Adapting to the New Digital Era

Do you worry your job will one day become obsolete because a computer can do it faster and better than you?

The concept of digital transformation is rapidly becoming a part of our society and not only changing the way we live and think, but changing the way we do business. Digital transformation is the deliberate and going digital evolution of a company, business model, idea, process, or methodology, both strategically and tactically. On a macro scale, digital transformation describes the changes in society revolving around technology and its everyday uses. Successful and efficient leadership in this new digital era must be one that understands the push towards absolute computerization and adapts their teams’ methods to ensure the vision is still in sight and can be reasonably obtained.

In his book, Digital or Death, Dominic Mazzone describes the importance of adopting and accepting digital transformation in business models. As society propels its way towards more innovation and more technological advancements, we see a change in a culture focus on digitization. Our brains are changing to seek out technological alternatives and avoid the paper equivalent. Because of this unstoppable change, companies and other organizations must be keeping up with change and grasping new opportunities to gain new business. A major theme in Mazzone’s book that I found extremely interesting is the concept of gamification. Gamification is the application of game-like elements in online marketing techniques to encourage more engagement with a product or service. The newest generation to our society is comprised of people who have been exposed to technology since they were born. It is no longer uncommon for children in elementary school to have their own cell phones or even their own personal computers. Technology has permeated all aspects of our society and as a result our brains are changing to seek out this technology. It has become a cultural norm to turn to digital means when one has leisure or free time, and this is no more apparent than in video games. Video games and virtual reality systems have become so advanced and complex they mimic real life as we experience it. Video games are rewiring our brains to crave a game-like engagement. Businesses who utilize gamification in their digital marketing strategies will see an increase in customer engagement and subsequently, profits.

Ultimately, leaders in this new digital era must understand that the digital transformation of their companies or organizations begins as a team journey, with a collective vision of change. Company leaders must remember to put together a team of diverse people so all viewpoints are heard, minimizing tunnel vision and the risk of poor decisions. It is so important to have a cohesive team openly discussing digital transformation because in order to successfully transform ones business to fully take advantage of the wonders of technological innovation, one needs to completely dissect their business and see where technology could fit and what it could replace. While dissecting a business model has the potential to get ugly and become an uncomfortable process, especially for company leaders who started the business themselves, it is pertinent to the success of a company in this new age.

In order to survive in this digital future, businesses must be able to understand their own companies weakness and be able to fix them before their competition capitalizes on them. Through these weaknesses digital transformation can change the success of a company, and make an altered weakness their biggest strength.