The Bridge Between Digital Competence
and Digital Transformation

More than 20 years ago now, my very first boss as an executive used to tell me: “A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”. At the time, his frequent use of this phrase puzzled me.  Of course, over the years, I came to understand what he meant.

He was saying, that when we undertake a journey, we cannot know what is going to happen every step of the way.  But the journey awaits, and our discovery will not start until we take the first step.  Not surprising really.

What is surprising though, is that today, when faced with the journey of digital transformation, companies seem unable or unwilling to take the first step. We believe we know why this may be.

There are many factors in companies’ minds when they contemplate digital transformation.  From the issues of digital trust, to the costs of conversion, to the opportunities opened up by cost reduction or by innovation.

Yet two clear messages come through:

support

It’s Time To Stop Talking
And Start Acting

team

People Are Key

Let’s look at these in order.

  • It’s Time To Stop Talking And Start Acting

    I always liked the Margaret Attwood quote: “If you are waiting for the perfect moment, you’ll never write a thing because it will never arrive”.  Just like my old boss said – it’s time to get on with it.  It’s easy to understand why there is hesitation. Educators and academics continue to debate the best approaches or frameworks for enabling digital competence in the workforce (is it linear or progressive?). 

    The confidence in a digital workforce has been shaken by the realization that social, gaming, creative, and entertainment skills do not always translate well into the enterprise (ICDL’s work on the fallacy of digital natives lends a sobering perspective here).  And yet, many good Digital Competence Frameworks (DCFs) have been developed by governments and academics over the past 20 years.  There is no shortage of maps for the journey.

  • People Are Key

    Let the debate continue.  We at Zanas MacKenzie always believe the answer is in the room.  (And our Consulting Inside Out approach totally supports action now, with the resources and skills you have today).

    The ability to make good on digital transformation strategy will be gradual, iterative, and it will be enabled by people.  It will not happen organically.  The development of competence will first have to be consciously directed.

We happen to believe that success lies in the combination of: (1) sensible digital transformation goals, supported by top management; (2) upskilling of a company’s people in a collaborative and innovative way against solid baselines; and (3) a realistic DCF (Digital Competence Framework).  We like the EU’s DigComp 2.1 mainly because it’s current, it addresses both learning and work, and it encapsulates much of the progress of the past 20 years.

(1) Sensible digital transformation goals

(2) Upskilling of a company’s people

(3) a realistic Digital Competence Framework (DCF)

Countless Digital Transformation initiatives are stalled either because there is difficulty in identifying the target projects, or even if the projects are identified, there is a lack of confidence in the Digital Competence of the workforce. Companies are paralyzed trying to analyze when they will be ready to take the first step on this journey.  They are waiting for the perfect moment.

How To Take The First Step?

We have more confidence in the resilience and adaptability of the Thai workforce, and so our view is that the time to act is now.  Take the following steps, in any order you can:

  • Identify Pilot Projects and learn by doing.  Easy targets for digitization are processes which move people around and require time and expense.  Digitize standard training and put it online, centrally monitored and administered, for example.
  • Adopt a (DCF) Framework so you can measure your success.  We like DigComp 2.1 from the EU.  But there are plenty to choose from.  It’s just important to start.
  • Find the Answer in the Room – your people will be more diverse in their skills and more capable of helping each other with upskilling than you will know.  Take the first steps with energetic professional facilitators using some standardized instruments.
  • Prospect, Mine, and Refine – like hunting for precious metals, once you find the mother lode you can concentrate your efforts.  Survey your whole organization for talent, assign pilot projects, and have the growing mass upskill the rest on projects.

You are not alone.  There are a few advisors, like us, who understand how to bridge the gap between digital competence and digital transformation.  And there is a small number of really innovative facilitation companies in Thailand who can help you find the talent in the room.

Take the first step.  The Perfect Moment is now.

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Co-founder and Managing Director

Originally from Scotland, Iain has spent the last 35 years working with companies as diverse as IBM, The Boeing Company, AT&T, British Telecom, and small family businesses to help them be better at what they do.  And become self-sufficient as they do it. He has worked across three continents – US, Europe, and Asia.

For the past 15 years in Thailand, Iain’s greatest joy has been working with young leaders to help them first see, and then unlock their passion, skill and talent.  Every day, Iain dedicates his time at Zanas MacKenzie to enablement and communication, which he believes are key to growth and awakening in most modern companies.

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