“In the Digital Age, velocity is everything,” notes Sri Manchala, chairman and CEO of Trianz, a digital transformation research, strategy and implementation company. His instruction, readers learn, is both an encouragement and a warning.
Manchala started envisioning this book when considering digital issues for his own company in 2016; he gathered data from more than 5,000 companies in 20 industries worldwide. The research indicated, troublingly, that 90% of organizations fail to adjust or adjust poorly to the changing business landscape. Most companies haven’t sufficiently responded to digital innovation and change, whether by offering new value propositions or implementing the analytics for making them. The push to do so has been heightened by the pandemic, but there’s still much ground to make up.
How, then, can readers guide their own organizations through digital transformation? Manchala’s research looks at transformations from the perspective of customers and businesses, and seeks to identify: what the titular digital “faultline” is; the rules and habits that allowed “Digital Champions” to succeed, the characteristics of successful digital leaders and how readers can adopt these habits and characteristics.
Manchala’s strength lies in his clear explanations of how and where digital transformation pops up in even non-tech industries, and how prioritizing customer-centricity, developing a reliance on data rather than trusting assumptions, and closing the near-inevitable business/IT alignment gap can set companies up for success. Mostly, he coaches, half-hearted approaches are useless, and traditional organizational structures won’t cut it; leaders need to prepare for real change.
Worksheets to help readers understand their leadership persona are useful in setting expectations and adjusting mindsets in a time when the accelerating pace of change can be overwhelming.
The advice is clear, encouraging, and thoughtful, but little is new; it boils down, essentially, to understanding the competition, serving customers competently, and staying agile. As such, this guide is best suited for those just starting their journey to stay ahead of the digital curve and seeking a solid primer.
Also available in hardcover, ebook and audio book.
