We need more X to enable ??

We use emojis like ?? what could have different meanings depending to the context. While I'm passionate about growing the business in the context of the industrial digital transformation it could be obvious that the ?? holds the explanation of "Moonshot thinking" which is an approach to disruptive innovation.

Moonshot (10X) thinking can be applied to business or any other discipline where you target disruptive goals. That shifts mindsets, empower a team of people, to look for unconventional solutions, thus starting from first principles by leveraging on fast-paced experimentation.

Many believe that 10X thinking is expensive and requires a lot of resources. Instead, 10X thinking could be just the opposite when it is about finding inexpensive, creative solutions to hard questions / solving real-world customer problems. It also involves a lot of failure along the way, yet the world becomes your laboratory, and failure becomes just another step in the growth process! Thus, in the long run, 10X thinking isn’t only inexpensive but will have a massive ROI on your business but there is a little trick to it... the "X factor" in the shaped profile of people.

As for solving most of the problems inside our industry the technology is not the problem, it is all about people.

Leap from a T-shaped rockstar to become an X-shaped leader;

T-shaped people have now become an essential part of the business world. As the story goes, a T-shaped profile is a person that has a deep understanding and expertise in one or two areas and a broad knowledge of several other areas. Most of the T-Shape profile people are extremely successful business people and especially in the engineering industry of this world and do not have to be worried as there will be a demand for T's a long time to come.

The term ‘T Shaped’ refers to a person who holds a thorough knowledge and strong skill set in one area but can also work beyond their area of expertise. The vertical bar of the ‘T” represents the depth of skills (Deep knowledge) and the horizontal bar represents the person’s broad skills and their ability to collaborate.

The challenge with a T-shaped profile is that it will take a long time to reach your destination on the journey of digital transformation or even won’t get you to reach the ambitious vision at all. In other words, as a T-shaped, I would not be able to have the ability to move a small team toward a 10X goal.

However, if you want to HIT I(o)T BIG, you need to start adding strategic thinking and leadership into the skill set and their behaviors. That is when you make the jump from T-shaped to an X-shaped profile! The X-shaped is an evolution of the T-shaped. Where T-shaped understands that collaboration is a key for growth; The X-shaped profile understands that leadership and strategic thinking are crucial ingredients to move a small or large group toward goals that require transformational action like disrupting an industry.

The critical Strategic Thinking leg

In a simplified format, the T-shape skills are the HOW's and Strategic Thinking is the WHAT. In case you need to Moonshot to disrupt the industry or WHAT will solve your real-world customer/user problem. The HOW is the operations to shape and clarify the organization’s future strategic profile. Decisions that “fit” within the parameters of this profile are taken and implemented, and decisions that do not “fit” rejected. Operational planning, and even what has become known as strategic planning, is the type of thinking that helps us choose how to get there.

Secondly, the need for management to think strategically does not arise all of the time. It tends to surface only at “strategic retreats” or when a new “strategic thrust” is being pursued, for example, when deliberating entry into the market(s) that represent unfamiliar terrain. Often, the rules of the game are different requiring management to shake itself out of its operational thinking boots. However, if thinking strategically is not an ongoing habit, one can hardly expect management to be proficient.

Most of the people who lead and manage organizations got there from the operational ranks. They were promoted from one level to the next because of their operational skills. They were good managers and made good operational decisions. They were able to “make the numbers”. They did not, however, spend much time thinking about, or charting, the direction of the company. As a result, they have not acquired the skill of setting direction and being the organization’s strategic thinker. That skill takes time to develop.

The essential leadership at the top inside X

On a psychometric basis, leaders differ meaningfully across many personality attributes from the overall executive population. Two traits, in particular, stand out because of the magnitude of the difference from population averages embracing the right risks and capitalizing on opportunities. These traits, which make leaders courageous and fast-paced, can be considered the essence of the X shaped personality. The ability to mindfully take action without hesitation truly separates them from others.

Inside a leadership mindset of digital transformation "the I's" is a useful framework to start your own personal transformation to work on.

• Influence (persuasively moving others to action) using the power of persuasion to stir diverse stakeholder to motivate action
• Inference (coming to understanding on limited information) using the power of deduction to assemble understanding from voluminous, incomplete or divergent data
• Initiative (taking first-mover action) using the first-mover advantage to shape unpredictable situations into positive results

A strong influencer that “opens the organization” erodes traditional command and control by the deployment of traits like persuasion, engagement of others and empathy to motivate others' effectivity. Would that not be a great fit for those organizations that seek to grow on the journey of the digital transformation with its customers?.

Swamped by Big Data, inundated by social media and the increasing hype on the digital transformation, companies are getting more isolated from their customers than ever, and start losing the sense of their real-world problems than need to be solved. You will benefit from a disciplined mental efficiency that will derive the answers to draw nonlinear conclusions at astonishing speed. Or even better, go out more often in the real world outside and meet with your target group of customers. you "only" have to make sure you ask the correct questions to the right stakeholders.

Are you ready for the journey?

The journey of digital transformation happens only once, like every industrial evolution, and many of us start (if not already) to understand the 4th evolution is an opportunity once in a lifetime. If you did not already have been feeling uncomfortable it most likely means you are still in your comfort zone or already master these new X attributes and are enjoying the road-map where all the magic happens.