News in Digital from The Digital Transformation People Issue #14

More news, views and how to’s in News in Digital from The Digital Transformation People.
The rate of change is accelerating and as digital transformation becomes a household term it’s increasingly clear that success is less to do with the headline grabbing technologies, and more to do with how people adapt to them; leadership, culture and mindset are the names of the game.

A GOOD READ

These are the world’s most digitally advanced countries
It’s barely 20 years since Sergey Brin and Larry Page registered the domain name google.com, and only 10 years since Steve Jobs walked onto a stage in San Francisco and introduced the iPhone. Yet in this short period, digital technologies have upended our world. Here’s the HBR Digital Evolution Index 3 years on and a look at where the hotspots of change are and where for others the momentum has slowed.

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STRATEGY

Are digital disruptors Wannabes or Heroes?
Disruption …. what’s in a word? As Natalie Smithson says, “The truth is, if you’re working on something different, you don’t really need to talk about the disruption at all. You only need focus on the communal delight of whatever problem it solves…. ”

50 Big Companies that Started with Little or No Money
By Joseph Flaherty
“There’s a widespread belief among founders that venture capital is a precursor to success. It is true that VC is a common denominator of the most successful tech startups, but it isn’t a prerequisite, especially at the early stages.”

#MonkeyFirst Innovation | Mapping Innovation Minute
“At Google’s X division, the company’s “moonshot factory,” the mantra is “#MonkeyFirst.” The idea is that if you want to get a monkey to recite Shakespeare on a pedestal, you’d better start by training the monkey, not building the pedestal, because training the monkey is the hard part.  Anyone can build a pedestal.”
~ Greg Satell

The New Digital Mandate: Cultivate Dissatisfaction
“People who transform their organizations must be aggravated enough with the current situation that they’re willing to bear the effort and risk to change it.”
~ George Westerman

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HOW TO

Give teams a problem to solve, not a solution to implement
By Jeff Gothelf
To truly unlock the power of agile, forget about delivering solutions and give your teams some problems to solve instead.

Why So Many High-Profile Digital Transformations Fail
By Thomas H. Davenport and George Westerman
Avoid the hype, keep your focus and you might just avoid some costly mistakes.

How to Create a Clear Vision and Strategy for Your Digital Transformation
It’s been said that 70% of digital transformations fail. Whilst it’s not always clear what criteria are used to make these claims here’s a practical guide from Richard Morecroft to help you join the fortunate few who are successful.

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PEOPLE & CHANGE

The Productivity Gap: Why Organisations Need To Rethink Hierarchy
By Kim Atherton
Companies are increasingly aware that their structures are not fit for purpose and many cite “redesigning the organisation to be more agile” as the number 1 strategic priority. So what does “fit for purpose” look like?

Changing Change Management
By Braden Kelley
Managing the change surrounding project initiatives can be a far harder proposition than managing the projects themselves. Braden Kelley introduces two change frameworks and links to ten free tools to help you with planning for change.

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CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

Experience is everything. Get it right
“Good customer experience leaves people feeling heard and appreciated; it minimizes friction, maximizes efficiency and maintains a human element.” Here are some of the ingredients required for a great experience.

The Future of Customer Experience Is AI: Are You Ready?
By Lisa Loftis
Like it or not, Gartner says that 85 percent of customer relationships will take place without human interaction by 2020. How will this work and how do we feel about it?

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TECHNOLOGY

Check this out!
“Looks sh*t, looks sh*t, looks sh*……that is awesome. Need one.”
~ Mark Ritson

Futurist Keynote Speaker Gerd Leonhard: The key challenges of the Internet of Things
“The challenge is that technology is exponential and humans are not”..
~ Gerd Leonhard

On the Road to the Fully Autonomous Retail Store
By Tony D’Onofrio
The road trip to the fully automated store has come a long way since the first food automat in Berlin in 1895, but we are not there yet! In this post Tony D’Onofrio looks at the journey, opportunities and challenges of this step change innovation in retail.

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TALENT

How to finally remove bias from Talent Acquisition?
By Rob Hill
A look at the appliance of science to avoid the unintentional biases that emerge throughout the talent acquisition process.

The Digitally Transformed Workforce: How To Upskill And Retrain To Retain Talent
Daniel Newman makes the case that the smart move for adapting to AI and automation in the workplace is to retrain your employees and help them to match the agility these innovations will bring.

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LEADERSHIP

The Evolving Role of CHRO Leaders into the Digital Age
The role of HR has never been more critical. Successful transformation is all about the people, culture and mindset. So what are the characteristics of the exceptional HR functions that get it right.

The new rules of IT-business alignment in the digital era
Getting in sync with your organisation’s goals has never been more important, or more challenging. Here’s how to align IT and business strategy for digital success.

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“I don’t think we’ve even seen the tip of the iceberg. I think the potential of what the internet is going to do to society, both good and bad, is unimaginable. The context and the state of content is going to be so different to anything we can really envisage at the moment. It’s going to crush our ideas of what mediums are all about.”
~ David Bowie (in 1999)
h/t @imNatSmithson

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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

People Analytics 3.0
The rise and rise of people analytics. Still not sure what it is? Here’s the definitive guide from Al Adamsen, founder of Insight222.

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