The strategy behind becoming globally competitive

We began a webinar series called- Five Steps to Becoming Globally Competitive because we wanted to continue to educate our audience about the different sides of digital transformation and the important role it plays in their growth, productivity, and bottom line.

Our first conversation examined the importance of the strategy behind digital transformation with a conversation with Makeda Antoine Cambridge. Mrs. Antoine- Cambridge is the Founder and CEO of Genesis International Limited which is a social enterprise in the business of transforming Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) into successful ventures, while financially empowering communities. 

In case you missed it, view it here

Four salient points were discussed that could help our business community in the pursuit of digital transformation and the role strategy plays.  

1. Leadership, not technology 

The first thing we need to understand is that digital transformation is about leadership and how you utilize technology to create that advantage.  

2. Digital Transformation is a strategy that utilises technology 

Digital transformation is a strategy utilizing technology to create a competitive advantage. Technology is not the main factor. The strategy is the main factor. The strategy is the important part of this whole transformational process. If you don’t have an effective strategy, then you would not have a good transformational process. That is because digital transformation is about transforming your business, but the vehicle is technology. The strategy is the biggest part of that process.  

3. Understand your future state 

As the leader of your organization, you must understand your future state. Ask yourself where you want to be in two, three, or four years, and understand what you want your customers to experience. Then you work backward and reverse engineer that process. You must understand your future state.  

4. Get your employees on board  

Digital transformation cannot happen with the involvement of upper management or the board members only. It happens with a holistic interaction within every tier of a company. Get your employees involved in the initial stages, through teams so they understand that they are part of the creation of a system based on a strategy. This approach will boost efficiency, productivity, customer satisfaction and, it will make their jobs a little easier. It will also help the organization have access to statistics that can be analyzed. This will remove the fear that often comes along with the digital transformation process.  

The takeaway from this conversation with Ms. Antoine was that strategy is the most important aspect of digital transformation. This strategy is what will create the differentiator. Technology is the vehicle we are going to utilize to enable that strategy.  

Don’t miss out on the other conversations about becoming globally competitive. Every Thursday at 2 pm we introduce a subject matter expert to speak on the stages of digital transformation. 

Join us this Thursday- https://www.linkedin.com/company/800tech/