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Culture Before Technology
Digital transformation is not just about technology.
In fact, many leaders make the mistake of thinking that simply implementing the newest technologies will solve their business challenges. The truth is, it’s the people who support and adopt the technology that are far more important. The biggest threats companies face are inflexible culture, complacency, and lack of agility.
To create the right environment and drive digital adoption, companies at different stages of digital maturity need different approaches.
Establishing a strong digital culture comes first and is the most critical step that an organization takes on their path to digital transformation. A common set of characteristics make up a winning digital culture – being agile, experimental, risk-tolerant, and collaborative. Before you even begin to think about which new technologies will help your business grow, you must first ask whether you have the right foundation in place. That lies in your people.
For culture to have a real impact on digital transformation, you need to dig deeper and uncover the unconscious, taken-for-granted beliefs about the organization and its work, its purpose, its approach towards people, and its implicit rewards. Simply focusing on your company values is not enough.
Culture is not just a nice-to-have; it’s a must-have.
It is the underlying fabric of your organization. It can either be a strong enabler or a significant hindrance to digital maturity. A negative workplace culture breeds complacency, and a lack of agility. In order to leverage new technology to grow your business, having an engaged team of technology champions is vital.
A good digital culture is distinct, consistent, and intentional, and it can be compared to water in a fish tank. If you do not get the chemical balance of the water exactly right, your fish will die. Having a healthy culture of enablement will help you get the most out of your people, and drive digital adoption.
Businesses at different stages of digital maturity have different approaches to leading change.
Early and developing companies often push digital transformation through managerial directives or the provisioning of new technology, while maturing companies tend to extract that digital transformation by cultivating a culture that is ripe for transformation to occur. The top-down directive approach is the wrong way.
The marriage between culture and technology must be prioritized and strengthened for businesses to thrive in the digital age. A digital transformation strategy that neglects culture is like building a house without a foundation – it may look good, but it will eventually crumble.
Culture before tech.
That’s the key to digital transformation success. A digital culture that fosters collaboration, experimentation, and risk-taking is crucial to driving digital adoption and engagement. Don’t let an inflexible culture hold you back. Embrace the change and make sure your digital foundation is solid. Convverge is here to help you lay that foundation.
