Wednesday, November 14, 2018

Sketch a Vivid Picture of the Digital Organization

Digital leaders are the artists who should learn how to master the “art of possible,” which can only be achieved through vision, communication, interdisciplinary management approach, and continuous learning and practices.

The digital transformation, like the computer technology revolution itself, is a long journey. The outlines of the fully digitalized world have long been sketched, now the phenomenon of digitalization is reaching the inflection point. The high mature digital organization is fluid, boundaryless, and also complex. It becomes complex if things do interact, particularly in the case of nonlinear interactions in the ever-expansive digital ecosystem. Business leaders today are like scientists who try to figure out their digital formulas for running the new flavor of the business and taking the logical steps on the journey of digitalization. They also like artists who need to select their preferred styles to either sketch a contemporary art piece or paint an abstract picture for fluently expressing digitalization happening in this cognitively and culturally diverse, hyperconnected and interdependent, globally influenced and the technologically advancing world.

Is the digital leader's vision blueprint, business model canvas, and digitalization roadmap impressive and persuasive: To clear the path, whether that is the elimination of obstacles or to provide coaching and guidance, the digital leaders should present their vision blueprint; and have a very clear understanding of why their businesses exist, the value they bring to customers and the very reason for digital transformation. They would also show off their business model canvas which vividly sketches how the pieces of a business fit together; an entire frame of elements that describe the intents and constraints of an organization; they regularly use it to redesign and review the basic building blocks of a business and leverage it as a great planning tool. They can further draw (develop) the business planning which is dynamic, keep iterating, evolving learning and working on the rhythm of sustained products or services deliveries. In more detail, they perhaps draw a comprehensive digitalization roadmap with a clear vision and a few impressive highlights to help the business navigate through uncharted water and blurred digital territories steadfastly. The digital world is dynamic, nonlinear, uncertain, and volatile. Define more than one way of achieving the goal. With those leadership masterwork mixing art and science, digital leaders today are able to vividly communicate, accurately judge the coming curves and obstacles on the digital path and get into actions in creative, positive, and productive ways that educate, support and celebrate every emotional step of change curves and take a collective digital transformation journey smoothly.

Is the digital leader's innovation painting contemporary or the fine art? Innovation is the science in the eyes of scientists; innovation is the art in the eyes of artists; innovation is the bridge between art and science. Creativity is a flow, an abstract, an imagination, and an association, or simply the unusual dots connection. Creativity is also full of colors and has many dimensions. Digital innovation has a broader spectrum and hybrid nature. Does that mean the digital leader’s innovation painting is perhaps the right mix of contemporary, abstract, and fine art? Innovation is what leads to differentiation. There are many ways to differentiate and, therefore, there are many ways to pursue innovation. The essence of innovation is made of trying the new combination of known things to create new stuff and figure out the better way to do things. A good design like the great painting is much more than decoration. It is inspirational. It comes in the variety of flavors and there are many opportunities in an enterprise to master the design work. In practice, innovation needs to lay out different structures, thinking and solutions to allow the design to develop into its potential where organizations are combining all necessary and available components in imaginative and advantageous ways. The art of innovation is actually to simplify, that means to eliminate unnecessary layers of complication so that the better or more innovative solutions coming out.


Shall you draw the digital ecosystem as a water-colored or an abstract picture? Everything is interconnected and the business ecosystem becomes more interdependent and dynamic than ever. The digital ecosystem expands when the business community broadens its scope and consumes all sorts of resources. Imagine, visualize and identify the very characteristics of the digital world such as uncertainty, volatility, complexity, unpredictability, and ambiguity. The digital business is dynamic, fluid, and full of story. As the digital leader, shall you draw the digital ecosystem as a water-colored or an abstract picture? To effectively respond to the digital dynamics, companies must begin thinking about ways with strategic planning to broaden their ecosystems and revenue streams while becoming more responsive and scalable. Digitalization painting is definitely the modern art, to reach the high level of digital maturity, an organization of today or the future needs to be organized in such a way that it is a part of the modern world. Analogically, the digital organizations are like the switches connected to the dynamic ecosystem. To effectively respond to the new dynamic, digital leaders today need to understand the tide, wave, and the ripple effect of an evolving digital organization in order to manage changes seamlessly. Organizations need to awaken the ecosystem consciousness, start thinking about ways to influence their ecosystems and create new revenue streams while becoming more responsive and innovative.

Organizations of the future are increasingly exhibiting digital characteristics in various shades and intensity. Digital leaders are the artists who should learn how to master the “art of possible,” which can only be achieved through vision, communication, interdisciplinary management approach, and continuous learning and practices.

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