Wednesday, March 22, 2017

"Digitizing Boardroom" Book Tuning: A Philosophical Digital Board

Philosophy can talk about the status of other sciences. Philosophy can allow us to see the cause and effect thoroughly.

The shift to digital cuts across sectors, geographies and leadership roles. The digital transformation is now spreading rapidly to enable organizations of all shapes and sizes to reinvent themselves. In fact, Digital Era opens the new chapter of human progress; and philosophy is the compass of human civilization. Digital philosophy is simply in pursuit of a holistic understanding of the hyperconnected digital business world and discovering the better way to do things. The function of the corporate board, as the top leadership team and governance body, should like the digital compass to steer the business towards the right direction. So, how can BoDs apply philosophical digital principles to lead changes, and drive business transformation seamlessly?

BoDs with the philosophical mind are in high demand to provide abstract thinking and leverage multi-dimensional lenses to navigate through business uncertainty: Compared to other science disciplines, philosophy is abstract. Philosophy is a Greek portmanteau of the love of wisdom. Philosophy is the history of ideas and an ongoing inquiry into the nature of things based on abstract reasoning rather than empirical methods. Business management is both art and science. Science always needs philosophy, if there were no critical philosophy to add to the brainstorming, science will in the end loose ground. Philosophy is the foundation upon which science has been built and continues to put forth the questions which help move science onward and upward. BoDs with the philosophical mind are inquisitive to gain the multidisciplinary knowledge and insight about digital transformation. Digital transformation is evolutionary. Philosophy is always important to “better understand evolution and harness its power to serve human purposes.” There is no need for BoDs to become the philosopher, but BoDs with the philosophical mind can practice abstract thinking and communication to reach a point of agreement for setting up the right digital principles and navigate digital transformation effortlessly.  


The philosophic mind is not only to solve the problems but to dissolve them: The BoDs with the philosophical mind can set guideline to solve the problems more radically. You have to define a problem, and then, try to solve it. Otherwise, you perhaps just try to fix the symptom, not the real issue underneath. Philosophy can ask the question that other sciences cannot even think about. Philosophy can talk about the nature of being human or the fundamental about the business. The philosophical thinking encourages you to ask big WHY question, and it helps you see the reasoning in action. And then, when you have seen the reasoning in action, you've got an example of what's philosophy: a problem, and a logical argumentation. The philosophical mind can abstract the quintessential from complexity, discover the root cause of problems. Philosophy can not only allow you to reason the visible, but also perceive the invisible elements of the business. Philosophy takes on problems of knowing and knowledge, but perhaps its greatest strength is its ability to "solve" problems elsewhere. It contributes to solving problems via interdisciplinary understanding. So, BoDs with the philosophic mind can connect the wider dots, advise business management wisely and monitor business performance via multi-faceted angles.


The digital BoD with philosophical intelligence can understand digital transformation in a holistic way.A philosophic mind is abstract to converge the divergent information and bridge the gap with commonality, and a philosophic mind can also perceive the circular vision to see things holistically. They are able to see the big pictures and make unbiased decisions, they have the ability to see the whole picture and relate it to stated vision and goals. They may evoke what we call the paradoxical thinking process, which is defined as a statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd but that may actually be true in fact. To put in a more logical way, today’s BoDs and digital leaders always have to see the both sides of the coin from multidimensional angles before making any strategic decisions. The philosophical mind helps them abstract their thoughts, broaden their vision, open their eyes, and sharpen their leadership and management capability.

Philosophy can talk about the status of other sciences. Philosophy can allow us to see the cause and effect thoroughly. Hence, digital BoDs with philosophical mindset are able to think holistically, with willingness to ask the difficult questions about strategy, leadership and outcomes, guide senior management team through effective questioning, coaching, advising, make an assessment of the business strategy and organization's execution objectively, so they can lead digital transformation in a balanced way.



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