BOOK REVIEW. How to harness the digital edge

In the last four or five years, we have seen a lot of companies adopt digital media in innovative ways.

From interactive web pages to mobile apps to advertisements embedded in QR-codes, businesses have been trying to leverage technology as well as they can for better engagement with their customers.

That said, with the endless possibilities that tech today offers, it’s almost criminal not to want to employ it in every way possible.

This is what Leading Digital: Turning Technology Into Business Transformation urges you to do.

The book, broadly divided into three parts, is a three-person collaboration.

Targeting all kinds of businesses and companies small or big, the book is essentially about the urgent need for companies to harness digital innovation to boost their business.

In doing so, the book has created for itself a potentially wide and varied audience.

Based on how digitally competent a company is, and how strong and capable its leadership is, the book categorises businesses into four quadrants – Beginners as opposed to Digital Masters (who’ve managed to excel in digital as well as leadership capabilities), and Fashionistas (low leadership but high digital capabilities) against Conservatives (who are yet to make the most of the digital age).

While there is a short section on what each category specifically needs to change in order to become a digital master, the book overall focuses on the various ways technology can be used to reinvent the way you run a business.

At almost every step, the authors first identify the potential challenges that a business might face while adopting digital initiatives. They successfully analyse the why and how of it, and present solutions right after.

The book also explores how companies can use tech to improve operations instead of solely focusing on the customer experience.

This bit is crucial as a lot of companies tend to invest in mobile platforms and social media analytics to improve customer experience and generally overlook a digital overhaul within the company itself.

One of the best bits about the book is the sheer number of concrete examples cited across sectors, problems identified and the solutions outlined, thereafter.

The authors have taken case studies from companies as varied as Nike, Asian Paints, Burberry and Starbucks.

Even if your business category doesn’t find a mention in the book (which is improbable given the variety of sectors it covers), going through the various methods that the companies use technology to overcome hurdles, streamline processes and save time and money in the process is bound to spark an idea or two in your head!

Another positive is the fact that the book explores every possible way technology can impact your business.

For example, adopting tech is not just a means to better your business, sometimes it’s crucial to the company’s survival.

The book juxtaposes two imaging companies, Fujifilm and Kodak to highlight how one survived because it chose to cannibalise it’s own (traditional) portfolio and diversify at the right moment, despite falling profits.

At the end of each section, the book has handy checklists and concise takeaways for you to quickly refer to whenever you feel like it.

Owing to the genre, the book has a fairly serious tone without getting way too dry and academic.

The book is interspersed with infographics that depict information gathered from industry research. While graphics are far and few in between, there is a couple of particularly interesting quizzes that help assess how well you comprehend your company’s digital challenges and how well-focused your investments are.

Readers can self-assess all these quizzes and tweak their business model accordingly.

Towards the end, there is a lot of concise, useful information about the various methods of investment to manage your IT portfolio and reap both long-term and short-term benefits.

There’s also a small section on how you can make the most of various funding mechanisms such as central, local and partner-supported investments.

A holistic move towards digital transformation in a company also needs momentum from within.

The authors underline the need to engage with employees “by co-creating solutions and involving those who will have to make the change happen.”

And, also by “actively encouraging a cultural shift by using digital technologies to change the way people work and collaborate.” As is the case with any leadership, the authors also point out that it’s important that the top leadership walk the talk before expecting their employees and customers to embrace change.

While taking to new technologies might come naturally to some, others who have to put in a lot of effort will eventually realise it was well worth it, the authors reassure.

The book takes the reader on an entire journey starting from how to get started with a digital transformation, how to get your employees to adopt it and sustain it in the long run.

In today’s day and age, the need to leverage technology for better customer interaction and employee engagement cannot be emphasised enough.

It meets endless needs – it helps a business cater to a generation which has grown up with the internet, it helps streamline processes which took a lot of time and effort because they were previously non-digital and also help come up with new ways to keep your employees and customers in sync with your organisation and all that it has to offer.

Keeping that in mind, this book is a helpful read for all those who might either be lagging behind in the digital adoption race or those who might be possibly looking for new ways to further their digital prowess in business.

The reviewer is a freelance technology writer and educator based in Chennai

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