An #Innovation Amateur’s Opinion: “Digital Transformation Is About Talent, Not Technology”

"The Changes Covid-19 is Forcing on to Business," an article recently published by The Economist,  highlights specific business functionalities irrefutably reconfigured due to the pandemic, with the pinnacle affluence of "the infusion of data-enabled services into ever more aspects of life." Due to the unprecedented circumstances, the concept of digital transformation catapulted from a strategic initiative into an imperative priority for organizational sustainability. Traditional digitization strategies containing incremental project implementation roadmaps became obsolete seemingly overnight as workforce dynamics, supply chain logistics, and daily operational processes upended instantaneously. As the conceptual sense of urgency escalated, the essential focus for the digital transformation campaign shifted from the technology component to the human component. All technological assets, such as software systems, hardware tools, and infrastructure reinforcements, were no longer ranked by capability robustness or procedural efficiency; the valuation of a product and the predicted return on investment hinged on employee engagement tactics and the end-user adoption metrics.

Gradually, the adoption of people-centric digital transformation campaigns consequently manipulated the holistic corporate perspective on human capital. Value potentiality determinants of human capital transferred from quantitative tactical talents towards qualitative intangible capabilities, elevating the perceived worth that people bring to the company as an asset. Adapting to the digitization of the business world also became a universal challenge for the individual. By revolutionizing how people work, job descriptions and organizational structures morphed to reinforce the new expectations. Employees reevaluated career trajectory while employers reassessed hiring qualifications, each weighing the opportunity cost of reskilling and upskilling versus a starting fresh trajectory. Navigating the digitized new norm may seem daunting, but scientific and first-hand experience has provided experts with three simplified areas of focus for moving forward:

1.     Prioritize people. Technology capableness is valueless if the individuals engaging the tool cannot operate it correctly.

2.     Soft Skills > Hard Skills. Technical competency has an expiration date, whereas character and interpersonal proficiency is infinite.

3.     Evangelize Transformation as Leadership Initiatives. Organic change can transpire spontaneously, but the alignment with leadership incorporates accountability.

4.     Reinforce Efforts with Quantitative Metrics. Measurable KPIs and analytical data insights offer scientific justification and irrefutable validation.

5.     Allow Accuracy to Dictate Process Cadence. Program completion does not equate to success; instead, the accuracy of the totality should determine the gradient regardless of the duration.

As the world evolves, innovation challenges traditional philosophies, and invention threatens established technologies. Evolutionary consequences within the universal business theory inflict various pressures, which are felt on micro and macro levels. Conceptual impressions encapsulate industry-specific challenges to generalized ecosystem functionality. Retrospectively, how we do business has focused on technology, yet the dynamic codependency upon people has led to the recent refocusing on the human faction. Ironically, the technological revolution has redefined the value for the individual contributor. Employee participation is no longer transactional; instead, the contribution capacity is subjective.

In summary, companies must acknowledge the ugly truth: a piece of tech is only worth the output from the weakest user.