See your world in digital
Digital doesn’t sit still, so neither can your business.
To thrive in today’s ever-changing digital world, digital transformation is imperative. But there are many ways to do it. The one constant is your role, as CEO, and the need for your direct involvement.
Digital doesn’t sit still, so neither can your business. To thrive in today’s ever-changing digital world, digital transformation is imperative. But there are many ways to do it. The one constant is your role, as CEO, and the need for your direct involvement.
Put simply, you can no longer afford to maintain the status quo. You need to be ready to take risks; be constantly on the lookout for disruptive patterns; and be willing to set a transformative, digital vision that enables you to capitalize on opportunities, counter any threat and maximize value. Transformation must come from the top.
The question is, how? As a CEO, how do you determine your exact role in digital transformation? And where should you focus your finite time and energy to best help your company succeed on its digital journey?
Deloitte's recent research on How the CEO’s leadership in digital transformation can tip the scales toward success and How to lead digital transformation from the top helps answer these questions and more. Based on real-world scenarios and powerful insights from global CEOs, the series are practical, research-driven guides for business leaders facing the challenge of transforming their organizations through digital technology. Centered on setting your ambition and assessing organizational readiness, they will help you see your world in digital and transform transformation.
The five levels of digital transformation
Digital transformations come in all shapes and sizes. CEOs must adapt their leadership focus to suit.
The five levels build incrementally. The more a CEO’s business encompasses, the more likely it will need enterprise-wide transformation, including a new operating model and organizational structure.
CEOs can use these levels to help set the organizational ambition and assess its readiness for change based on the Leadership, Structure, Culture, and Capabilities in place already. The initial research details four scenarios to guide CEOs on this journey and goes on to demonstrate three specific actions they’re taking to lead from the top.
Read more on setting the transformation ambition for your organization.
The three truths
A practical guide for leaders facing the challenge of transforming their organizations through digital technology
Read more on our three truths and insights from our CEO interviews.
CEO Talks
We spoke to over 20 Global CEOs about their digital transformation journeys and how they lead from the top.
Artists and songwriters are important partners in light of our purpose of filling the world with emotions, so we are trying to become the best company for them. For example, we are providing a digital platform to inform them how much they're gaining from their online music in real time.
Kenichiro Yoshida, CEO, Sony Group
I can strongly recommend to set up a dedicated transformation office to track the progress of the various key strategic projects you need to drive simultaneously within a transformation of this size.
Giny Boer, CEO, C&A
"In terms of day-to-day, did I “do” anything? Probably not. My role was to simply not let the organization back up, to continue to pump the vision of where we needed to be. And if anyone presented a roadblock, I told them to go under, over, through, around, any way to make it happen."
J Eric Pike, Chairman and CEO, Pike Corporation
Digital transformation is a full-time job, so you need people to work on it full time. You can’t just ask someone to do it on the side. Without that dedicated focus, people’s day-to-day jobs tend to take priority and the digitization effort struggles to make progress.
Marc Huffman, CEO, BlackLine
One of the biggest things we did was to establish a long-term incentive plan for our senior executives. We tied a third of their money to the success of this work, so they all had an economic incentive. If the project goes well, we all win. If the project goes bad, we all lose.
Stephen Markovich, CEO, Ohio Health
Our core works very well, so I spend my time gazing at the periphery. We hired field marshals who can grasp what customers are struggling with, curious leaders keeping an eye on the periphery and building a nuanced vision for how we are moving ahead, how our customers are evolving, and figuring out the software and ecosystems.
Vincent Roche, CEO, Analog Devices
How we can help
To navigate the future with confidence, organizations need to make and act upon the right choices: clear, timely and inspirational choices that deliver growth in a dynamic, disrupted world.
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Monitor Deloitte’s strategy practitioners combine deep industry insights with cutting edge methods to help leaders resolve their most critical decisions, drive value, and achieve transformational success.
Learn more about Deloitte Digital
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If you would like to discuss any of our recommendations in relation to your business, or would like to arrange a dedicated briefing, please get in touch.
