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Confused about Digital Transformation? So was I.

  • October 8, 2018June 14, 2019
  • by Alam Kasenally

Digital Transformation is the order of the day.

Yet, we use words like “digitization”, “digitalization” and “digital transformation” interchangeably. Is “Digital Transformation” the new website? The Mobile App that the CEO has been asking for since the last board meeting? Or maybe even that expensive CRM that’s going to cost this year’s IT budget? Even within industry, there’s lots of debate, so confusion is no surprise.

We thought we might try and simplify this for everyone, so here’s how we see it:

Digitization is the process of going from analog to digital, and in the context of a business process, could be a synonym for process automation. So, for example, instead of manually issuing paper invoices, you might use Excel, or you might invest in an ERP to automate this process. Note that the customer isn’t involved here.

Digitalization goes a step further. This involves the use of digital technologies (and data) to change existing business models, thus unlocking new customer value. An example of this is a traditional retailer launching a new e-commerce offering, with targeted promotions based on data from a loyalty program. Note that while intimate knowledge of the customer is helpful here, you can get away without it (and some do).

The most challenging part of Digital Transformation is the Transformation piece. This refers to infusing a new set of values in the existing workforce, that enable the delivery of products that customers love. You might have heard of terms like human-centered design or design thinking, agile or lean startup methodologies which are common organizing principles in a digital transformation journey. Key features of such a way of working are: no-silo thinking (enabling innovators to work in cross-functional, high-performance teams), focus on the customer (through design thinking tools), data-driven decisions and speed-to-value delivery (or continuous customer delivery). What is called for is a fundamental change in leadership, culture, and the day-to-day running of the organization.

At Red Dot, we specialize in this transformation, and enjoy working with leaders who have the courage and ambition to lead this systems-level change. As those of you with Smartphones might know, if you don’t upgrade your mobile operating system regularly, you soon won’t be able to run more and more of the apps that you absolutely depend on. Transformation to the new company operating system is key for sustainable digital innovation.

And finally, a fun little digital story:

Dr Richard Earlham spent 5 very calm and serious minutes in his fine, wood-panelled surgery asking me questions about my symptoms. He then stood up and said “Very well, young man, I will now proceed with a digital examination.”  Being a software engineer, I was thrilled and asked whether a computer or maybe a scanner was involved.

“No”, he said, as he put on a huge stretchy rubber glove. “Digitus is the Latin word for finger”.

So, what’s your understanding of “Digital Transformation?” And how has the experience been for you? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

MRIC Event: Promoting and Managing Innovation

  • March 15, 2018March 22, 2018
  • by Alam Kasenally

On the 1st of March, I was invited to present my views on Innovation at a panel hosted by the MRIC. I attended as coach and new Director of Turbine, and also co-founder of Red Dot.

Our guest of honour was Mr Jerry Godwin, whom I got to know over coffee afterwards. Our guest had spent five weeks in Mauritius, as part of the Fulbright program, and had been advising the University of Mauritius on the opening of a new Research Incubator in Ebene.

Drs Bissoonauth and Gopaul, chairs of the meeting, had prepped me before the event and encouraged me to choose a topic of interest to Entrepreneurs, Intrapreneurs and also SMEs. Having reviewed the slides from last year’s workshop, I noticed that the top answer to “Barrier to Innovation”, in the MRIC’s survey, happened to be cost. So, I called my presentation “How to Innovate on a Budget”.

The event was well-attended, with about 100 SMEs, Managers from larger companies and also Entrepreneurs in attendance. Of particular delight was Mr Chris Gunnoo, a high-school Computer Science teacher who was buying robots out of his own pockets to inspire his students. Mr Gunnoo is the reason that much innovation can come out of a high school, and the seed for a strong innovation culture in the first place.

My classmate, Avinash Meetoo had accompanied the Minister of Civil Service, who gave a speech before we did. Jerry opened, and told his amazing story of being an entrepreneur in Washington DC, which had no entrepreneurs when he started in 1999. Jerry explained how he built a local ecosystem, through systematic public-private partnerships, and a network of five incubators. Bruno Dubarry, co-founder of the Association of Mauritian Manufacturers (that owns the “Made in Moris” brand) presented some fascinating slides on how he got local manufacturers to chart a roadmap, through a Design Thinking Process. Anibal Martinez (founder of Careerhub) presented some fascinating statistics on the labour market.

In my 15-minute intervention, I had a vast topic to cover, so focused on stories that I thought might engage the audience. The book “10 types of Innovation” presented a great frame for the discussion (and for the panel later in the day).  You can find the slides here:

Next, came a joint panel. Questions from the Audience included:

  • “How do you protect ideas from being copied?” (we all were a little stumped: Mauritian Intellectual Property Rights doesn’t cover patent IP but trademarks for the moment, though Jerry did mention that a framework was being developed for Intellectual Property)
  • “What if people don’t believe I’m making the right decision by becoming an entrepreneur?” (this question was asked by a former UoM professor-turned-entrepreneur)

The News on Sunday interviewed us, and published a nice piece. I believe I was so hungry at this point that I gushed out without much structure. There’s always a first time, I guess, even for interviews about Innovation.

The most exciting session was after lunch. Anibal, Jerry and I were each assigned a table, with about 20 attendees, and asked to run a forum. My table included 6 SME entrepreneurs, 10 company employees (including two thoughtful visitors from Air Mauritius and the UoM), students and managers.

Our theme was “Managing Innovation”, where we were asked to discuss “Planning Innovation”, “Managing Innovation”, “Innovation Teams” and “Tech in Innovation”. Quite a lot of touch points for 40 minutes! Fortunately, our forum “team” helped me. The 6 Entrepreneurs seeded a discussion, and finally most people at the table spoke up about their various interesting experiences, and these were the most memorable ones:

  • Our Big Company representatives noted that often junior employees are never solicited as a source of Innovative ideas, despite being close to the customer. Surprisingly, it was suggested that CEOs are afraid that their ideas might be “too expensive”!
  • Our SME members (three of them from South Africa!) felt that in Mauritius you had to be an accountant and a lawyer in order to hope to start out as an entrepreneur. Many agreed that a more frictionless experience (comparable to Singapore) would be helpful
  • I noted that setting up Red Dot needed about a month’s paperwork. An entrepreneur at the table mentioned that many aspiring entrepreneurs are discouraged by struggling with the paperwork for 6 months, and end up not starting up!
  • There was a passionate discussion about Labour Laws, which all agreed are a legacy of another era, and penalize inexperienced startup founders. Larger companies have strong HR expertise to allow them to navigate incentives without appearing in Labour tribunals
  • There was a lot of laughter about the use of Machine Learning in interviewing candidates, and queries about whether privacy law would allow scanning a candidate’s emotions. Turns out, privacy law doesn’t cover what you can and can’t do with a video, after the subject has given you consent to record her!

What made me most happy is several members of my table asking for us to be connected on email to continue the discussion. I commend the MRIC for bringing together a diverse set of people to discover and find solutions to a set of complex challenges. Bringing diverse experiences to one place, ensuring each voice is acknowledged, and respectfully considered, is the basis of good facilitation. Keeping the conversation alive, with concrete action, and elicitation of the right questions is the basis of good community. Bringing good people together is the basis of nation-building. Thank you MRIC.

 

I can because I do

  • March 8, 2018March 8, 2018
  • by Alam Kasenally

In Season 6 of ABC’s series “Suits”, Jessica Pearson leads a battle to save what’s left of her gutted Law Firm. Flanked by her two male colleagues Harvey and Louis she leads the rebuild of the company through force of sheer will, and a determination to do what it takes, however unpalatable.

Attending my colleague (and Managing Director) Natacha’s speech Thursday at Ceridian, I was intrigued by one of her slides. Natacha remarked that since the National Code of Corporate Governance passed, she had been invited to serve as a female board member on public company boards. However, she asked, quite rightly, why she had never been invited before the Code of Corporate Governance was passed. She encouraged women to offer their services as Board Members, not because they are women,  but because they are good, and can positively help Boards make better decisions. At Ceridian, this could mean capable female engineers providing boards with much-needed perspective on cutting edge technology and state of the art innovation.

In my career, I’ve had both male and female bosses, and today at my startup, I work for two female bosses. Since I begun, I’ve become humble, and learned my g**m place. I’ll never know what it’s like to have to protect an entity in its infancy with all the resources ones has, than two women might do.

Listen to Jack Ma. But go much further: get a woman who’s much better than you to lead. It might just save your firm.

Happy Women’s Day.





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