I have a sneaky feeling the most valuable people in digital transformation don't know that much about technology. I remember around 2010 I was making a "second screen" app for a quite well-known TV show. I mean I wasn't making it, Josh was making it, he was an absolute genius with code. I was quite clueless, new, and thus not very confident. We did all the normal stuff, looking at the TV archives, what the show was about, we asked people what they wanted, we looked at research, I remember post it notes, a LOT of post it notes. A few weeks in and we'd a quite nice idea, but as I got a bit more stuck in a few ideas occurred to me. - What if we added a map and you could pick stories from it. - What if we could add a forum, where other people could comment? - What if people could buy things from the video? It turned out for Josh this was all super easy and a lot of fun. It turned out that whenever I asked Josh to make ANYTHING, there was almost always a way. Either existing code, or a call out, or a workaround, or a sneaky way to emulate the same feeling, or another way. It turned out all of the ideas I came up with, were not really articulated by fans, because they'd no idea that this could be done. It turned out that over time I learned a bit more about how the magic was done, I learned enough to understand the principles of software development, and I never wanted to know more. An Architect is best if they know the principles of Structural Engineering but not the technicalities of it. The principles lead to dreams, the technicalities lead to plans. It turned out that making a remarkably compelling companion screen App was done well by a combination of someone who was a brilliant technical mind, and someone who really wasn't, someone doing what's easy to a lot of people. Realistically people are not logical. - In theory, we should probably use Calendly because it saves time - We should all use collaborative software and make one perfect version, named sensibly, that anyone can find. - We should attend meetings based on a RASCI matrix and make decisions based on this. - We should learn how to use Excel properly, and use it for the right thing. - In theory paper forms should be a rarity in the world, because they are totally daft. - In theory cashiers around the world shouldn't be rapidly typing in the price for the goods you're about to buy into a POS terminal hundreds of times a day ( how is this still a thing???) Business transformation is really the art of understanding people, systems, culture, etiquette, politics, incentives and above all else REALITY. Business transformation is the art of understanding motivation, of unleashing imagination, of tempering whats possible with what's workable. It's the art of knowing enough about technology to ask the really dumb questions, which are normally just two words, what if. Image shows what it's like to work behind the toll in some restaurants these days.
Terry Hamer MBA
8mo
Rather than what if, what for? Shouldn’t that question drive adoption of any tactic technology or not? What is the strategy? What is needed to get there?
Sami Viitamäki
8mo
I'd say knowing the principles of something but not the technicalities of it might be great for innovation in some cases. But it is a gross oversimplification and misrepresentation to say that knowing the technicalities of something always and automatically leads to lack of innovation and incapability to innovate. It is almost always the exact opposite. You often need incredibly deep expertise to innovate. That being said, you naturally also need an outsider's perspective to innovate successfully. But that is in addition to deep expertise, not in its stead. Would the most valuable companies in the world e.g. Microsoft, Apple, Nvidia, Alphabet and Meta have become as big, and staid as big, as they are, if their founders and key people were not absolutely obsessively pedantic and deep experts, who certainly know the 'technicalities'? And before you say 'all these guys suck at innovation'... Why are they then the most valuable companies in the world? If they suck so bad, and innovation is so easy by just knowing the principles but ignoring the technicalities then... why hasn't anyone toppled them?
Erin W.
8mo
One of the best use cases I ever had for a paper form was when I worked onboard a cruise ship. On day one, guest services would be swamped with guests requesting to change rooms which is about the most unproductive exchange an agent can have on a sold out charter. I created a simple one pager that the agent could have the guest fill in, so the supervisor could follow up accordingly once they had a count of available cabins.
ManyMangoes 🥭
7mo
Love this insightful share! To magnify your digital transformation impact, consider leveraging psychographic segmentation alongside predictive analytics to hyper-personalize user experiences. These strategies enable a deeper understanding of user needs, optimizing your solution in real-time.
Manuel Barragan
8mo
Tom Goodwin, your experience highlights the importance of diverse skills in digital transformation. Collaboration between tech experts and visionaries can spark innovation. Remember, Digital Transformation is the Business Transformation (Culture & Processes) to become more Agile centered on the Customer and enabled by Technology creating and capturing new opportunities (Value / Innovation) while being more Efficient (in cost, time, and agility) mostly based on Data with an enhanced approach to Risk Management.
Nick Pericle
8mo
Having team members bring differing mindsets, perspectives, and experiences to the table when working to achieve lasting transformation change, is key. Having voice of customer who can tell who what current state really is like. Having a visionary who can see past what is currently there, and imagines something better. Having a realist who understands what it takes to win, and can put together operational plan to get there.
Jane Peacock
8mo
What a brilliant articulation of the powerful partnership between a someone with the human skills and someone with the technical skills Tom Goodwin. Anything is possible when it comes to technology but its the human skills like curiosity, empathy, listening etc that helps us determine what we need to build and what human need or challenge we are serving. I remember my first digital project and the tech lead in this case was Steve. And he could do anything. And we build some really impactful stuff. But also some stuff that wasn't as impactful as we had hoped... because, well clients.
Thomas S.
8mo
A lot of innovation can be found in the "what if" question? Getting requirements from users or customers tends to be bogged down in what they do now, what if opens up the future.
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8moThe company I ran once spent a year developing an online service for our B2B customers that none of them wanted to use. I realised what the mistake was only when I personally visited the biggest clients and got into the intricacies of their work. Then we completely redesigned the service and gained dozens of loyal customers. Technology should not make existing processes easier, it should create new ones - those that were previously impossible without it.