Digital Transformation – The World is changing

From Analogue to Digital

As you know or may have noticed, the world is changing. High street shops are closing, because we are shopping more and more online. Newspaper sales are going down year upon year, because we are reading the news on our mobile devices. The number of pubs has fallen in the last decade, because we are using social media platforms to interact with our friends and family. We used to take photos and have to wait a few days before we were able to see them. Now we take photos with our phones and we can see and share them immediately. The world is changing from analogue to digital in almost every aspect of our lives and this is Digital Transformation.

This is happening because of a few factors. The first one is, we are living the initial years of a new age revolution the Information Age, also known as Computer Age, Digital Age or New Media Age. Over the years we had the Agriculture Age from the 8th to the 18th century. The Industrial Age started in the 18th century and it lasted for about 300 years, until the end of the 20th century. The beginning of the Information Age is considered to be related with the development of the transistor, more or less after the second world war. We are in the initial 70 years of this new revolution, we are living the beginning of this new age.

Another factor is that we are also going through a generation transition. Baby Boomers left or are leaving the workforce and Millennials are becoming more influential. People born between 1944 and 1964 are Baby Boomers and Generation X were born between 1965 and 1979, Millennials were born between 1980 and 1994 and Generation Z were born between 1995 and 2015. Baby Boomers were a great generation and we owe them the world we live in. The difference is Baby Boomers and Generation X, they born in an analogue world. While Millennials and Generation Z, they born in a digital world. This simple fact creates a cultural gap between these generations.

While Baby Boomers, own their houses, own their cars, they are proud owners of their music collections and they probably own a timesharing in some part of the world. Culturally they own things. Millennials are the opposite. They rent houses, they lease cars, they pay monthly for their music on Spotify and they go to different places on holiday every year through Airbnb. They prefer to have access to things instead of owning.

Change is the only constant in Life

The world is changing. More than 2,500 years ago Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher said: “Change is the only constant in life.” and more than 150 years ago Charles Darwin wrote: “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, not the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” in his book The Origin of Species.

Kodak and Blockbuster, do you remember these brands ? Where are they now ? Kodak in the 80’s was the biggest company in the world, probably the equivalent of what Apple is today. But they decided to ignore digital photography and not adapt to change. Blockbuster was in every street corner of our towns but decided to ignore the digital streaming services and failed to adapt to change.

All these changes are driven by technology. Technology is like a superfast train. The train has just departed and is moving. Not too fast, because it is leaving the station. But it will accelerate very soon. Now is the time for you to jump onto this fast train, while you can. Because in a few years, the train is gone and you may not be able to jump on it. The question is ? How do you prepare your business to jump onto this train ? Technology is the answer. But not any technology, it needs to be the right technology for you and your business.

You don’t go to the hardware shop and buy a screwdriver, because it’s brand new and everybody is buying and then go home and knock down a brick wall ? Do you ? No, because a screwdriver is not the right tool to knock down walls. Technology is just a tool and you need to get the right tool for your business. But it is the combination of technology with systems that makes it very powerful.

The power of Systems

Let me tell you an example that happen to me.

Last year for my birthday, my wife gave me the best birthday present ever. Since I was a little boy my dream car is a Porsche 911 (I know it’s sad and very materialistic) and my present was a Porsche Experience Day at Silverstone. As you can imagine, I was a little boy again that day.

Here I am driving a 911 around the track, with a professional Porsche driver sat next to me. He just let me to go for a few laps and then he asked me:

– Tell me what is going on in your mind when you are doing the corners ?

– I told him, I would break before the corner and used the apex (these white and red bits that you see on the tracks) to put the car in the best trajectory.

– He asked me: And when do you start accelerating ?

– I told him: When I feel that the car is in the right position and I feel that I’m not going to spin, I will accelerate.

– He said to me: Alright, and if I teach you a system where you will not rely on your feelings and it will work every time ?

– Yes, please. I said.

– You are going to start accelerating at the same time that you start to unwind the wheel and the more you unwind the more you accelerate.

This simple system allowed me to have the confidence to go faster and have more control doing the corners. This guy just gave me a system. I’m the same person, using the same tool and getting better results. Systems are so important, because they give you the confidence, they put you in control of the situation. Then technology just accelerate that process, technology is the tool. As a business owner your responsibility, is to equip your business with systems and tools to allow you and your staff to improve and excel your performance. Save time being more efficient, save money being more productive, grow your business and be more profitable.

Digital Transformation Method

To help you to achieve Digital Transformation in your business, I have created the CLEAR method. This is the result of many years working with business owners like you and transforming how they use technology in their companies. If you follow this method you will be able to create a plan for your Digital Transformation.

Conscious: Identify and understand what your company needs are. Focus on systems.

Learn: What are the right tools for your company. Focus on technology.

Engineer: Create an implementation plan. Focus on preparation.

Achieve: Execute and implement your plan. Focus on accomplishment.

Resources: Identify and allocate all the resources. Focus on prevention.

Take action

Are you ready for Digital Transformation ?

Save Time, be more efficient. Save Money, be more productive. Grow your business, be more profitable.

By adopting the right technologies.

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