Companies must master at managing digital continuums well to gain differentiated advantages by pushing the boundaries of a more complicated business mix.
In the digital era with rapid changes and continuous disruptions, any business can be at risk for survival at any minute due to continuous disruptions and “VUCA” digital new normal. “VUCA” is an acronym used to describe or reflect on volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity of general conditions and situation of the business. Going digital takes multifaceted management disciplines and structural approach to drilling down the critical business success factors that underpin every dimension of the business performance. Here are three digital continuums to run a high mature digital business.
From linear to the nonlinear algorithm: Traditional business management is usually based on the linear logic which implies that the whole is equal to the sum of the parts because it assumes that the organization is like the mechanical system composed of multiple functions, and the overall business performance is equal to the sum of those functional performances. However, with the increasing pace of changes and hyper-complexity, we have to leave our old mechanistic view of the world behind us and look at the world through new eyes as a world of systems as a living thing with hyperconnectivity and interdependence. Understanding nonlinearity as the very characteristic of the digital organization and business ecosystem could be at the tipping point for the digital paradigm shift. The application of nonlinear thinking has to do with complexity which comes in due to the very characteristics such as less structure, ambiguity, hyper-diversity, unpredictability, and increased flux working and impacting together. Organizations need to integrate their interdependencies and ensure that the business as a whole is superior to the sum of pieces. Many believe we are in the digital era of the algorithm because nowadays running a successful digital business is based on information, the business ability to explore intangible assets such as information and knowledge has become far more decisive for building the competitive business advantage.
From analysis to synthesis: Traditional managers are usually get trained well to practice business analysis by breaking things (large problems) down into their components (smaller problems) and answering “what” and “how” questions” as a problem-solving approach. However, with frequent disruptions and emerging business properties, today’s business is not static but keep evolving. Uncertainty acknowledges that we can never know everything about a problem or a business completely, the manager is required to look beyond what might be the known facts to consider what is not known about the situation, as well as what is not known about the known facts. Business solutions need to be made from a much broader and encompassing view that is not possible by applying analytical thinking only. Thus, analysis is only part of the problem-defining and solving scenario, the pre-phase of synthesis; synthesis focuses on answering the “why” and “what for” questions, to figure out the relevance of the past and present for the future desired transformation or outcome. It seems to involve not only putting the bits and bytes together but blending them in such a way that the emergent whole is superior to the sum of pieces. Analysis-synthesis is an iterative continuum - every synthesis is built upon the results of a preceding analysis and every analysis requires a subsequent synthesis in order to verify the result.
From incrementalism to exponentialism: In the industrial age, businesses are considerably static with the slower speed of changes. It usually takes years or even decades for disruptive innovations to displace dominant products/services and destabilize incumbent industries. Business management focuses on making incremental progress on the product or process to run a stable business or managing incremental innovation which is much more predictable and less risky. However, with rapid changes and exponential growth of information, business complexity and velocity have also increased exponentially. Now businesses could get disrupted even overnight by emerging digital technologies, business models or aggressive startups across industrial sectors. The business management today must take a more radical approach to make the smooth digital paradigm shift. Often you need to take the bigger risks, explore breakthrough innovation, and change your organization in many dimensions. You perhaps need new technologies, new processes, new customers, new knowledge, or maybe a new business model. All that means risks, but on the other side, you would get greater chances and opportunities for achieving the exponential growth of the business and higher profitability. Transformative change or breakthrough innovation is not something everyone can accomplish. You have to systematically develop the capability to execute it successfully, and that is something you do not accomplish overnight.
From analysis to synthesis: Traditional managers are usually get trained well to practice business analysis by breaking things (large problems) down into their components (smaller problems) and answering “what” and “how” questions” as a problem-solving approach. However, with frequent disruptions and emerging business properties, today’s business is not static but keep evolving. Uncertainty acknowledges that we can never know everything about a problem or a business completely, the manager is required to look beyond what might be the known facts to consider what is not known about the situation, as well as what is not known about the known facts. Business solutions need to be made from a much broader and encompassing view that is not possible by applying analytical thinking only. Thus, analysis is only part of the problem-defining and solving scenario, the pre-phase of synthesis; synthesis focuses on answering the “why” and “what for” questions, to figure out the relevance of the past and present for the future desired transformation or outcome. It seems to involve not only putting the bits and bytes together but blending them in such a way that the emergent whole is superior to the sum of pieces. Analysis-synthesis is an iterative continuum - every synthesis is built upon the results of a preceding analysis and every analysis requires a subsequent synthesis in order to verify the result.
Enterprises of the future are increasingly exhibiting the “VUCA” characteristics in various shades and intensity. Digital transformation is the change but on a grand level, at the level of the business ecosystem, with all different perspectives physically, chemically, biologically, ecologically, linguistically, technologically evolving nature, in that sequence. Companies must master at managing these digital continuums well to gain differentiated advantages by pushing the boundaries of a more complicated business mix that provides opportunities to create inter-business value and ultimately building an evolving digital organization.
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