Three Things To Do Once You Start Your Digital Acceleration

As VP of Operations at BairesDev, Damian oversees the entire customer relations life-cycle, safeguarding the company’s operations.  

Most business leaders were already talking about digital transformation and planning out their tech-driven strategies before the pandemic started. There was clear agreement on how custom technology solutions would change business as we know it. However, taking the leap wasn’t an urgency and many leaders put digital transformation as a non-priority. 

Shortly after lockdowns and government restrictions took place, all those businesses could think about was no longer digital transformation, but rather digital acceleration. After dealing with all sorts of challenges and difficulties, many hit the ground running, thanks to great alternatives for rapid technology adoption. 

If that happened to you, then you are probably wondering what to do next. Maybe you found a great IT partner to help you through and you successfully led your company into embracing new ways of working. Maybe you’re already starting to gain (or regain) some traction because of some good decisions you’ve made this year. 

Ring a bell? Then read on to find out the next steps. 

1. Think like a startup. Act like a startup.

Business leaders are entrepreneurs by nature. You’ve likely had that feeling of “making things work” no matter what. That’s the feeling that probably got you ahead in this crisis. Now, you must readopt that “startup” mindset and continue acting on it. That’s what will allow you to clearly see where you’re standing and what your next step should be. 

What else characterizes startup leaders? Lean thinking and quick cycles. Don’t be afraid to try new ways of doing things, especially if those ways increase the value of any impactful business technologies you’ve already implemented. But do it smartly. Develop MVPs. Ask around for advice from other business leaders. Whatever you do, keep moving and don’t mess around. 

2. Stay one step ahead of the competition.

In physics, acceleration occurs when an object’s speed increases, changes direction or decreases. That’s also true in digital acceleration. You may have started your journey, but what you do now will define the rest of it. Your decisions could either continue pushing you forward, lean you toward new opportunities or simply slow you down.

Being an early adopter of technology has proven to be a competitive advantage this past year. And why wouldn’t it? By embracing powerful technology before your competition, you get the chance (and time) to prepare, test, analyze, tweak and finally settle for a custom solution that perfectly matches your needs. 

Right now is perhaps the best time to become the disruptor in your industry. By taking on that role, your company will be the one setting new standards and influencing the way things work. Risk-taking and innovation have always been key attributes in post-crisis scenarios. Today is no different. 

3. Don’t go it alone. Build a culture.

One of my favorite sayings goes like this: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” I love how it applies to digital acceleration. At first, it might be your sole responsibility as a business leader to put technology where it fits best. But in the long run, digital acceleration must be a state of mind. 

The people you work with will be the ones to explore, do new things and generate great ideas every day. Your business must provide the systems or infrastructure necessary to take those ideas and turn them into value for your business and customers. So, support your team, stay connected and start a spark of innovation. 

Let’s wrap it up with some bonus tips.

Following these three tips will make your digital acceleration journey that much easier. The way your business operates, the way it leads and the way it impacts how people think will define the pace of your acceleration in this new stage. Clearly, that’s not everything you could (nor should) do. Here are some other tips to get your creative-business-leader juices flowing. 

• Go from the top down. The ability to adapt and become digitally native starts with the top management of your company. They have to demonstrate and transmit their faith in digital acceleration to the rest of the company. 

• Set clear expectations. When doing any of the above, you’ll need to tell people what’s expected of them. In digital acceleration, the definition of “good performance” can become too blurry too quickly. You, your company and anyone involved with the respective expectation will have to know how achieving that goal will impact the business. 

• Make improvements, not just changes. Just like in Jurassic Park, you shouldn’t do things just because you can. Improvements are very different from changes. Implement technology solutions that are desirable and that provide actual value for your business in one way or another. 

• Don’t trip yourself. As a continuation of the last tip, keep in mind that some technology improvements can be double-edged swords. Implementing custom software can get really tricky over time, so it’s always best to have the support of an expert team of software engineers to prevent any catastrophes. 

• Communicate. As always, communication is at the center of everything. Talk with your team constantly and keep them up to date with any upcoming changes to your workflow or tech stack. Trust me, a timely heads-up can be a game-changer. 

That’s all I got for you today. Keep moving forward!

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