#169 Mastering Digital Transformation: A Conversation with Professor Michael Lenox

1
00:00:00,920 --> 00:00:06,280
From the heart of Dubai, where
tomorrow is being built today,

2
00:00:06,400 --> 00:00:10,280
to the world.
Welcome to the CTO Show with

3
00:00:10,280 --> 00:00:14,880
Mimet.
Here we redefine technology and

4
00:00:14,880 --> 00:00:19,320
reimagine possibilities.
With MIMET delve into the

5
00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:23,840
riveting realms of a I
cybersecurity and digital

6
00:00:23,840 --> 00:00:27,860
technology.
Experience the thrilling highs

7
00:00:27,900 --> 00:00:31,740
and lows of startups, immerse
yourself in the spirit of

8
00:00:31,740 --> 00:00:34,820
entrepreneurship, and witness
the future of Business

9
00:00:34,820 --> 00:00:37,660
Innovation being written in real
time.

10
00:00:38,580 --> 00:00:43,380
Now, without further ado, let's
TuneIn and explore the future.

11
00:00:45,620 --> 00:00:48,300
Hello and welcome back to a new
episode of the CTO show with

12
00:00:48,300 --> 00:00:50,780
Mehmet and today I'm very
pleased to have with me.

13
00:00:51,230 --> 00:00:54,510
Michael Linux, who's just
joining me live from the USA.

14
00:00:54,510 --> 00:01:00,470
Michael is a professor at the
University of Virginia's Darden

15
00:01:00,470 --> 00:01:03,790
School of Business.
Michael, I prefer all the time

16
00:01:03,790 --> 00:01:06,310
that my guests introduce
themselves, so I will.

17
00:01:06,430 --> 00:01:08,790
Give that to you.
Well, thank you.

18
00:01:09,230 --> 00:01:10,990
And I really appreciate the
opportunity to be on here.

19
00:01:10,990 --> 00:01:13,430
As you said, I'm a professor at
the University of Virginia's

20
00:01:13,430 --> 00:01:17,280
Darden School of Business.
And I have a new book that is

21
00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:20,400
out called Strategy in the
Digital Age, Mastering Digital

22
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:23,320
Transformation.
And large part this is based on

23
00:01:23,320 --> 00:01:26,600
my research and teaching over
the past actually a few decades.

24
00:01:27,160 --> 00:01:29,840
But I've been teaching an
elective of the same name over

25
00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:32,920
the last 5-6 years and decided
to turn it into a book.

26
00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,080
And so the idea is to be
hopefully a hopeful, helpful

27
00:01:36,080 --> 00:01:40,120
reference for business leaders
who are pursuing digital

28
00:01:40,120 --> 00:01:42,980
transformation.
Yeah, that's great, Michael.

29
00:01:43,020 --> 00:01:46,380
Actually the topic as we were
discussing before we we start

30
00:01:46,380 --> 00:01:49,860
the recording, it's a topic
which close to my heart because

31
00:01:49,860 --> 00:01:51,820
I worked as a consultant as
well.

32
00:01:52,380 --> 00:01:58,260
Now the question I want to ask
you why you felt that you need

33
00:01:58,500 --> 00:02:03,420
to write a book about strategy
in digital age and what you felt

34
00:02:03,420 --> 00:02:09,620
the information was needed now?
Yeah, I I I think the, you know

35
00:02:09,620 --> 00:02:12,700
the.
Major kind of point if you will

36
00:02:12,700 --> 00:02:16,620
of the book is, is right in the
title and and what I have

37
00:02:16,620 --> 00:02:19,580
observed is when it comes to
digital transformation, there's

38
00:02:19,580 --> 00:02:22,260
a lot of efforts around what I
would call kind of building out

39
00:02:22,260 --> 00:02:25,020
your digital infrastructure, you
know, maybe using cloud

40
00:02:25,020 --> 00:02:28,460
computing, maybe setting up a
data lake, getting your data in

41
00:02:28,460 --> 00:02:31,100
order and and all of those
things are critically important

42
00:02:31,100 --> 00:02:33,180
as you pursue a digital
transformation.

43
00:02:33,620 --> 00:02:36,100
But it's absolutely critical
that you understand that a lot

44
00:02:36,100 --> 00:02:39,040
of these digital technologies.
Are in that many cases

45
00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:42,240
fundamentally transforming the
way the competitive environment

46
00:02:42,280 --> 00:02:44,400
is playing out in different
industry segments.

47
00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,640
It's changing the way that you
create value for your customers,

48
00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:50,520
change the nature of the way you
engage your customers.

49
00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,400
It's creating opportunities for
what we call a deconstructing

50
00:02:55,400 --> 00:02:58,520
the value chain where you know
new digital natives are coming

51
00:02:58,520 --> 00:03:01,320
in and picking off maybe various
pieces of what you've done

52
00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:03,400
historically.
Think about what's happening

53
00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:07,520
financial services with the
Fintech movement if you will.

54
00:03:08,580 --> 00:03:12,220
You're seeing, you know the rise
of things like platforms that

55
00:03:12,220 --> 00:03:15,500
are are really can be
transformational in many

56
00:03:15,580 --> 00:03:18,140
different industries.
So the main point of the book is

57
00:03:18,140 --> 00:03:21,820
to kind of take that step back
and think more broadly about how

58
00:03:21,820 --> 00:03:25,020
are these kind of suite of
digital technologies impacting

59
00:03:25,020 --> 00:03:28,860
competition and then providing a
set of frameworks and guidance

60
00:03:28,860 --> 00:03:32,260
to think about how you might
position your company in these

61
00:03:32,420 --> 00:03:35,480
evolving competitive markets.
Yeah, that's great.

62
00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:40,560
And who you can tell us are the
target audience for the book,

63
00:03:40,560 --> 00:03:42,080
Michael.
Yeah.

64
00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:45,120
You know, as a business
strategist, there's a tendency

65
00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:48,720
sometimes to think of strategy
as only the suite of the domain

66
00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,720
of the C-Suite.
I think that's clearly a target

67
00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,960
for this book.
But I'd like to think everyone

68
00:03:54,080 --> 00:03:56,920
should be at least a strategic
thinker in the organizations.

69
00:03:57,120 --> 00:04:01,680
So my hope is this book is
useful not only again to Ctos

70
00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,390
and CEOs, but.
Many within an organization who

71
00:04:05,390 --> 00:04:08,710
might find themselves either
engaging in a digital

72
00:04:08,710 --> 00:04:12,030
transformation or simply
engaging in some of the strategy

73
00:04:12,030 --> 00:04:14,790
work of the organization.
Yeah, that's great.

74
00:04:14,790 --> 00:04:21,110
And I think as you said, anyone
can be you know an audience for

75
00:04:21,149 --> 00:04:23,390
anything related to to digital
transformation.

76
00:04:23,390 --> 00:04:26,430
I agree with you on that.
Now when we think digital

77
00:04:26,430 --> 00:04:32,510
transformation, right, so always
we read about that we need to

78
00:04:32,510 --> 00:04:35,150
have.
Concepts and Frameworks.

79
00:04:35,150 --> 00:04:39,310
So what are some of the key
concepts and frameworks that you

80
00:04:39,310 --> 00:04:42,590
have covered in the book?
Yeah, The book is structured

81
00:04:42,590 --> 00:04:46,270
actually that each chapter ends
with a series of frameworks or

82
00:04:46,270 --> 00:04:48,830
worksheets to help you work
through your thinking.

83
00:04:49,110 --> 00:04:51,630
Some of them are really just
based on kind of classic

84
00:04:51,630 --> 00:04:54,630
strategy tools, you know,
environmental trends, what's

85
00:04:54,630 --> 00:04:57,630
happening in your competitive
environment, who are not only

86
00:04:57,630 --> 00:05:00,030
your current set of competitors,
but more importantly, who are

87
00:05:00,030 --> 00:05:03,100
potential competitors.
Who might leverage digital to

88
00:05:03,100 --> 00:05:06,980
move into your to your segment
and then what are your core

89
00:05:06,980 --> 00:05:10,380
capabilities that you possess?
I think one of the messages,

90
00:05:11,140 --> 00:05:13,620
this is the first worksheet
alone, but one of the core

91
00:05:13,620 --> 00:05:16,940
messages is understanding that
in an evolving competitive

92
00:05:16,940 --> 00:05:18,900
environment, especially where
the market opportunities may be

93
00:05:18,900 --> 00:05:22,820
shifting away from where they
historically been, you need to

94
00:05:22,820 --> 00:05:26,420
both evolve your capabilities.
But recognize that it would be

95
00:05:26,420 --> 00:05:29,060
very difficult to just forego
everything that you've done in

96
00:05:29,060 --> 00:05:31,930
the past.
So I like to say I run into a

97
00:05:31,930 --> 00:05:34,730
lot of businesses that say
things like we wanna be the

98
00:05:34,730 --> 00:05:37,890
Google of X.
And my first reaction is often,

99
00:05:37,890 --> 00:05:39,970
well, Google's gonna be the
Google of X.

100
00:05:39,970 --> 00:05:42,810
They're actually far better
positioned than you to achieve

101
00:05:42,810 --> 00:05:46,090
that position.
So reflect a little more on kind

102
00:05:46,090 --> 00:05:48,970
of what do you uniquely bring to
this evolving competitive

103
00:05:48,970 --> 00:05:52,050
environment and then how might
that best position you for

104
00:05:52,050 --> 00:05:55,310
success moving forward.
So as you go through the book,

105
00:05:55,510 --> 00:05:58,070
we talk a lot about industry
life cycles, understanding where

106
00:05:58,070 --> 00:06:01,190
we are in the evolution of
different technologies, thinking

107
00:06:01,190 --> 00:06:05,310
about your company's part of the
life cycle, are you a mature

108
00:06:05,310 --> 00:06:07,670
business?
Are you a declining business?

109
00:06:07,670 --> 00:06:10,270
Are you a still a new growth
enterprise?

110
00:06:10,830 --> 00:06:13,670
All of those should have an
impact on ultimately where

111
00:06:13,670 --> 00:06:17,070
you're trying to position your
company or organization.

112
00:06:17,870 --> 00:06:20,350
Yeah, that's great.
Now one thing you have repeated

113
00:06:20,350 --> 00:06:26,990
couple of Times Now, Michael.
You talked about competition, so

114
00:06:27,710 --> 00:06:30,830
how, like does the
transformation profoundly

115
00:06:30,830 --> 00:06:33,070
impacting the nature of
competition?

116
00:06:33,070 --> 00:06:34,990
Can you explain that?
Yeah.

117
00:06:34,990 --> 00:06:37,950
And I think we've got so many
historical examples here, but

118
00:06:37,950 --> 00:06:40,030
I'll go with one.
But I actually start the book a

119
00:06:40,030 --> 00:06:42,030
classic one, which is the story
of Kodak.

120
00:06:42,950 --> 00:06:45,990
Kodak at some level is the
easiest digital transformation

121
00:06:46,390 --> 00:06:49,510
or disruption story to tell.
They make film, the world goes

122
00:06:49,510 --> 00:06:51,910
to digital imaging and they go
bankrupt.

123
00:06:52,630 --> 00:06:56,030
But the fact is that Kodak
actually was aware of digital

124
00:06:56,030 --> 00:06:58,470
energy and all the way back in
the 1970s had some of the first

125
00:06:58,470 --> 00:07:02,030
patents and millions and
millions in R&D, had one of the

126
00:07:02,030 --> 00:07:05,190
first digital cameras on the
market and yet still wasn't able

127
00:07:05,190 --> 00:07:08,430
to make the transition.
And I think one of the things

128
00:07:08,430 --> 00:07:12,030
that was a failure for them, it
was difficult for them is they

129
00:07:12,030 --> 00:07:15,910
couldn't get out of the idea
that the way we consume images

130
00:07:16,190 --> 00:07:19,070
is to ultimately print them out.
So we might use a digital camera

131
00:07:19,070 --> 00:07:21,390
to take images, but we're still
going to print them all out at

132
00:07:21,390 --> 00:07:24,650
the end of the day.
And that change in value

133
00:07:24,650 --> 00:07:28,770
proposition, especially with the
rise of social media, just

134
00:07:28,770 --> 00:07:33,370
fundamentally changing the way
we consume cameras and imaging,

135
00:07:34,130 --> 00:07:36,930
you know, upset the whole
industry, but clearly had this

136
00:07:36,930 --> 00:07:40,290
huge impact on Kodak.
Take an example that I think we

137
00:07:40,330 --> 00:07:43,730
might see here in the future,
maybe near future autonomous

138
00:07:43,730 --> 00:07:48,130
vehicles, questions of when
we'll see full Level 5 autonomy,

139
00:07:48,330 --> 00:07:51,650
but when we do?
Then it is very likely that

140
00:07:51,650 --> 00:07:54,570
we'll stop consuming automobiles
in the way we currently do,

141
00:07:54,570 --> 00:07:56,770
which is like we go out and
purchase our own car.

142
00:07:56,890 --> 00:08:00,850
It might very well move to a
full ride sharing model where we

143
00:08:00,850 --> 00:08:05,210
consume car services that as you
can imagine, it's just a radical

144
00:08:05,210 --> 00:08:08,850
change in the way autos will be
manufactured, distributed,

145
00:08:08,850 --> 00:08:12,930
consumed, that that doesn't bode
well for those, you know,

146
00:08:12,970 --> 00:08:16,290
established players unless
they're able to evolve what they

147
00:08:16,290 --> 00:08:17,810
do.
Yeah.

148
00:08:18,420 --> 00:08:23,180
Unfortunately, I would say just
as a comment here Michael is I

149
00:08:23,180 --> 00:08:26,780
relate this to psychology a
little bit and a goal sometime

150
00:08:26,780 --> 00:08:33,500
at people because although now
we are in 2023, we still see

151
00:08:33,500 --> 00:08:36,980
people who are like stubborn on
accepting the change and they

152
00:08:36,980 --> 00:08:40,620
don't see it coming.
So I hope that this would be

153
00:08:40,620 --> 00:08:44,820
like an eye opener for business
leaders to to really embrace,

154
00:08:44,820 --> 00:08:46,460
you know, the the
transformation.

155
00:08:46,910 --> 00:08:49,110
Now the highlight on some of you
said there, because that's

156
00:08:49,110 --> 00:08:51,710
something I really discussed
especially in more the second

157
00:08:51,710 --> 00:08:53,750
part of the book where I really
talk about some of the

158
00:08:53,750 --> 00:08:55,270
management leadership
challenges.

159
00:08:55,270 --> 00:08:57,990
You use the word ego.
And so one of the things that I

160
00:08:57,990 --> 00:09:01,310
emphasize Barn from my
colleagues at Hess is this idea

161
00:09:01,310 --> 00:09:04,910
that humility is the new smart.
When you're aiming to these

162
00:09:04,910 --> 00:09:09,070
rapidly evolving and changing
worlds, it's really important to

163
00:09:09,070 --> 00:09:12,510
recognize that you don't know
everything and the technology is

164
00:09:12,510 --> 00:09:15,500
evolving so quickly.
It's it's actually hard to

165
00:09:15,500 --> 00:09:18,780
predict where it might end up.
And so building into your

166
00:09:18,780 --> 00:09:21,900
organization what you know we
sometimes call like a learning

167
00:09:21,900 --> 00:09:25,700
mentality or learning viewpoint
where you constantly have to be

168
00:09:25,700 --> 00:09:29,700
testing and testing your
assumptions and maybe pivoting

169
00:09:29,700 --> 00:09:32,980
the organization I think it
could be absolutely is critical

170
00:09:32,980 --> 00:09:36,220
now and will continue to be
critical moving forward.

171
00:09:36,220 --> 00:09:40,060
I mean think about generative AI
you know 12 months ago.

172
00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:43,280
It was out there and there was
people who were interested, but

173
00:09:43,280 --> 00:09:48,760
with the release of ChatGPT 3.5,
an explosion of interest and

174
00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:53,560
that has both kind of upside and
downside implications, right?

175
00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:56,760
Because not only are those
scrambling to kind of catch up

176
00:09:56,760 --> 00:09:59,160
to now this new interesting
technology.

177
00:09:59,630 --> 00:10:00,630
What?
Dare I say, I think there's

178
00:10:00,630 --> 00:10:04,790
probably the overhype, the
overreaction happening as well,

179
00:10:05,470 --> 00:10:07,790
and not maybe fully
understanding how long it's

180
00:10:07,790 --> 00:10:10,870
gonna take, the ways in which
this technology is gonna have

181
00:10:10,870 --> 00:10:13,910
impact.
And again, going into these

182
00:10:13,910 --> 00:10:16,190
worlds with some humility and
understanding you're gonna have

183
00:10:16,190 --> 00:10:19,030
to learn, is gonna be just
absolutely critical.

184
00:10:19,670 --> 00:10:22,070
Yeah, 100%.
And I'll always give the example

185
00:10:22,070 --> 00:10:25,790
of Microsoft.
Between, you know, when Steve

186
00:10:25,790 --> 00:10:29,430
Ballmer was there and then when
Satya joined and how they were

187
00:10:29,470 --> 00:10:33,590
able to transform the company.
Now you mentioned AI and of

188
00:10:33,590 --> 00:10:37,630
course like I believe there are
like other technologies that are

189
00:10:37,630 --> 00:10:39,790
out there.
So what role do emerging

190
00:10:39,790 --> 00:10:44,150
technologies such AI, blockchain
and cyber security play in

191
00:10:44,150 --> 00:10:47,590
digital transformation and how
are these technologies, you

192
00:10:47,590 --> 00:10:49,870
know, changing the way we do
business as well?

193
00:10:50,650 --> 00:10:52,610
No, absolutely.
I mean I think you know at the

194
00:10:52,610 --> 00:10:54,890
heart of it and one things to
talk about in the book is, is

195
00:10:54,890 --> 00:10:57,810
really data, right.
We've entered into a world,

196
00:10:58,250 --> 00:11:00,570
others have said you know data
is the new oil right.

197
00:11:00,930 --> 00:11:04,450
It is incredibly valuable.
It allows us to do these higher

198
00:11:04,450 --> 00:11:07,730
level data and analytics that
manifest themselves in a number

199
00:11:07,730 --> 00:11:10,450
of different ways.
So A I is of course you know one

200
00:11:10,610 --> 00:11:14,650
important application of how we
might use data to improve

201
00:11:14,650 --> 00:11:17,610
offerings generative A I is
particular class of that.

202
00:11:18,040 --> 00:11:21,520
Autonomy and any number of
different domains.

203
00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:25,000
As another kind of related a set
of technologies.

204
00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:28,600
You mentioned blockchain, We can
talk more about crypto.

205
00:11:28,600 --> 00:11:31,680
I'm a crypto skeptic, but I'm
actually positive on blockchain

206
00:11:31,680 --> 00:11:33,040
itself.
I think it's an interesting

207
00:11:33,040 --> 00:11:35,400
underlying technology.
We are on the same same.

208
00:11:36,160 --> 00:11:37,960
Right, Yeah.
Well, we'll find some

209
00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:42,800
application here and you know
who knows what's what's next

210
00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,280
coming down the pipeline and I
think they'll still continue to

211
00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:47,800
be interesting things you know a
year ago we're.

212
00:11:48,040 --> 00:11:50,080
About the Metaverse though, it
seems like the the interest in

213
00:11:50,080 --> 00:11:52,520
the Metaverse has already
started to to die down, but

214
00:11:52,520 --> 00:11:55,560
we'll we'll see, we'll see how
that one evolves as well.

215
00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,960
I always like to point out that
we've had this exponential

216
00:11:59,960 --> 00:12:03,960
growth in three core
technologies, processing power,

217
00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:07,800
so famous Moore's law doubling
processing power roughly every

218
00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:12,480
18 months or so, bandwidth and
then storage capacity.

219
00:12:12,480 --> 00:12:15,480
So I think of cloud storage and
the like each of those have had

220
00:12:15,480 --> 00:12:19,030
this incredible.
Exponential growth over many

221
00:12:19,030 --> 00:12:22,750
decades at this point.
And if we continue those trends,

222
00:12:22,750 --> 00:12:26,550
even for another, let's say, 5
or 10 years, the world will be

223
00:12:26,550 --> 00:12:30,230
radically different than it is
today, and in ways that are hard

224
00:12:30,230 --> 00:12:32,270
for us to predict.
I think that's why there's so

225
00:12:32,270 --> 00:12:34,990
much hand wringing right now
with a I we've seen how much

226
00:12:34,990 --> 00:12:38,430
it's improved even from chat GB
T 3.5 to 4.

227
00:12:38,430 --> 00:12:42,190
And you know it's going to be
improving by leaps and bounds

228
00:12:42,190 --> 00:12:44,390
likely.
And so it's hard for us to

229
00:12:44,390 --> 00:12:47,660
really fully grasp and again.
I'm not claiming to be a

230
00:12:47,660 --> 00:12:50,260
futurist that can tell you where
technology's gonna be.

231
00:12:50,500 --> 00:12:53,940
What I'm trying to emphasize is
you have to build in that

232
00:12:53,940 --> 00:12:57,620
nimbleness as an organization to
deal with this fast evolving set

233
00:12:57,620 --> 00:13:01,180
of technologies.
That's a great point actually.

234
00:13:01,180 --> 00:13:07,300
Michael, how do you think
smaller businesses will have

235
00:13:07,300 --> 00:13:11,180
better agility in adopting these
technologies more than the

236
00:13:11,180 --> 00:13:13,520
enterprise?
Yeah, I talked quite a bit in

237
00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,560
the book about this classic
battle, if you will, between the

238
00:13:16,560 --> 00:13:19,120
entrepreneur and the
established, you know, incumbent

239
00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,920
companies and history is
littered with, you know, even

240
00:13:22,920 --> 00:13:25,880
very successful incumbent
companies who fail in the face

241
00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:29,200
of disruption.
So that that's a common finding

242
00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:31,920
and observation.
And also it is the new

243
00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:35,440
entrepreneurial companies that
kind of arise in in, you know,

244
00:13:35,600 --> 00:13:37,480
or wake as as new technologies
evolve.

245
00:13:38,040 --> 00:13:41,080
But one of the reasons I think
it's true that we see this

246
00:13:41,080 --> 00:13:42,990
pattern.
Is the advantage of

247
00:13:43,230 --> 00:13:45,590
entrepreneurs are not only that
they're more nimble but there's

248
00:13:45,590 --> 00:13:47,550
just more numbers of them,
right.

249
00:13:47,550 --> 00:13:50,550
So we remember the successes, we
remember that Facebook's where

250
00:13:50,550 --> 00:13:54,190
we tend to forget the the My
spaces and literally hundreds of

251
00:13:54,190 --> 00:13:57,670
other companies that were trying
to make a go of it in social

252
00:13:57,670 --> 00:14:00,230
media.
So in some ways the power of

253
00:14:00,230 --> 00:14:03,110
entrepreneurs is is just simply
numbers and we know the vast

254
00:14:03,110 --> 00:14:05,870
majority of them are going to
fail but all it takes is one of

255
00:14:05,870 --> 00:14:08,670
them to kind of hit on that
special value proposition that

256
00:14:08,670 --> 00:14:12,500
resonates with the market.
To grow and and succeed there.

257
00:14:13,340 --> 00:14:17,260
And so you know at the end of
the day, I think I think of

258
00:14:17,260 --> 00:14:20,340
markets as kind of a system and
you have this coevolution of the

259
00:14:20,340 --> 00:14:22,500
established firms and the
entrepreneurial firms.

260
00:14:22,500 --> 00:14:25,940
There's markets for acquisition
as ways to kind of bring in some

261
00:14:25,940 --> 00:14:27,660
of that entrepreneurial
interest.

262
00:14:28,180 --> 00:14:30,620
Sometimes they grow and take
over, you know the the old

263
00:14:30,620 --> 00:14:34,460
incumbents as well.
And so it is an interesting kind

264
00:14:34,460 --> 00:14:37,660
of evolution of the competitive
environment and a lot of these

265
00:14:37,660 --> 00:14:39,260
markets when new technologies
come.

266
00:14:40,170 --> 00:14:42,930
Yeah.
Now like because I had the

267
00:14:42,930 --> 00:14:47,410
chance and thank you for sharing
with me the preview of the book.

268
00:14:47,810 --> 00:14:51,570
Now can you walk us with
different digital business

269
00:14:51,570 --> 00:14:54,050
models that you mentioned in the
book, because I think this is

270
00:14:54,050 --> 00:14:55,970
something interesting.
Yeah.

271
00:14:55,970 --> 00:14:59,850
I think what we've seen is that
digital is aligned for a

272
00:14:59,850 --> 00:15:01,530
proliferation of different
business models.

273
00:15:01,530 --> 00:15:03,570
So probably the one that's
probably first and foremost in a

274
00:15:03,570 --> 00:15:07,450
lot of people's minds would be
the advertising models used by

275
00:15:07,450 --> 00:15:08,930
the likes of Google and
Facebook.

276
00:15:10,080 --> 00:15:14,120
Or Alphabet and Meta.
These days, advertising is a new

277
00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:16,440
business model that's been
around for centuries.

278
00:15:16,440 --> 00:15:21,480
But this ability to leverage
data and analytics to create

279
00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:26,440
customized advertising to the
individual user is proven very

280
00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:31,880
powerful and created these again
alternative ways of delivering

281
00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,600
and capturing value.
So you think about Google.

282
00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:37,680
Google gives most of their
products away for free.

283
00:15:38,270 --> 00:15:42,950
Things like Gmail, things like
Android and open system, what

284
00:15:42,950 --> 00:15:46,310
they're doing is monetizing the
selling of advertising.

285
00:15:46,390 --> 00:15:48,710
The joke is we actually are
customers of Google.

286
00:15:48,710 --> 00:15:51,510
We're the product of Google.
It's the advertisers who are the

287
00:15:51,510 --> 00:15:55,950
customers.
You see platform plays where

288
00:15:55,950 --> 00:15:59,670
what the platform is doing is
taking just a little bit of a

289
00:15:59,670 --> 00:16:02,550
transaction that occurs on it.
This is everything from your

290
00:16:02,550 --> 00:16:05,950
Ubers and Airbnbs which are what
we call 2 sided market makers.

291
00:16:06,400 --> 00:16:09,480
So think about what Apple does
with their App Store or what

292
00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,600
Amazon does with Amazon
Marketplace.

293
00:16:11,960 --> 00:16:15,640
All of those are about creating
these platforms for exchange and

294
00:16:15,640 --> 00:16:19,360
then taking a little bit of each
transaction that takes place

295
00:16:19,360 --> 00:16:23,520
there.
So the old classic selling a

296
00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,880
product or service model, they
still exist, but things like

297
00:16:26,880 --> 00:16:31,000
software as a service,
advertising models, again,

298
00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:33,720
platform models.
And they're all proliferating

299
00:16:33,720 --> 00:16:38,040
this digital age and again can
be quite disruptive to the old

300
00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:41,640
way of of doing business.
I'll go back again to autonomous

301
00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:45,440
vehicles probably if we move
that direction, maybe it will

302
00:16:45,440 --> 00:16:48,960
be, you know, paying a fee for
an individual ride or maybe

303
00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:51,680
it'll be subscription models
where I signed on to a service

304
00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:55,080
and I get a certain number of,
you know, rides I can take per

305
00:16:55,080 --> 00:16:57,240
week.
Again, very different than

306
00:16:57,560 --> 00:17:00,440
putting down a lot of money to
buy an automobile that we, you

307
00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:03,470
know, currently do.
Yeah, it's like very interesting

308
00:17:03,470 --> 00:17:07,829
I would say.
Now this is a, it's a deep topic

309
00:17:07,829 --> 00:17:12,869
and I know it might need hours
to explain, but the only high

310
00:17:12,869 --> 00:17:18,109
level how can organizations
using your book right insights

311
00:17:18,109 --> 00:17:22,230
and strategies plan and execute
a successful digital

312
00:17:22,230 --> 00:17:26,480
transformation because it's a.
A big topic I know, but only

313
00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:28,520
very high level.
Well, high level, I would

314
00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,760
highlight something I call the
digital transformation stack.

315
00:17:31,920 --> 00:17:34,960
And so I suggest there's kind of
four levels to that stack.

316
00:17:35,400 --> 00:17:37,440
The base level is your digital
infrastructure.

317
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:41,000
Again, again, how do you
organize, collect and exchange

318
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,520
data, cloud services, data links
and the like?

319
00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,760
The next level is what I would
call data and analytics.

320
00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,800
What are the skills and tools
that you can layer on top of

321
00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:54,680
this data collection effort?
This is everything from AI, but

322
00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:57,640
even basic things like creating
dashboards and the like to help

323
00:17:57,720 --> 00:18:00,680
decision makers.
Beyond that we have what I would

324
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:03,520
call digital applications.
So this is where things get

325
00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:04,960
real.
This is where you create.

326
00:18:05,710 --> 00:18:08,910
Various offerings that maybe are
external, you know, ways in

327
00:18:08,910 --> 00:18:11,470
which you engage your customers
or they can be even internal,

328
00:18:11,470 --> 00:18:14,310
maybe how you organize HR and
your organization looking for

329
00:18:14,310 --> 00:18:17,990
efficiencies and the like.
But the top layer of the stack,

330
00:18:17,990 --> 00:18:20,590
maybe not surprisingly that I
think is most important is what

331
00:18:20,590 --> 00:18:22,190
I would call your digital
strategy.

332
00:18:22,590 --> 00:18:25,670
So my standard line about this
is if you think about digital

333
00:18:25,670 --> 00:18:28,950
transformation just from that
bottom of the stack, it could be

334
00:18:28,950 --> 00:18:31,550
like trying to create
efficiencies in the engines in

335
00:18:31,550 --> 00:18:33,950
the Titanic.
You might be able to improve

336
00:18:33,950 --> 00:18:36,510
them, but you're simply still
going to hit the iceberg.

337
00:18:36,510 --> 00:18:38,110
Maybe you'll hit it a little
quicker than you did.

338
00:18:38,670 --> 00:18:42,630
You know, first case.
So strategy becomes absolutely

339
00:18:42,630 --> 00:18:45,230
critical because you need to
understand where you're steering

340
00:18:45,230 --> 00:18:48,550
the ship, and that should guide
your digital transformation

341
00:18:48,550 --> 00:18:51,190
efforts.
I've seen way too many companies

342
00:18:51,470 --> 00:18:54,510
who have spent literally
millions and millions of dollars

343
00:18:54,510 --> 00:18:57,870
developing digital applications
that were meaningless.

344
00:18:57,870 --> 00:18:59,910
We're not useful at the end of
the day.

345
00:19:00,570 --> 00:19:03,490
Understanding just because we
have the technology or you can

346
00:19:03,490 --> 00:19:07,650
create that dashboard or even
use that, you know, generative

347
00:19:07,690 --> 00:19:11,850
AI isn't necessarily going to be
helpful if you don't know where

348
00:19:11,850 --> 00:19:14,570
you're trying to go as a company
and where you're trying to

349
00:19:14,570 --> 00:19:17,650
position yourself.
I think one of the misnomers

350
00:19:17,650 --> 00:19:21,490
about strategies that I try to
dissuade people of is I think

351
00:19:21,490 --> 00:19:23,970
there's a, you know, a
philosophy or thinking that

352
00:19:23,970 --> 00:19:25,610
strategy is kind of set in
stone.

353
00:19:25,890 --> 00:19:29,050
You decide you know where that
path is and it should never be

354
00:19:29,050 --> 00:19:31,100
changed.
I really believe strategy needs

355
00:19:31,100 --> 00:19:32,820
to be dynamic.
It is something you're

356
00:19:33,060 --> 00:19:35,100
constantly revisiting.
You're looking at your

357
00:19:35,100 --> 00:19:38,060
assumptions, you're testing your
assumptions, and when need be

358
00:19:38,060 --> 00:19:40,900
you're pivoting.
But having that viewpoint of

359
00:19:40,900 --> 00:19:43,780
where you're trying to go
absolutely critical.

360
00:19:43,780 --> 00:19:46,260
Otherwise you're going to spend
a lot of time developing things

361
00:19:46,260 --> 00:19:48,780
that again, might might prove
useless.

362
00:19:49,460 --> 00:19:53,260
Yeah, just as a comment from my
side, in previous slides, as I

363
00:19:53,300 --> 00:19:57,940
was saying to you Michael, as a
consultant, I asked customers.

364
00:19:58,350 --> 00:20:03,710
Okay, What is your current,
let's say, priority?

365
00:20:03,710 --> 00:20:06,710
Yeah, we are on a journey of
digital transformation.

366
00:20:06,790 --> 00:20:09,750
Okay what you did.
We adopted cloud.

367
00:20:09,750 --> 00:20:14,030
We implemented that and that.
And then I'm saying, yeah, So

368
00:20:14,030 --> 00:20:16,590
what?
Like because I think what people

369
00:20:16,590 --> 00:20:20,590
miss here, and I hope you agree
with me, Michael and I like this

370
00:20:20,590 --> 00:20:24,190
approach is, you know, too
famous sentence maybe.

371
00:20:24,190 --> 00:20:26,550
And that's what might be like a
very cliche.

372
00:20:27,190 --> 00:20:31,270
Have and in mind.
And the second one have a why

373
00:20:31,310 --> 00:20:35,310
right Like in everything.
So why actually you want to

374
00:20:35,790 --> 00:20:39,070
adopt the cloud?
Is it to have a better customer

375
00:20:39,070 --> 00:20:42,470
reach?
Is it like to spin services

376
00:20:42,470 --> 00:20:46,230
faster than the competition
which you touched on before but

377
00:20:46,310 --> 00:20:48,670
people like they just get it to
for the sake.

378
00:20:48,670 --> 00:20:52,950
And here excuse me all vendors
like I'm a vendor agnostic guy

379
00:20:52,950 --> 00:20:54,110
now.
I used to work with some

380
00:20:54,110 --> 00:20:57,940
vendors.
You need also to tailor your

381
00:20:57,940 --> 00:21:01,060
marketing on customer needs
space.

382
00:21:01,100 --> 00:21:04,340
Like yeah, if you adopt the
cloud, you are now on a digital

383
00:21:04,340 --> 00:21:06,860
transformation journey.
And just for the sake of

384
00:21:06,860 --> 00:21:10,980
example, I've seen here in the
Middle East in the area where I

385
00:21:10,980 --> 00:21:13,460
am living now, millions of
dollars.

386
00:21:13,880 --> 00:21:18,640
Spent on what so-called digital
transformation and it failed so

387
00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:22,720
badly.
So yeah, 100% A. 100% agree.

388
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:26,160
I mean, this is the CTO show.
But I will say that what I've

389
00:21:26,160 --> 00:21:30,360
observed is when digital
transformation is exclusively

390
00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:34,120
the domain of the CTO and the
technology office.

391
00:21:34,610 --> 00:21:36,170
You're probably in trouble,
right?

392
00:21:36,250 --> 00:21:41,650
You, you, you need that top
leadership, the CEO level buy in

393
00:21:41,730 --> 00:21:44,490
to why you're doing this and to
what ends.

394
00:21:44,570 --> 00:21:47,730
And unfortunately I think this
happens in technology all the

395
00:21:47,730 --> 00:21:51,770
time is it's it's a new, it's a
new fun widget, right.

396
00:21:51,770 --> 00:21:54,890
It's a new fun piece of
technology and then we go

397
00:21:54,890 --> 00:21:57,770
exploring how we might apply it
instead of maybe working the

398
00:21:57,770 --> 00:22:00,610
other way around kind of
thinking what are the broader

399
00:22:00,610 --> 00:22:02,930
implications and then how do we
leverage it.

400
00:22:03,460 --> 00:22:05,620
Dare I say generative AI.
I think we're seeing this all

401
00:22:05,620 --> 00:22:08,780
over the place right now where
CEO's are being pressured on

402
00:22:08,780 --> 00:22:10,820
earnings calls and the like to
be responsive.

403
00:22:12,220 --> 00:22:15,940
You know a lot of that is, is
you know, not very thoughtful at

404
00:22:15,940 --> 00:22:17,380
this point.
You know, people just kind of,

405
00:22:17,380 --> 00:22:19,740
Oh yes, of course we're pursuing
generative AI and we're

406
00:22:19,740 --> 00:22:22,500
considering how you know, like
what really what are you doing,

407
00:22:22,620 --> 00:22:25,620
like how is this actually going
to impact your business, How is

408
00:22:25,620 --> 00:22:28,660
this going to create new growth
opportunities for you?

409
00:22:28,780 --> 00:22:31,260
Like those are the important
questions to be asking.

410
00:22:31,580 --> 00:22:34,820
Not just running out and
immediately adopting and

411
00:22:34,820 --> 00:22:37,340
spending on technology.
Yeah, right.

412
00:22:37,340 --> 00:22:40,820
And the reason I call it CTO
show, because I wanted to be a

413
00:22:40,820 --> 00:22:43,340
bridge between tech and
business.

414
00:22:43,340 --> 00:22:47,580
So that's it.
Now Michael, what challenges do

415
00:22:47,580 --> 00:22:51,020
organizations typically face
when undergoing edge

416
00:22:51,020 --> 00:22:54,300
transformation and usually how
these challenges can be

417
00:22:54,340 --> 00:22:56,150
addressed successfully?
Yeah.

418
00:22:56,150 --> 00:22:59,430
One of the things I advocate for
what I call digital champions

419
00:22:59,470 --> 00:23:03,110
and what I mean by that are
actually not the technology or

420
00:23:03,110 --> 00:23:05,910
the data scientist side.
Like they're really critical.

421
00:23:06,950 --> 00:23:10,190
I have seen organizations where
you have C-Suite buy in, they

422
00:23:10,190 --> 00:23:12,390
have a strategy, a vision for
where they're trying to go.

423
00:23:12,870 --> 00:23:17,630
You have a very capable and
empowered technology, office

424
00:23:17,910 --> 00:23:20,870
technology staff and where
things fail.

425
00:23:21,310 --> 00:23:24,510
Is in, let's say, the business
unit and business unit level,

426
00:23:24,510 --> 00:23:26,830
right in the operating units of
the organization.

427
00:23:28,070 --> 00:23:31,390
Digital transformation can be
onerous, right?

428
00:23:31,390 --> 00:23:34,710
It can be one sometimes viewed
as wait a minute, are you trying

429
00:23:34,710 --> 00:23:38,750
to automate me out of a job?
Why are we adopting these

430
00:23:38,750 --> 00:23:41,630
technologies?
I talked in the book about from

431
00:23:41,630 --> 00:23:43,830
my own personal experience
leaving our digital

432
00:23:43,830 --> 00:23:47,070
transformation here at Darden,
data can be power.

433
00:23:47,520 --> 00:23:50,320
And people are unwilling to give
that power up by sharing their

434
00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:53,960
data with the enterprise.
You have problems where people

435
00:23:53,960 --> 00:23:59,480
create, you know, wonderful
decision aids, maybe a dashboard

436
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,760
or maybe some more
sophisticated, let's say I

437
00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:05,320
prediction.
And while it's created, it's not

438
00:24:05,320 --> 00:24:07,480
actually used right?
Like people aren't actually

439
00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,440
using the technology to make
decisions within the

440
00:24:10,440 --> 00:24:13,080
organization.
So one way to overcome that.

441
00:24:13,420 --> 00:24:17,180
Is to Foster and encourage these
digital champions who are

442
00:24:17,420 --> 00:24:19,620
understanding of the technology
but not necessarily

443
00:24:19,620 --> 00:24:22,820
technologists themselves.
It more kind of, you know,

444
00:24:23,020 --> 00:24:25,500
business unit experts.
Maybe they're in HR or maybe

445
00:24:25,500 --> 00:24:28,700
they're in finance or maybe
they're in marketing or again in

446
00:24:28,700 --> 00:24:32,340
the individual business units
who can be that bridge, you

447
00:24:32,340 --> 00:24:35,420
know, who understand enough
about the technology but then

448
00:24:35,420 --> 00:24:38,580
can translate it back to their
unit and.

449
00:24:39,510 --> 00:24:43,550
Again, no offense to the
technologists on the line here.

450
00:24:44,550 --> 00:24:49,110
Sometimes we're speaking
different languages and the

451
00:24:49,110 --> 00:24:50,990
marketing person doesn't
understand what you're talking

452
00:24:50,990 --> 00:24:53,870
about when you're talking about
some of the opportunities here.

453
00:24:54,630 --> 00:24:57,110
And so having these people who
are going to be translators and

454
00:24:57,110 --> 00:25:00,230
serve as those champions, I've
found that to be really, really

455
00:25:00,230 --> 00:25:03,030
critical.
Yeah, that's why I always also

456
00:25:03,070 --> 00:25:04,790
mentioned on the show a couple
of times.

457
00:25:04,790 --> 00:25:06,710
I advise anyone who works in
tech.

458
00:25:07,100 --> 00:25:09,580
Even when you are still early in
your career, maybe you are still

459
00:25:09,580 --> 00:25:12,780
on the infrastructure, you are
an admin guy, maybe you are a

460
00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:15,300
cybersecurity analyst, maybe you
are, I don't know, an

461
00:25:15,300 --> 00:25:18,700
application developer.
Always try to build with time

462
00:25:18,700 --> 00:25:21,580
the business acumen.
So when you go and talk to to

463
00:25:21,580 --> 00:25:25,340
people, I mean to, to maybe
managers even maybe at some

464
00:25:25,340 --> 00:25:28,300
stage C-Suite.
These guys, I don't understand

465
00:25:28,300 --> 00:25:32,420
your slashes and code and all
this.

466
00:25:32,420 --> 00:25:35,780
They need to to hear something
more business.

467
00:25:36,620 --> 00:25:38,260
Wise.
Meaningful.

468
00:25:38,340 --> 00:25:40,140
Yeah, you know.
I I think I could say this

469
00:25:40,140 --> 00:25:42,340
because I, you know, I have two
engineering degrees, so I'm a

470
00:25:42,340 --> 00:25:44,940
reformed engineer.
But you know, engineers want to

471
00:25:44,940 --> 00:25:48,540
solve problems, right?
And so the problem sometimes is

472
00:25:48,540 --> 00:25:52,460
the engineers will find a $10
million solution to a $5 million

473
00:25:52,460 --> 00:25:56,460
opportunity, right?
Like so you know, understanding

474
00:25:56,460 --> 00:25:59,820
you've got to make the business
case for these and and again

475
00:25:59,860 --> 00:26:02,860
translate just absolutely
critical to being effective and

476
00:26:03,180 --> 00:26:04,700
and transforming the
organization.

477
00:26:05,500 --> 00:26:08,780
Yeah.
Now while you were answering the

478
00:26:08,780 --> 00:26:12,660
previous question, you touched
base on collecting data and some

479
00:26:12,660 --> 00:26:15,740
frictions there.
So here what are some of the

480
00:26:15,780 --> 00:26:17,860
ethical and policy
considerations that

481
00:26:17,860 --> 00:26:22,140
organizations need to take into
account when doing the digital

482
00:26:22,140 --> 00:26:24,180
transformation?
Because it's all about data and

483
00:26:24,220 --> 00:26:26,340
how we get data, we need to
collect it, right?

484
00:26:26,690 --> 00:26:27,930
Yeah, I'm.
I'm glad you raised that.

485
00:26:27,930 --> 00:26:31,170
You know, I have a whole chapter
in the book about the political

486
00:26:31,170 --> 00:26:36,690
and social implications of of
digital and there it's fraught.

487
00:26:36,690 --> 00:26:38,370
It's a fraught world.
We we live in.

488
00:26:39,370 --> 00:26:42,770
I I don't have any great answers
to like what should or should

489
00:26:42,770 --> 00:26:46,410
not be the right choice.
What I do really emphasize is

490
00:26:46,410 --> 00:26:49,210
that values matter and that as
an organization you need to be

491
00:26:49,250 --> 00:26:53,490
very intentional about the
impact you were having on your

492
00:26:53,490 --> 00:26:56,550
various stakeholders.
And what you feel comfortable

493
00:26:56,550 --> 00:27:00,550
with and not comfortable with as
a company, it's not easy.

494
00:27:00,550 --> 00:27:04,190
I look at Google and Microsoft
in particular right now with

495
00:27:04,190 --> 00:27:06,750
generative AI.
You can see it in their public

496
00:27:06,750 --> 00:27:09,270
statements, how they are
struggling.

497
00:27:10,430 --> 00:27:12,590
They know the power of this
technology.

498
00:27:12,790 --> 00:27:15,990
They know that it has
potentially some very negative

499
00:27:15,990 --> 00:27:20,150
implications and yet they know
they need to keep pushing the

500
00:27:20,150 --> 00:27:22,980
technology forward.
And I think, you know, the

501
00:27:22,980 --> 00:27:27,260
important thing again is to just
be very clear about what your

502
00:27:27,260 --> 00:27:28,940
value system is.
You know, Google has that

503
00:27:28,940 --> 00:27:31,020
classic line that they do know
evil.

504
00:27:31,020 --> 00:27:34,220
Right now that's a little vague,
hard to define what is evil or

505
00:27:34,220 --> 00:27:38,380
not evil, but I could be a very
understanding and one of the the

506
00:27:38,380 --> 00:27:41,620
worksheets building off of what
we call like a stakeholder

507
00:27:41,620 --> 00:27:43,620
analysis.
It's just very simply, you know,

508
00:27:43,620 --> 00:27:45,100
who are your various
stakeholders?

509
00:27:45,140 --> 00:27:49,220
What do they care about?
How is your actions impacting

510
00:27:49,220 --> 00:27:51,480
them?
And then how do you think those

511
00:27:51,480 --> 00:27:53,840
are aligned with your values as
an organization?

512
00:27:54,560 --> 00:27:57,200
And again, trying to be very
explicit about this.

513
00:27:57,200 --> 00:27:59,840
So data privacy is a critical
one.

514
00:28:00,360 --> 00:28:03,840
And look, there are very
positive uses of personal data

515
00:28:03,840 --> 00:28:06,960
that customize products and
services that create value for

516
00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:09,640
those customers.
And then there's ones that maybe

517
00:28:09,680 --> 00:28:11,920
we feel a little less
comfortable with and and how far

518
00:28:11,920 --> 00:28:16,730
do we want to push that?
Again, I think business leaders

519
00:28:16,770 --> 00:28:20,290
need to be very intentional and
understanding of those

520
00:28:20,290 --> 00:28:22,690
applications.
Yeah, 100%.

521
00:28:23,010 --> 00:28:26,490
Now, as we are coming to the
end, I have a couple of

522
00:28:26,490 --> 00:28:28,210
questions left.
And then I have a special

523
00:28:28,210 --> 00:28:29,210
question.
Sure.

524
00:28:29,210 --> 00:28:33,250
How can the book be a resource
for executives, entrepreneurs

525
00:28:33,450 --> 00:28:36,090
and other professionals seeking
to navigate the digital

526
00:28:36,090 --> 00:28:38,250
landscape and stay ahead of the
competition?

527
00:28:38,790 --> 00:28:40,390
Yeah.
Again, this book is very much

528
00:28:40,390 --> 00:28:43,870
managerial in its focus.
The worksheets throughout the

529
00:28:43,870 --> 00:28:46,070
book are designed to be
integrative.

530
00:28:46,230 --> 00:28:50,550
And so that they are a way to
kind of walk you through how you

531
00:28:50,550 --> 00:28:52,630
might think about your future
position and then how you would

532
00:28:52,670 --> 00:28:55,830
execute against that while
you're pursuing a digital

533
00:28:55,830 --> 00:28:58,390
transformation.
And at the core of it, as we

534
00:28:58,390 --> 00:29:01,390
were talking about earlier, is
this idea of creating a learning

535
00:29:01,390 --> 00:29:03,550
organization.
How do you build in the?

536
00:29:04,820 --> 00:29:08,740
You know the capabilities to be
nimble, to pursue and learn,

537
00:29:09,140 --> 00:29:13,900
experiment and likely fail, but
also continue to learn and move

538
00:29:13,900 --> 00:29:16,700
forward.
So the book really is designed

539
00:29:16,700 --> 00:29:20,780
as a way to help you from
beginning to end of a digital

540
00:29:20,780 --> 00:29:22,860
transformation.
Though I should say and I say

541
00:29:22,860 --> 00:29:26,620
end, I do believe digital
transformation is a journey and

542
00:29:26,620 --> 00:29:28,260
not a destination.
And so.

543
00:29:29,090 --> 00:29:30,970
The technologies will continue
to evolve.

544
00:29:31,370 --> 00:29:33,770
You'll need to continue to
adjust and involve your

545
00:29:33,770 --> 00:29:37,770
capabilities and your strategy
as they evolve.

546
00:29:38,450 --> 00:29:41,290
Yeah, 100% because technology is
evolving all the time.

547
00:29:41,290 --> 00:29:46,850
So it's not like 1 task and
we've done now for anyone who

548
00:29:46,850 --> 00:29:50,890
would they would buy the book
and they would get the book,

549
00:29:51,210 --> 00:29:56,010
what do you think the takeaways
they will have from reading the

550
00:29:56,010 --> 00:29:58,020
book?
Well, I think I go back to where

551
00:29:58,020 --> 00:30:01,060
we started our conversation.
You know, first and foremost, it

552
00:30:01,060 --> 00:30:04,580
is this idea that in our digital
age, these digital technologies

553
00:30:04,940 --> 00:30:07,860
are often fundamentally
reshaping the basis of

554
00:30:07,860 --> 00:30:11,540
competition in industries.
And understanding that at a

555
00:30:11,780 --> 00:30:15,060
sophisticated level is going to
be the beginning of how you

556
00:30:15,060 --> 00:30:18,060
start to strategize around us.
One of the things I talk about

557
00:30:18,060 --> 00:30:21,700
in the book, classic economics
idea of network externalities

558
00:30:21,700 --> 00:30:25,020
and in a digital age, especially
with proliferation platforms.

559
00:30:25,500 --> 00:30:27,980
We see these network
externalities everywhere, so

560
00:30:27,980 --> 00:30:30,180
this is very simply the idea
that the value of a greater

561
00:30:30,180 --> 00:30:33,180
service improves as others
consume it.

562
00:30:33,380 --> 00:30:36,740
So you think about Facebook, the
value of being the first person

563
00:30:36,740 --> 00:30:39,260
on Facebook is very low, but as
others start to use that

564
00:30:39,260 --> 00:30:42,860
network, its value increases.
This is true a lot of times with

565
00:30:42,860 --> 00:30:45,660
software.
Operating systems and the like

566
00:30:45,660 --> 00:30:48,940
have this type of feature that
is really important implications

567
00:30:48,940 --> 00:30:51,520
for competition.
In some cases it leads to kind

568
00:30:51,520 --> 00:30:55,160
of winner take all markets as we
call it, whether if not one

569
00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:57,040
player, at least one dominant
player.

570
00:30:57,560 --> 00:31:00,960
And we see that through online
retail with Amazon, through

571
00:31:00,960 --> 00:31:03,160
search with Google, through
social media at least

572
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:05,600
historically with Facebook
increasingly now tick tock.

573
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:09,920
And so understanding those
underlying economics and

574
00:31:09,920 --> 00:31:13,720
dynamics absolutely critical for
designing an effective strategy.

575
00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:18,620
Yeah, that's great now.
So my last question, which is

576
00:31:18,620 --> 00:31:21,980
now it's like a traditional
question, is there anything,

577
00:31:21,980 --> 00:31:24,860
Michael you wished I asked you
and how would you answer it?

578
00:31:25,900 --> 00:31:29,500
Well, you hit upon a lot of the
important pieces here.

579
00:31:29,500 --> 00:31:33,420
Again, strategy leading the
digital transformation policy

580
00:31:33,420 --> 00:31:37,260
and social impacts of digital
being an explicit part of your

581
00:31:37,260 --> 00:31:40,500
digital strategy and really
being quite intentional about

582
00:31:40,500 --> 00:31:44,500
that and then again, integrated
it all together as you move

583
00:31:44,500 --> 00:31:46,350
forward.
And having that learning

584
00:31:46,350 --> 00:31:48,830
mindset.
And so I think those are kind of

585
00:31:48,830 --> 00:31:51,110
the big takeaways in the book.
And again, it's really designed

586
00:31:51,110 --> 00:31:53,750
to help walk you through that
process.

587
00:31:54,430 --> 00:31:57,550
That's great, Michael, How
people can find?

588
00:31:58,340 --> 00:32:01,500
More about you and where they
can get the book.

589
00:32:01,620 --> 00:32:03,700
Yeah, the book is from Stanford
University Press, but it's

590
00:32:03,700 --> 00:32:07,220
available and all your favorite
online retailers, Amazon, Barnes

591
00:32:07,220 --> 00:32:09,860
and Noble and the like.
And if you'd like to learn more

592
00:32:09,860 --> 00:32:12,300
about me, so just go to my
personal website which is

593
00:32:12,340 --> 00:32:17,140
Michael Lenox lenox.com and you
can find out a little bit more

594
00:32:17,140 --> 00:32:20,380
about me and some of my work.
I actually have my own podcast

595
00:32:20,700 --> 00:32:23,530
called Great option.
Where we tackle some of these

596
00:32:23,530 --> 00:32:26,250
technologies and talk whether we
think it's a good disruption, a

597
00:32:26,250 --> 00:32:30,090
bad disruption or in some cases
no disruption at all and so you

598
00:32:30,090 --> 00:32:32,370
can check that out as well.
That's great.

599
00:32:32,410 --> 00:32:36,090
I will make sure that I will put
this in the episode description.

600
00:32:36,290 --> 00:32:38,690
Well, Michael, thank you very
much for your time today.

601
00:32:38,690 --> 00:32:41,770
I know that you were busy and
back-to-back, Thank you for

602
00:32:41,770 --> 00:32:46,210
being on the show and as usually
the way I end every episode, I

603
00:32:46,210 --> 00:32:50,720
say and I repeat if anyone.
If you are watching us or you

604
00:32:50,720 --> 00:32:53,520
are listening to us, you have
any questions or feedback about

605
00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,720
this episode, please don't
hesitate to reach out.

606
00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,720
You can send me an e-mail,
LinkedIn and Twitter where I'm

607
00:32:59,720 --> 00:33:03,400
most active If you are
interested to be a guest like

608
00:33:03,400 --> 00:33:05,800
Michael today on the show.
Also, please reach out.

609
00:33:05,800 --> 00:33:08,280
Don't be shy.
I'm always looking for some

610
00:33:08,280 --> 00:33:11,760
people who can inspire us, have
a story to tell us or they have

611
00:33:11,760 --> 00:33:13,440
a book they want to share with
us.

612
00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:17,160
We'd be more than happy to have
you on the show and.

613
00:33:17,700 --> 00:33:21,420
As usual also as well, I hope
you are enjoying and don't

614
00:33:21,420 --> 00:33:25,140
forget to subscribe and we meet
again the next episode.

615
00:33:25,140 --> 00:33:26,260
Thank you very much.
Bye, bye.

616
00:33:26,740 --> 00:33:30,780
Thank you.
Hit that subscribe button, share

617
00:33:30,780 --> 00:33:34,140
the show with your tech savvy
friends and fellow entrepreneurs

618
00:33:34,220 --> 00:33:36,980
and leave us a review on your
favorite podcast app.

619
00:33:37,180 --> 00:33:39,900
Your support means the world to
us.