It is easy to take a reductionist view when thinking about digital transformation. Fix enough of the granular systems that run your finance, logistics, marketing, and HR, and you will eventually reinvent yourself — or so the wishful thinking goes. In truth, when an organization is reborn with machine intelligence at its core, it is not just faster or better than its peers; it becomes different. And different is what you need if you plan to reshape industries and redefine competition in your market.
How to Navigate the Ambiguity of a Digital Transformation
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A successful digital transformation can be hard to predict or plan; it is often the result of new customer interactions, new combinations of talent and teams, unexpected alliances with new partners, and entirely new business models. These components are constantly evolving, shaped, and influenced by algorithmic systems, aggregated in such a way that their collective behavior is more than the sum of their parts. More is different. Just as water becomes ice when cold enough, or graphite turns into diamond under enough pressure, at a critical point, more data and algorithms can transform an organization or an industry into something else entirely. That raises a question for leaders: how do you navigate a transformation from what you know to what you have yet to define? What you need is an emergent approach to digital transformation, focused on the three principles described in this article.