Could A Digital Strategy Be A Red Flag For Your Business?
The idea that a digital strategy could be a red flag for a business may seem ridiculous, especially in a world where digital channels may make up a sizable chunk of your operations. With dedicated teams focusing on planning, creating, integrating, and implementing strategies to drive growth through digital channels, it’s easy to assume that having a digital strategy is a no-brainer and something to be very proud of producing.
However, according to Robin Speculand, a Global Pioneer in Strategy and Digital Implementation, there’s more to it than meets the eye. Having a digital strategy may be damaging to the future of your business.
Robin has worked with some of the world’s top-performing organizations to help reshape how they think, act, and approach, implementing their strategies, using his groundbreaking frameworks, tools, and techniques. He’s the author of ‘World’s Best Bank: A Strategic Guide to Digital Transformation’ which showcases the remarkable journey of DBS Bank Singapore, named by Harvard as one of the top 10 digital transformations of all time.
While talking on our latest episode of Commerce Talk, Speculand stated, “When I hear a leader say, “We have a digital strategy,” I immediately get concerned!”
So, why the concern?
Strategies for a Digital World
Speculand clarifies, “It’s not about having a digital strategy, but a strategy in a digital world.”
But what does that mean? Is it just world play? Far from it. It poses a lot of threats to a business’s ability to move quickly to the fast-paced environment outside of itself.
“When you have a digital strategy, it narrows your thinking. First of all, you get so consumed and even understand what a digital strategy is and what it means, grasping all the different elements and components that we’ve been talking about. On top of that, it just narrows because you get so focused within your organization,” Robin emphasizes.
“The winds of change flow faster and quicker externally than they do internally today.”
Speculand underscores that external changes are moving at a quicker pace than the internal changes an organization can implement. So while you’re focused on creating a digital strategy communicating it, and moving toward implementation, it might be too late.
What are the benefits of having a “strategy in a digital world”?
Robin says, “It broadens your perspective, and you’re much more aware of what’s happening, for example, with commodities, and unfortunately, the wars that are going on or sustainability.”
The way we do business is being reinvented.
“I had a simple example from a couple of years ago with the ship that got stuck in the Suez Canal. Okay, a minor incident. It caused a three-month backlog in the supply chain across the world. So many things are happening, and we’ve not even touched on the technology and something like generative AI that’s reinventing the whole way we do business again. So you’ve got to be constantly aware of what’s happening outside while you’re changing inside.”
So, what do you think? Is your business keeping up with the pace of change? It might be time to reconsider your approach and embrace a strategy that aligns with today’s digital world.
If you’d like to dive deeper into this fascinating interview, you can watch the full video here
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