You're navigating mid-career challenges in Digital Strategy. How can you conquer them and rise to the top?

Read. Read newsletters, blogs, research papers. Consume information. Even if it’s not in your industry. Understanding how the world around you is evolving and how people’s behaviours are changing will make you a better marketer. I believe this to be true across marketing verticals but especially digital.

Embracing Change leads to exposure and this leads to an amazing set of experiences which shapes the way we grow as an individual. It’s all about taking the first step and the willingness to learn and for that we have to step out of the comfort zone otherwise at the end of the day we will regret not having that diverse set of experience. Embrace small changes - try new cuisines , travel to new places , learn new skills .. it’s awesome

1. Always know your audience. Take every opportunity to analyze your audience and engage with your clients. These conversations will provide valuable insights. 2. Agree with Dan Dupont 100%. Read, read a lot and analyse information from different sources and industries. Be curious as children are. 3. Talk with smart people. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Remember, when you are the smartest person in the room, that is the wrong room. 4. Fail fast, fail forward. It's okay to make mistakes as soon as you learn from them. 5. Balance. If you're not taking care of your personal life, you won't succeed at your job either.

Change is better than a rest. Embracing change doesn't just provide you with new skills and new opportunity's . It helps neuroplasticity providing assistance in all areas of ones development in life.

Reading is only 20% of learning. Whatever you read and understand, try to picture use cases at your company. See if your company is running any projects on the relevant technology and try and participate in them. If the company is not focused on the technology, build a business case and petition the leadership. You would be surprised to know how many core businesses at FAANG and elsewhere have come up from these tiny experiments that employees picked up and the company funded. If you are in a company that doesn’t have money or genes for risk taking, start with a very small sum and a small use case. If even that doesn’t work, move to another company or you will stagnate for sure.. there is no solution for nearsighted leadership.

I found that jumping headfirst into the oncoming trends is absolutely worthwhile. Find experts around you from whom you can receive mentorship and also use great free or very cheap MOOC resources like eDX and Coursera to find courses for which to upskill yourself - I took an amazing AI course from IBM and achieved a certification for under $100. Also, and this may not be a popular opinion, hire people in your team who are smarter than you and possess these skills to augment your team and to learn from!

Continuous upskilling is not an option any more. Why? Because the pace of change has incredibly increased and once-in-a-while reading won't be sufficient. Keep doing micro courses online, helping or consulting companies (subject to company norms), teaching: are some of the ways that have helped me stay on top of a bunch of things.

Learning backed up with practical applications help to enhance skill set for digital leaders. for sure if you remain stagnant then your digital strategy will be outdated and will not produce the required results. Th integrations of digital components to complete the marketing loop is essential for success.

Listen more, talk less. New innovators are being introduced to the workforce; bringing with them new technologies, methods, skills, and ideology. Practicing active listening is an increasingly valuable skill to master. When you do, you can pickup all sorts of things that can point the way to the upskilling every professional needs to time block amongst the weekly to-do’s.

Your network is your net worth! Networking is one of the most crucial elements in career success, especially for mid-career professionals. Networking helps bridge the gap from what you are and where you aspire to be. Through networking, one can benefit from: ?? Meeting new mentors and coaches ??Sharing new ideas, POV & tech knowledge to gain new insights ?? Active learning from current and new connections, especially if you know domain specialists in your area of interest ?? Meeting prospective clients, employers and recruiters Jobs at the top are highly competitive and quite often roles are not advertised. Hence, who you know matters. However, networking needs to go beyond just purely for self gain, it needs to be mutually beneficial.

In today's digital landscape, building a strong professional network is crucial. Engaging with the digital strategy community can unlock new opportunities and insights. Connect with mentors and peers for guidance, and share your own expertise to strengthen these relationships. Attend industry events, participate in webinars, and interact with thought leaders on social media. A well-rounded network is a powerful asset for overcoming career challenges and accelerating your growth.

To network smartly during mid-career challenges in digital strategy, target industry events, webinars, and conferences to connect with peers and thought leaders. Join relevant online communities and LinkedIn groups to stay engaged with the latest trends. Focus on building genuine relationships by offering value, whether through sharing insights, collaborating on projects, or mentoring others. Reach out to mentors who’ve successfully navigated similar challenges. Additionally, leverage your network to explore new opportunities, gain fresh perspectives, and stay motivated. Smart networking not only expands your influence but also positions you for leadership roles and career advancement in digital strategy.

Stay updated with digital strategy developments and trends and don’t rely on your current knowledge as the world of digital is moving fast. You have to network smartly and open the door to receive new insights, inspirations, knowledge from others. Share your ideas with experts to help you grow with your business objectives and gain the maximum impact.

A data-driven approach is table stakes. The key is breaking through the noise and anchoring in on the relevant data sets and drawing insights. The most valuable I find are the customer centric insights- the type that help you understand a gap or pain point for your customer or target audience.

For a newbie, data is like a toy. You look at it upside down just to make an innovative theory. For an experienced strategist, data is the holy grail. Your strategy is designed for the mold data creates, and not the other way around. Spotify Wrapped is an example of how a brand uses data in its purest form to build loyalty. The streaming giant provides users with a visual representation of the songs, artists, genres, and podcasts they listened to the most from January 1 to October 31. No wonder over 120 million users couldn’t resist sharing their listening summary on social media.

Every digital business claims to be data-driven. It’s easy to find data that backs up what you already think. It’s easy to find data that your clients want to hear. It’s easy to find data that says you're doing a great job being data-driven. Being data-driven means questioning data. All the major advertising platforms will pump out positive returns on ad spend but can you find data that proves if it’s incremental? Can you find other attribution factors that corroborate the returns? Can you find evidence of wastage within the spends despite the positive results? Pushing data to its limits gives you a full picture of what is happening so you can make informed decisions and pivot strategies quickly when things aren't going so well.

Leading with data goes beyond just informed decision-making; it’s about building trust and credibility. When your strategies are backed by solid data, you not only enhance the effectiveness of your campaigns but also strengthen your ability to communicate value to stakeholders. This data-driven approach empowers you to pivot with confidence, turning insights into impactful actions that drive measurable results.

Data is the cornerstone of effective digital strategies. To conquer mid-career challenges, harness the power of data analytics to inform your decisions and showcase the value of your work. Understanding key performance indicators (KPIs) and customer data platforms (CDPs) is crucial, as is the ability to interpret complex data sets. By basing your strategies on solid data, you can create impactful campaigns and confidently justify your approaches to stakeholders. This data-driven mindset not only enhances your credibility but also drives measurable success in your career.

If a company or a person wants to stay ahead in the race to wow the customers, you have to innovate ! Key aspect of innovation is to understand how much of an impact ,the new product/process or service is going to have ? If it is a mere novelty ,one should not travel that path as I have seen lot of instances where innovation is done just to manage PR. Innovate in true sense has to be a paradigm shift in the way a company is delivering its product , services and processes to add true value .

Innovation is the key in the digital era, how "digitally wierd" we think is an important element. have personlly handled Digital Innovation studios runnning multiple usecases across manufacturing, the challenge is to keep them updated with the latest & greatest

Innovation is imperative in digital strategy. Don’t settle for the status quo; instead, push the boundaries of what’s possible. Experiment with new ideas, even if they’re outside your comfort zone. Failures are as valuable as successes if you learn from them. By fostering a culture of innovation within yourself, you become an indispensable asset to any team, capable of driving change and achieving remarkable results.

In digital strategy, innovation is your game-changer. Don't just stick to what's safe - dare to push boundaries and try out bold, new ideas. Step out of your comfort zone and experiment; even if you stumble, those failures are goldmines of learning. Keep the momentum going by fostering a culture of constant innovation within yourself. By doing so, you'll become the go-to person on any team, driving change and delivering standout results. Keep pushing, and you'll keep rising.

To rise above mid-career challenges, you must foster a culture of creativity and continuous improvement within your team. Encourage brainstorming sessions, pilot new ideas, and be willing to take calculated risks. Innovation isn’t just about adopting the latest technologies but also about finding unique solutions to existing problems and optimizing processes. By continually pushing the boundaries and exploring new possibilities, you can keep your strategies fresh and effective, ensuring that you and your organization remain at the forefront of the digital landscape.

With the speed of technological advancement, there will always be a next amazing new solution. What often lags, however, is the mapping of that solution to a real problem. It’s critical to ensure your strategies put the business need first, rather than simply adopting new tech just for the sake of it. A good balance between business focus and tech knowhow will set you apart.

This is where your advantage truly shines. Being in mid career, you have some experience in a particular domain. In my opinion, digital strategy is all about meeting the needs of humans in an empathetic way. Balance the theoretical learnings with practical implementation, while having the team members on your side will ensure success.

To advance in your career, prioritize your customers, embrace thought leadership, and foster innovation and disruption, rather than concentrating solely on personal achievements. Naturally, your contributions will be recognized based on their merit, leading to organic career growth.

Ergebnisse teilen: Kommuniziere regelm??ig die Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse an alle relevanten Stakeholder. Visualisierungen nutzen: Verwende klare Visualisierungen und Dashboards, um die Daten verst?ndlich zu pr?sentieren und Entscheidungen zu unterstützen.

Incremental improvements are your friend. The kaizen approach of setting today’s accomplishment as tomorrow’s baseline and continually improving, always moving upward toward the next objective.