Digital Transformation affects every aspect of a business. It changes how you operate, what you offer, how you move forward as a company and how you deliver value to your customer. High stakes for sure! Before implementing a change as profound as this, it is understandable that you will have questions.

As a DT (Digital Transformation) Implementation Partner, Suyati works with businesses in rebuilding customer experience (CX) for the digital consumer as well bringing about operational excellence (OX) within businesses. As part of our process, we believe in answering the tough questions so clients are assured that Digital Transformation is the way to go for their company. With this in mind, I have compiled a list of the Top 5 questions that we are asked by our potential clients.

1)    What does Digitization, Digitalization, and Digital Transformation mean? 

Any conversation about digital transformation inevitably includes the three “digit…s.” This could create a measure of confusion especially since these terms are often used interchangeably. Understanding these terms will show you that they aren’t synonymous at all.   

Let’s start with Digitization. Digitization simply means converting non-digital to digital (bits and bytes). This includes documents, images, photographs, audio etc. The goal is to transform them into digital data so they can be used by a computing system.

The definition of Digitalization and its difference from digitization is clearly brought out in the article, Moving from digitization to digitalization: “digitalization means the use of digital technologies and of data (digitized and natively digital) in order to create revenue, improve business (not just processes) and create a digital culture whereby digital information is at the core.”

Now Digital Transformation goes one step further. It involves a complete transformation of the business, its processes, the culture, and sometimes leads to a completely different market, customer base and more.  While digitalization can be carried out on separate processes, digital transformation encompasses the whole enterprise and involves cross-cutting organizational change.

One of my recent blogs discusses these terms in detail: All Things Digital: Digitization, Digitalization And Digital Transformation Explained

2)    How do we get started on the Digital Transformation Process? 

Suyati works on a three-phase approach to transforming businesses to “digital-first.”

Phase 1 – DEMONSTRATE and secure adoption: In this first phase, we identify high-impact opportunities in your business processes that require low-effort. This helps you get immediate results and see the potential of the digital transformation process. This also helps in convincing the management the value of a Digital Transformation journey.

Phase 2 – SCALE and align with digital times: In this phase, we identify organizational priorities, seek out key business challenges to overcome and kick-off the building of a connected ecosystem of applications across the organization. This is best implemented using an agile approach with frequent review points with the sponsors to ensure that organizational priorities are addressed in the order that is best for the organization. Some may focus on Customer facing processes while others may prefer operational efficiencies. Using accelerators like Suyati’s Mekanate platform can help speed up the scaling process.

Phase 3 -TRANSFORM and beat competition: Domain experts along with data scientists will then continue to look at the competitive landscape and provide insights on your organization’s strength that can set you apart. These insights can drive continues improvements in CX and OX and directly influence topline and profitability.

For specific timelines and details, click here. 

3)    How can Digital Transformation deliver immediate value? 

Although the Digital Transformation is a continuous activity your organization can see value immediately through minimal and incremental investments on top of the investments you are already making on your IT systems, applications and infrastructure. ROI factors and dollars may be defined prior to any efforts. For example, as part of Phase 1 of our three-phase approach, we begin implementation by identifying opportunities that deliver the highest benefit versus effort ratio.

This helps in gaining a clear understanding of the “low hanging fruit,” which are the areas where implementation of DT will have the most impact in the shortest time. Prioritizing processes in this manner and implementing lean principles will start yielding immediate results while the complete transformation is underway.  

4)    What kind of a framework can support Digital Transformation efforts? 

Important features required by a framework that can support effective Digital Transformation include its ability to support rapid and low-cost change, work with advanced IT tools across the enterprise, derive actionable insights from digitized data and use these insights to automate processes and make intelligent decisions.

Mekanate is such a “loosely coupled” framework that leverages machine learning and AI-driven analytics engine to recommend actionable insights. The platform allows for easy communication between enterprise systems and the analytics engine while providing for custom integrations and extendibility. You can have a look at some of the features of this robust platform here.

5)    Can Digital Transformation run parallel across functions? 

Yes. An important feature of Digital Transformation is that it involves the whole enterprise. Cross-functional collaboration is one of its most advocated requirements. It stands to reason therefore that the transformation will be happening across your enterprise and across functions. With regards to capability, a “loosely coupled” framework with a robust architecture like Mekanate makes the process that much easier.

While these are the top questions we are asked, we are sure you may have more. My team and I would be happy to answer them.  Drop in a message here or head on over to our website.

Most of us spend too much time on what is urgent and not enough time on what is important- Stephen Covey

Efficient time management is a skill every professional aspires to master. For a CEO, utilizing this precious resource optimally becomes more critical. When I began my stint as a CEO 9 years ago, I was guilty of several time wasting tactics. Awareness of these bad habits, along with this real burning need to become more productive and achieve more continues to help me evolve into a better time manager!

Analysis/Paralysis: As a relatively new CEO of a start-up or small business, there’s a natural tendency to research every issue or problem to death and defer decision-making for want of more data. However, it is impossible to have 100% information before taking a decision.

In the CEO Genome Project, a study on successful CEOs, top-performing executives admit that sitting on a problem for too long creates more damage than dealing with the consequences of an incorrect decision.

Also, a crucial question CEOs need to ask themselves is how much information is enough? Jerry Bowe, CEO of Vi-Jon, says that he waits until he has 65% clarity. He, then, bases his decision by comparing two vital points: the impact of a wrong decision versus the impact of holding up other decisions due to this one.

Many a time a decision would need to be tweaked along the way. Hence, a better approach would be to tabulate the reasons underlying a decision, take it, and then review it when new info emerges.

Read: Growing with My Company – 3 Lessons for Every CEO

Ignoring personal health: CEOs are often viewed as the primary miracle worker in the organization. They are expected to wield a magic wand and set right the wrongs while also keeping the company machinery well-oiled to go full throttle towards growth.

In view of the real and perceived responsibility, they rush to keep the business going; jumping from one goal to another, solving one crisis after the other. A good night’s sleep is often compromised. It is not an uncommon habit to cut back on the hours needed to recover from long flights or back-to-back meetings to squeeze in more work. The result is anyone’s guess.

As Arianna Huffington succinctly states from her personal experience, health should not become priority when you start losing it. A well-rested body is like that SIP that will reap rich dividends even when you don’t realize it. Come to think of it, you’re more likely to crack a difficult problem when your body and mind is at ease and not deprived of rest and recreation. Besides, a workaholic CEO is hardly a role model for an organization.

To that effect, CEOs must learn to switch off. Taking regular breaks off work to rejuvenate demonstrates as a healthy work culture. I also truly believe in the power of yoga and meditation to reduce and manage stress levels.

In short, a ‘healthy’ investment can never be a bad decision!

Not delegating enough:  Instead of delegating, or getting expert advice, CEOs think they need to track, manage and work at all the problems as and when they emerge. It’s a myth that effective CEOs are also an expert in all areas, emphasizes John Roa, CEO, and founder of Äkta. While being a CEO is a high-profile and crucial role in an organization, he/she needs to separate the core responsibility- that of top-level strategizing and planning- from the day-to-day activity of running the show that requires various kinds of skill-sets.

With effective delegation, come multiple benefits. One, you get the work accomplished faster by people who have the required knowledge and experience, letting you concentrate on high-level strategies. Two, the ownership trickles down the hierarchy and employees feel responsible and valued for their contribution, which in turn results in higher performance. Three, it’s a great way to connect with people who work for you and build a healthy and transparent employer-employee relationship across all levels.  

Yet, CEOs struggle to delegate work because they cannot decide which ones to keep and which ones to delegate. This is where, I believe, a good group of mentors/advisers can help you build a great team to rely on. Once the right team is in place, you learn to let go and focus on building a healthy and thriving enterprise.

“Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin

I have watched my company grow from an ambitious band of 6 to a mighty team of over 200 employees. With the numbers increasing by 30% every year, I am thrilled and humbled. I am often asked how I did it. While that is an easier answer, the tougher question I get asked is – how do you plan on maintaining this growth? And this challenge is something every CEO faces, and has to take on successfully.

I have found that the role of a CEO changes immensely as the company matures from a start-up to an established business. This change is vital. In the words of Steve Blank, whose Customer Development method launched the Lean Startup movement:  “startups are not small versions of big companies. Rather they are different in every possible way – from goals, to measurements, from employees to culture.”

Based on my experience and insight from other successful CEOs, I’ve detailed three qualities that I have adopted to ensure Suyati’s success and growth in the coming years.

1)    Prioritization 

The biggest change that a CEO will have to adjust to is a change in priorities. When we started the company, my worries were paying rent, making payroll, and getting the next client in. I remember taking in whatever business came our way; our focus was on the here-and-now. As the company grew however, we grew with it and now know exactly what we want and how to deliver it. My focus shifted from day-to-day operations to long-term strategy.

Henry Schuck, CEO of DiscoverOrg, a leading marketing and sales intelligence solution, feels the same. Heading a company that started with 4 college friends and grew to over 500 employees with a revenue growth of over 50%, Henry knows what it takes. When asked how his priorities have changed with this growth, he says: “Two years ago, everything I was focused on was month- or quarter-end. It was a lot more tactical and less strategic back then: How do we hit our numbers for this month for quarter? How do we hire more SDRs? Who are we going to promote next? Stuff like that. Now senior management handles those tactical operations – and I can think about strategy down the road …”

As our company grows, I have reduced my fretting over minor things and focus more on strategy and what the future of our company will be 10-20 years down the line.

2)    Agile Decision Making 

When you are starting up, you often need to make swift decisions.  Joel Gascoigne, founder and CEO at Buffer, says of his startup days: “There was so much risk back then. So we had to make bigger bets. We had to try to make a big change every few weeks or even every few days. Small incremental tweaks wouldn’t get us the progress we needed. As a result, there were higher highs and lower lows.”  

We have all seen this. Decisions are made that may or may not be perfect, and in the words of  Ben Horowitz, co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, “often any decision, even the wrong decision, is better than no decision.” While that may be true and is applicable both to startups and scale-up businesses, there is a big difference in the number of people who are affected by your decision. It isn’t a handful of employees anymore. You have bigger teams, departments and branches that are affected by the decision you make.

Another important factor to consider is the number of people making the decisions. In the beginning, I would seize a problem by the horns, consult a few experienced friends if I felt the need, and then take a call. Some great decisions were made, and we are where we are because of them. That isn’t enough anymore. My decision-making is now guided by my growing teams and their leads. Listening carefully to their suggestions and input has been of great benefit to the company.

There is a fine line to tread here as well. As important as weighing in all their inputs are, there is the danger of the “uninspired compromise” as Brian Halligan, CEO of HubSpot, puts it. “As CEO, it’s your job to make the right decision, not the most popular decision,” he says. “There have been plenty of times during HubSpot’s scale-up period that I’ve left a meeting with some disappointed managers; I feel it as soon as I step out of the room. But uninspired compromises feel much worse.” The key is to listen carefully, take a decision that is best for the company and communicate it clearly.

That is why Agile Decision Making becomes very important. Agility is different from Speed. Yes, we must make swift decisions even as we grow, but agile means sustainable, high quality, and value-driven output. Achieving that is what I work towards every day.

3)    Letting Go 

This is one area which CEOs and especially founder CEOs struggle with. The company is our baby, we built it up through sleepless nights. To relinquish control of it is understandably difficult. Trying to micromanage a growing business however, is stressful to say the least and could be doing more damage than you think.  

Laura Roeder, founder of MeetEdgar and Ropig talks about the dangers of “founder bias” and “single point of failure.” If, as CEOs, we hold on too tight and have every single decision go through us, we are in effect creating a single point of failure. If this point i.e. the CEO fails, the entire system stops working. If you let your biases and way of thinking affect every decision in the company, “then you haven’t built a culture: you’ve built a cult of personality,” she concludes.

To me personally, this has been the toughest change to implement! I have learnt to let go (and still learning every day), trusting others to make decisions for themselves and their departments. I allow people to make mistakes and learn from them. I don’t try to pre-empt issues too much. Guiding them on process while ensuring positive outcomes has become my focus. Strategy and leading the company to greater heights through my personal growth is now my goal.