Join the 14% of Companies who Succeed at Digital Integration

TL;DR: Over 80% of companies are failing to adapt to digital technology, even though the stakes are high and the benefits huge.

Digital Adaption: Hard? Yes. Rewarding? Yes! Just Like Business.

Innovate! Adapt! Influence! Be sustainable! Company‘s are being pulled every which way, except towards a profit, in our opinionated modern world. What’s going on?

You see, thanks to the digital tools businesses now have access to, consumer expectations of what a company can – and should – be, have reached new heights. And… yup, they’re still growing. Any company that lacks digital acumen is perceived negatively, no matter the reason.

Digital technology is not going away: it’s getting better faster, and every single business that doesn’t at least maintain ‘majority adopter’ status, will soon sleep with the dinosaurs. Maybe it will take a few years, but why go all the trouble to build up a business that will soon be obsolete?

I know, we’re all a bit tired of hearing about new digital tech that will ‘reduce our workloads, streamline our tasks and improve our customer retention’. But we’re only tired of it because so many apps can do just that. If you truly believe that implementing digital solutions in your business won’t save you time, money, decrease your bottom line and increase at least your customer retention, I have no sympathy for you.

Honestly though? If you haven’t implemented a digital integration strategy yet, or are struggling with the whole thing, you are not alone: digital adaption is an issue for over 80% of companies globally.

We clearly have a problem, but that doesn’t mean we stop pushing to the goal.

If we keep thinking of digital tech the same way our predecessors thought of the personal computer – a convoluted machine that would never take off – we run the risk of getting so far behind that we may as well ditch digital altogether and go back to the typewriter era. Or kiss our business goodbye and get out now. A bit extreme? Nope.

Let’s develop this idea: The latest advances in software are based on concepts that have been tested in other software over the past, say 5 years, max.

If the last time you updated your digital arsenal was 6 years ago, new software that may improve your business is going to be SO much harder to implement. If you’ve jumped from Windows XP to Windows 10 you’ll know the struggle.

Consider the difference between learning to ride a trike when you’re 3 and 30. By 30, you’re set in your ways; the education gap you’ve created for yourself by waiting is a wee bit… massive. Don’t wait until you’re so behind that even time is against you.

Like chasing a bus, the longer you wait to start, the faster you have to run just to catch up. In a strictly business sense, the adaption period will be harder and more costly – mainly due to the fact that your staff will be forced to embrace change in the extreme, as opposed to incrementally. You know how we humans are about change, especially when we didn’t chose to implement it!

If you’re reading this and your brow has broken out into the light sheen of guilt, consider it your wake up call to begin the process.
Yes, it will be hard. Your team may hate it (although, if you’re that outdated they may throw a ‘goodbye stone age’ party), your processes will need updating and you’ll have the tech team on speed dial for a few months.

My advice? Embrace it! You won’t be the first company exec to throw back a shot or two, ignore the accountant, buy the ‘innovation’ tshirt and disrupt your company’s status quo by throwing some digital foxes in the chicken coop.

You may even find that disrupting the very foundations of your company will open the door for new ideas, opportunities and structures.

In fact it often breathes so much new life into businesses that this idea of ‘disruption as a tool’ has been heralded as a game changer for corporations around the world – from old world giants like McDonalds to infamous digital players like Alphabet (Googles parent company).

Find this topic engaging?

Our first Jam of 2019 will feature two business leaders who have successfully used disruption to grow; one a digital start up and the other an established engineering firm. Read about Kurt Janssen and Peter Armstrong here.

If you’re in Christchurch in February, get your ticket and absorb the experiences of others; then challenge their ideas during the panel styled question and answer session.

In the meantime, we can expect the digital realm will have its fair share of disruptions this year; so make one of your focuses a proper, integrated digital strategy for your company. You can thank me later (I’m partial to tequila).

What can you get for under $40?

Head to the new age of forums at the Canterbury Club every month to hear industry leaders speak on what change means to them.

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