Digital transformation and culture
I've come across so many articles about large corporations working on their "digital transformation." The term, likely something coined by some overpaid industry-expert/propaganda maker, seems to have taken hold in so many corporate technology offices. I think this is the term CIOs must use to compete for the funding they need. Politics aside, there is something to be said about companies looking to change their culture. At its core, that's what I think a digital transformation is all about. But let's examine what that really means.
Culture = Behavior/Time
Years ago, while sitting in a Steelcase showroom, I was introduced to this incredibly simple and spot-on definition of culture. If you haven't been in a Steelcase showroom, they make you feel like you are in the future, or maybe some James Cameron movie.
Source: Steelcase Werndl AG
They had a few reps selling our team on some incredible products. They had sit-stand desks attached to treadmills, couches that could conform to any space and chairs that made you feel bad about the couch you sit on at home. However, the sales rep sold me on the company's mission with this simple formula.
She mentioned culture is difficult to measure, because what drives culture are the values and beliefs of a group of people. How does one know what another values or believes? Her point was you can't. All you can really rely on is what people say and do because our behaviors are driven by what we value and believe. Culture is simply a reflection of what people believe to be acceptable behavior.
The role of any savvy leader is to determine which environment encourages the behaviors they want people to use every day. If you want people to have lunch together, do you have a cafe or lounge area for people to congregate? If you want people to collaborate more, do you seat people more closely together and remove barriers to others connecting physically? The key thing I learned from my time with this rep was that cultures evolve over time. The spaces in which we work will need to modify to support
While updating our physical spaces are important for encouraging the right behaviors, digital transformations are really no different. The tools and processes a company use still influence certain behaviors. Digital transformations are about making sure the right behaviors are encouraged with the right technology. Buzzword or not, digital transformations are important. They mean companies are embracing the reality that certain behaviors need to change, and they are looking for help from every corner of the company to make sure they do.
Steelcase's namesake actually came from their first product, a steel trash can. How did this can put this company on the map?
The year was 1914 and smoking was pretty common in the workplace. To reduce the occurrence of fires in the workplace, sales reps started pushing steel trash cans to catch all of ash from everyone's cigarettes and cigars. The trash bins were a hit and more than 100 years later, Steelcase is still going strong. However, I don't think they sell these trashcans anymore. Rather, Steelcase has lasted more than a century because they know how to keep up with the behaviors that need to change based on the prevailing values and beliefs of the time. Companies like this last.
That is what lies at the heart of a digital transformation. It's about recognizing what behaviors just aren't healthy anymore and committing to doing whatever is necessary to change them.