Lesson Transcript

This course has so far highlighted how today’s company cultures are inherently vulnerable to disruption. We’ve seen how current digital solutions don’t address the true cause of the threat, which is a lack of innovation culture. We’ve also identified two common misconceptions about digital and introduced the solution that can help shift a company towards an agile culture that protects itself from disruption - the digital strategy. 

But how do we get from our current situation to that point?

Having the right people on board is critical to the success of your digital strategy. 

So this lesson looks at the personnel: who should be involved in creating and running your digital strategy.

Misconceptions about digital exist because of the way the digital landscape has developed. Initial responses to the establishment of digital technology in the business involved the introduction of IT departments. They were the isolated specialists at the end of the phone when your computer said no or your servers are down. More recently, the proliferation of social media and other channels has led to a strong case for seeing marketing as the main digital department. It’s become a hip thing to be in charge of, and sometimes people can become very possessive about ‘owning’ digital. I have witnessed some major bust-ups over the control of a digital project, such as the corporate website, where more than one department arguably has a significant stake.

Our first step is to look at how we can encourage all the employees within our organization to move on from an ownership mindset. This means educating the entire organization about the benefits of digital strategy, so they buy into its success.

But how can that be achieved?

Engaging the senior team

The first group of key personnel for your digital strategy is the senior team. 

Senior management needs to buy into the fundamental idea that digital is now a core business concept that applies across the organization, rather than an IT or marketing niche. When the entire senior team appreciates the benefits of having a digital strategy, they can champion the project across the organization. In lesson 3, we covered areas that could be used to support a pitch to the senior team. For each organization bringing the senior team, onside may involve a different approach - lobbying a key member of the board could be the right way to go, or organizing an away day conference with them all together could work better.

Digital governance models

We now know we need to re-educate the organization and where that will start. But who will actually roll out our digital strategy? If it’s not an IT or marketing project per se, who will make it happen?

To identify the best people for your organization we need to briefly look at the model your digital strategy will take. For historical reasons, the most common structure for digital ownership has tended to be a compartmentalized one, which has resulted in the problems we face today. What I mean is that companies have a number of separate digital systems that are not talking to each other. This leads to repetition and waste. 

A second alternative, centralization, has been adopted in some companies, but, especially in larger organizations, centralization can hinder innovation, delay getting a product to market, and block the implementation of efficiencies. 

So if separate systems lead to waste and centralization causes bottlenecks, what model can support a cohesive digital strategy across the company while remaining responsive and agile to the needs of each department?

A third solution is to look at your digital strategy as a layer going across all departments but not controlling any of them; instead it acts as a guardian or enabler across all digital implementation. This is called the governance model.

The digital steering committee

To establish a governance model, a key team member from each department across the organization has to be chosen to be part of the digital strategy steering committee. This should be someone who understands the business processes of their department and can ensure the strategy will be implemented. Once you have the senior team onside, they should be well-placed to identify who this person should be.

By enabling each department to take collective ownership of the digital strategy, you start the organization on its journey towards a new innovation culture and help ensure the implementation of the strategy won’t be blocked.

In summary, the personnel who are going to ensure the success of your digital strategy are

• Your senior team as champions of the strategy
• A key player from each department to inform and implement the strategy in an ongoing role
• And of course, everybody else who works for the organization