Why a people-first approach is essential for digitalisation in shipping

When we speak about digitalisation and innovation, we typically focus on the what — communication standards, new technology, greater collaboration etc —?but we rarely talk about the who.

But digitalisation isn’t just about technology, it’s about people.

It’s people who have an idea, people who work together as a team to bring it into reality, and people who benefit. Whether it’s more efficient operations, better service, or faster shipments, technology is the tool we use to improve our lives.?

But what does a people-first approach mean in practice?

We can typically conceive of the end benefits of digitalisation fairly easily — it is, after all, why we’re doing it in the first place. But for technology to work we need the right teams to build it, and the right organisational mindset to support it.

In this post, I explore what kinds of teams will be best suited, and what organisational environments will get the most out of those teams.

This post is a deep dive into the People First theme from my 5 Major Themes Affecting Digitalisation in Shipping article. You can read it here .

THE RIGHT MIX IS A DIVERSE MIX

The best teams are diverse; a mix of perspectives, personalities, and skills.?

When everyone has the same background, went to the same schools, and followed the same career path, you get, unsurprisingly, more of the same.?

When it comes to digitalisation, we need a diverse mix of people.

You need the leaders, the organisers, the visionaries, the naysayers, the diplomats, the experts, and the wild cards — each of them bringing their own unique perspective to the team. You need the people with the grand vision as much as you need the naysayers to find holes in any argument. You need different races, ages, genders and cultural backgrounds, as well as different experience, expertise and interests.

It's in this complementary mix of perspectives that real innovation can thrive. But such diversity requires an openness and flexibility to new approaches. Sometimes, it means challenging the current way of doing things. And instead of resisting, having the flexibility to be open to it.

As Steve Jobs said “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and then tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do”.

Not an easy feat, which is why it’s so important to create the right environment for people to thrive.?

THE RIGHT ENVIRONMENT

To get the most out of an innovation team, you need the right environment — but what constitutes the right environment?

More so than other areas of a business, in innovation, there has to be an openness to experimentation and failure. Not every idea will work, but each attempt gets you closer to the one that does. An environment built on trust, where people are encouraged to experiment, and try new approaches without a fear of failure is essential for the success of digitalisation.?

Only in an environment that encourages people to express their perspectives, work together as a team, and continue to grow (both personally and professionally) can we make true progress with digitalisation.?

This is an approach I’ve always tried to adopt in my own teams. I’ve found that when people feel empowered, and have a certain amount of freedom to experiment and grow, they perform at their best.

Of course, creating and maintaining these environments at a larger scale can be challenging. By its very nature, innovation creates change, and change is disruptive. Successful digitalisation is as much about developing the technology as it is about advocating and gaining support from the people who will use it.

This is precisely why it’s so important to view digitalisation through a people-first lens. The technology serves the people, not the other way around.

From conception, to the creation, to the widespread adoption, focusing on the people rather than the technology, is a crucial part of turning digitalisation ideas into reality. ?

But that’s just my take, I want to know what you think.

How important are people in the digitalisation journey?

What kinds of environments do we need to create, and what mindsets should we adopt?

As always, I welcome your input in the comments below.