Digital Transformation: CEO’s Perspectives for Business Transformation Success
A CEO’s strategic approach to Digital Transformation
Coming up with an endorsed digital business strategy
CEOs, as the face of a company, have to identify the potential threats and challenges associated with digital transformation. Digital transformation is a long-haul and things can go wrong at any point of time. Developing a vision and applying a strategic approach is critical to ensure transformation success.
Over aggression/passive actions, both will hurt your overall digital transformation process. As the CEO of a company, it is a must to focus on actions that will not only improve your company’s growth but also will ensure a robust culture.
A CEO has to ensure the entire program is implemented seamlessly to avoid internal conflicts and productivity loss. As it is a long haul, analyzing the future of business and planning to perfection before getting started is recommended.
Analyzing the sense of need
Even before getting started with a digital transformation initiative, it is quintessence to analyze whether there is a need for it for the enterprise or not. Remember, not every company needs digital transformation. Even minor changes or automation could keep them good in the long run without impacting their revenue and customer satisfaction. So, the first step would be to analyze the sense of need.
Starting slowly, getting consent from everyone involved in the process
Stakeholders pushback is often a common roadblock that mars the success of the digital transformation. Ensuring every stakeholder involved in the program has a clear understanding of what the entire change/program is all about and how it will simplify and improve the overall business performance. This may not be a walk in the park for many and takes time. Getting started with transition without any consent from stakeholders has often led to digital transformation failures.
Defining leadership roles and responsibilities
This is the most critical part as the success of the entire program will be dependent on the individuals that will carry out the programs. Identifying the right leaders within the organization is often critical. Most often CIOs and other C-level executives will be shared with the responsibilities of taking the digital transformation initiatives to stakeholders. Having a defined set of leadership roles and responsibilities will help the CEOs plan and execute the program smoothly.
A high-level execution plan and roadmap
Digital business transformations may continue for years in some cases and having a clear execution plan is a must. Developing a high-level execution plan with a defined roadmap to execution along with the leaders will ensure a painless transition. Generally, CEOs focus on step-by-step transitions and won’t plan for the complete transition so that every change made has been analyzed and measured.
Funding for pilots and initiatives
Budget plays a crucial role and CEOs have to collaborate with other leaders, especially CIOs who know the current ecosystem well, to plan for funding. Investing in the right technology and tools will help the CEO perform the transformation without any discomfort. Also, having a fund for the future is always recommended as the program may take years to be fully implemented, in addition, the CEOs should be ready to face the cost incurred during transition pilots.
Dedicated resources leading and participating in the initiatives
For companies fully transforming their business processes, models, people, and culture might take a few years. During the entire transition phase, dedicated resources should be identified and involved in the initiatives to make the program successful. Identifying the skill gaps and utilizing the right vendor for the digital transformation initiatives plays a critical role in the success of business re-inventions. Starting right from the beginning having the set of dedicated resources leading and participating in the initiatives will help CEOs execute the digital transitions without any hardship.
From the above discussion, it is evident that CEOs take the onus of digital transformation success along with other C-level executives.
