Digital transformation needs constant viral energy?

You probably spent some serious time on HBO and or Netflix or Amazon Prime over Christmas. Bandersnatch on Netflix is an indicator of what main line personal TV could become and Bird Box has had the classic viral explosion. Viral energy is infectious so sorry for the shameless use of one of our dogs who loves the cookies and attention.

The fact Netflix has had to make a public pronouncement about not doing it in dangerous places says a lot about us too. However the viral nature of these convergences between entertainment and wanting to be part of the idea or experiences is the new world we live in. It is not that reality and fantasy collide. It is more about the ability to express one type of experience (watching a Netflix phenom) with how we like to express ourselves in the moment.

We all have a portfolio of experiences that converge together. We all like to express ourselves in the moment (behavior and or attitude). The question for any organization trying to plot its way through a digital transformation journey is how does it take that type of energy and use it before it fizzles out. I am near certain by mid March Bird Box and its viral spin offs will be mostly forgotten. When was the last time you saw this video?

Keeping the attention inside your organization as it digitally transforms requires a continual stream of viral activities because we are all so easily distracted or attracted to new and interesting things. We just finished a research paper for Forbes Insights on the 7 habits of successfully digitally transforming organizations.

There are three viral elements that you can grab now.

INVEST TIME AND CELEBRATE

If leaders in thriving organizations are investing over 17.4 hours of their own time a week to master digital transformation then we should be having teams and people post examples of how they are doing it. Celebrate successes and share journeys. There should be joy in the moment for what is happening, what we are learning and the surprises we are revealing. Remember this simple fact 35% of all the corporations that told us they are thriving discovered or revealed brand new assets for themselves. That needs a viral like celebration.

GET COMFORTABLE MAKING AN IDIOT OF YOURSELF

Corporations that thrive with their digital transformations push experiments and keep at them. Sometimes that means they under perform, sometimes they fail and sometimes they work when tweaked. 95% of all the corporations that are thriving havre built systems and cultures that can handle this. Much like a cringe worthy social post you have to be comfortable making an idiot of yourself to thrive. Reward and share learnings from experiments and failures through out the corporation because it adds value to the transformative journey.

LEAN IN TO AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

When we looked through 135+ variables that defined successful digital transformation journeys one odd truth became clear. Digital thrivers were three times more excited about their ability to handle the future that was unclear than their peers in less successful organizations. It takes b!#^s and brawn to lean into the future much like it takes confidence to post a viral video that might not work well. The more you try it and do it then the more confident you are.

Viral has to be a part of how you live and breath a digital transformation.