Digital Mastery is the Key to Digital Transformation

The digital era we are living in is rapidly changing, and if you don’t take the time to keep up with the newest technologies, you will be swallowed up and left behind your competition.

Digital transformation is using these rapidly changing technology and digital resources to transform the way we are leading in our lives.

Learning how to lead in this rapidly changing era is becoming more and more important because by using the tools and technologies that are constantly becoming available, we are able to lead more efficiently and effectively.

The book Leading Digital covers the topic of Digital Mastery and how people are staying ahead of the curve when it comes to digital transformation

Digital Mastery is using digital technology to create a market or drive efficiency

There are two aspects that make up the DNA of Digital Masters: a Digital Capability, and a Leadership Capability

Digital Capability, or The What, means using digital technology to transform the customer experience, operational process and business models

And Leadership Capability, or The How, is how successful transformations depend on how firms manage digital transformation rather than solely on implementing new technologies.

You can have different levels of mastery in each of these aspects, Digital Masters have High Digital Capabilities and High Leadership Capabilities

Now a college student may not be able to directly do any of these things, however ther are ways to practice these skills.  One way is students can ponder the questions of “how can I manage digital transformation in my own life?”  And “will implementing this new technology in my own life help me to become more productive and efficient?”  By asking themselves these questions, and actually following the ideas that they come up with, they will be able to become ahead of everyone else looking for jobs and will be ready to transform whatever business they get work for after college.

Through using their highly skilled capabilities, Digital Masters are able to use technology to increase their profits to the point where they profit 26% more than those who are not digitally savvy

Digital Masters also recognize that in order for your business to survive, you must reinvent your business model

The first step for this is reinventing the industry.  Digitalization can connect industries in ways that have never been done before, it is your job to make these connections

The second is substituting products and services.  You must substitute fast and find alternatives when your profits are steadily declining because of the changing ways

There are 3 key aspects to sustaining digital transformation that are important for college students to understand so that once they get into the business world they can continue being a digital leader.

The first aspect is building foundation capabilities, this means understanding the skills that they already have and the skills that they need.

The second one is aligning reward structures to transformation goals, they can do this through any clubs, organizations, or projects that they are working on.

The third way is through measuring and monitoring, students can practice this through measuring the progress that they are achieving through everything that they are working on, so that they can better manage all aspects of their life.

Digital mastery is the key to a successful business, so it is your job to go out there and educate yourselves on the evolving technology.