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In first person
What about for non-tech, non-digital companies? Digital transformation is not an end in itself but a means to achieve what you couldn’t do before, both internally and externally. This is not something that only concerns the IT department, but overarches the company as a whole. And it’s not just a question of technology – it’s also about culture. You can bring in new talent but you also have to work with the people you have already. For digital transformation to succeed, the corporate culture is fundamental.
How do you reconcile the need for innovation with sticking to a mission?
To what extent do you need to understand AI to be able work with it? Technological know-how is important. You need profession-
It’s one thing to have a corporate vision – which you still need
als who know how to program with new languages and who
– but the level of detail in the execution of that vision is an-
know how to create and implement AI projects. This is an
other thing entirely. Before, a strategic plan used to be very
important area in high demand.
long term, outlining the major milestones to hit over the next five to 10 years. Today, with technology, you have to be agile, to
Apart from specific skills necessary to work with the technol-
be able to change things on the go. To capture a new market,
ogy, keep in mind that it’s the information – the data – that’s
to reach a new type of customer or to internationalize your
core to the current technological transformation. So, more
operations, you need to keep your strategy and part of the ex-
than knowing about technology, you have to know how to
ecution somewhat general, while continuing to work on other,
evaluate the information, whether it’s for marketing or for
less ambitious projects, so you can monitor and respond to
HR purposes, for example. You don’t need to be a tech whiz,
changes more easily. Projects that used to involve a lot of time and money now take months, rather than years, cost a lot less, and show returns much sooner. It’s what we call getting a minimum viable product (MVP). The moment I have something to show, I show it. I launch these small projects and spark change, both among employees and customers. It’s not about achieving some grand transformation, but rather about making small, incremental changes. I plan more or less where I want to go, but I’m ready to adapt along the way. That’s the flexibility that technology allows. 46 | IESE Business School Insight | Winter 2018