise today must approach building its corporate brand. Absent this, clients may well move on to other options.

When I did my MBA, project management was the buzzword.  

It is still critical to successful implementations of a transformation. Today’s communications technology makes project management far more effective.

Corporate silos can be broken down and collaboration across company lines, even including outside participants, can enrich the company’s ability to create and implement changes that render them more effective in achieving their objectives.

This requires organizational commitment, agility, and a culture of constant learning.

Adapting often entails making mistakes since all change entails risk. If team members are made to feel comfortable and supported in taking calculated risks, they can feel more empowered to contribute. The key is that if an initiative fails, it should be corrected or even closed quickly.

At the same time successful steps within growth initiatives can be extended into further initiatives so long as there are clear objectives and metrics to measure progress and identify where to correct.  

It's a lot of change that requires the company culture to adapt and evolve responsibilities, tools, and processes. It also requires major investment in technology, communication, training, and feedback to show commitment and to gain trust. This means active engagement from top management and buy in throughout the organization. This is a shared responsibility and not one solely in the hands of the IT or digital team.

In summary, it is those who adapt that will survive the challenges and benefit from the opportunities offered by information and communication technology.

While these may take a more central role in business planning and execution, all areas of the business must be actively guiding the process and the cultural change required to transform a business to be ready to compete for the future.