By 2020, more than seven billion people and businesses, and at least 30 billion devices, will be connected to the Internet.
Predictions on the future of
digital consumption no longer shock me and as an enterprise leader, it
shouldn’t shock you either. Business IT professionals own a minimum of three
devices connected to the internet viz. mobile, tablet and laptop - it’s not a
statistic I pulled from a survey, but rather my own observation at every ICT
conference I’ve attended in the last 12 months, including AfricaCom 2014 and
VAS Africa 2015.
At the VAS Africa 2015
conference, Nevo Hadas, a partner at & Innovation shared his insight on how
to strategically ensure that you and your business remain relevant in the
digital age. His core message was “People are the digital economy”. Whether we
like it or not, the digital business model has landed, and will be grounded for
as long as technology evolves and there is a need to develop solutions that
drive business efficiency, increase sales and essentially make your business
more relevant in today’s digital age. Just as your customers are at the core of
your digital innovation sales strategy, so too should your team be.
If your business is offering
technology solutions for other businesses to stay ahead of competition, my
question is - what are you offering your team to ensure your product stack is
not ten steps ahead of your internal digital evolution? Has your business model
shifted to complement the pace at which digital disruption is leading change in
the workplace? How often do you check in with your staff about the tools they
use, or if they have any ideas on how to enhance existing resources to embrace
digital disruption the same way we adjust budgets to embrace annual inflation?
Leading digital innovation with your team
This recent article published in
Computerworld, The 5 critical pillars of innovation management capability by
Nicholas D. Evans - author of a number of books including Business
Innovation & Disruptive Technology: Harnessing the Power of Breakthrough
Technology…for Competitive Advantage - provides deeper insight on steps to
take as you assess and manage innovative change affecting your business
internally and externally. Evans specifically notes that “To get everyone on
the same page across your organisation, since ‘innovation’ typically means
different things to different people, it’s important to come up with precise
terminology for innovation and to clearly spell out initiatives, roles and responsibilities
to avoid duplication of effort or competition among internal groups.”
On what level have you discussed
or included your core team in the meaning of digital and innovative change
within your business? In order for you to be part of a dynamic shift in Africa
and to be a leader of digital change on the continent (one of the core tracks
at AfricaCom 2015) relevant to our context, it’s essential to ask strategic
questions that will unlock the creative juices within your team. Each
individual within your organisation - from front desk to top director - has
something to offer.
Listening to ideas on the ground for effective, innovative change
In the September issue of Forbes
Africa Women, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the first female chairperson of the
African Union Commission, notes that as plans were coming together for the AU’s
Agenda 2063 (a 50 year vision for Africa) women farmers noted that a 50 year
vision would mean nothing to them if the hoe (a tool used in agriculture) is
still used to till
the soil. I found it a fitting metaphor for thinking about digital tools
used by your team, as you expect innovative change within your business.
Your team is essentially
responsible for ‘tilling the soil’ within your business from which new,
innovative product offerings grow and creative ideas sprout. Have you consulted
with your team on how effective existing tools are and are you listening to their
feedback?
In this age of digital
disruption, the tools we use to implement change in the technology sector
directly impacts the rate at which change takes place. Let’s not forget that
acquiring the latest digital tools/ software is not the immediate answer, I'm referring to a resource audit. Having just replaced my laptop from an Apple
operating system to Windows, a new interface and desktop apps can be
intimidating or cause a migraine if not implemented as part of a strategic
shift and consultation with your team.
Are your digital campaigns impacting your bottom line?
The final point that I want to
touch on is evaluating how you communicate the shifts in your business
objectives to your team and customers.
As an enterprise decision maker,
are you resisting communicating these shifts via digital communication
channels? In a world where connectivity is the core of efficient, productive,
relevant businesses - surely it makes business sense that your value
proposition is reaching your target audience in multiple ways online? Not so
obvious for most.
Once you allow yourself to
embrace this significant digital shift in the enterprise right now - in the
same way you allowed yourself to transition from feature phone to smartphone,
from zero mobile apps to using at least three mobile apps a day - you will feel
a weight lifting off your shoulders when you realise the impact digital
campaigns can have on your bottom line.
The ecosystem is changing and
will continue to evolve; your digital consumption, that of your customers and
team has changed, it’s a blatant fact!
To overcome our biggest fear of
no longer being relevant or offering relevant products to the world - WE NEED
TO LEAD the digital change INTERNALLY!
We’re proud to be a media partner
for this year’s AfricaCom conference. As a
digital PR consultancy servicing technology clients, it makes sense for us to
partner with the leading digital and telecoms conference on the annual events
calendar. This conference is core to our market and the customers we serve. It
provides opportunities for knowledge sharing, business networking and industry
peer meetings.
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