Reframe transformation to unlock growth potential

These days, the idea of rounding up the usual C-suite leaders, poring through budgets and forecasts for a few months, and then locking in the three-year business plan…well, it feels downright quaint. Like a black-and-white movie from a bygone era.

But in today’s technicolor business world, growth means always being prepared for turbulence, whether the known issues of today—sticky inflation, ongoing labor challenges, and cost pressures on seemingly all fronts—or the new “unknowns” that surely lie ahead.

Navigating that turbulence to deliver sustainable growth today requires a new level of digital agility and resilience across the enterprise, according to the business leaders we surveyed for “Racing to tomorrow,” a report that looks at how companies are reframing their digital transformation goals amid tumultuous times.

Digital or bust

For our report, we spoke with more than 100 US-based digital transformation leaders to better understand how these times of unprecedented change have prompted them to rethink their strategies and the future of work.

Three overarching themes stood out from our analysis:

To deliver results in these areas, becoming “more digital” can’t simply be a vague goal: Companies must rapidly and tangibly increase their digital acumen, our survey respondents said. That digital push can be the north star for an increasingly connected organization that is more prepared to move quickly and respond to everything from changing customer tastes, to macroeconomic shocks, to that next inevitable “unknown” ahead.

Above all, the experts we spoke with emphasized the need to put digital innovation first to meet their growth goals. More than half (56 percent) said their organizations were increasing their digital transformation budgets, highlighting the importance of remaining flexible in a fast-changing landscape.

Digital innovation is also essential for companies trying to stay on top of evolving customer expectations. More customers are looking for digital service options that still foster human connection, and companies are racing to adapt to the power of increasingly digital-savvy consumers. Indeed, 78 percent of the leaders we spoke with said their organization will make customer-centric strategy a top priority as they strive to improve customer interactions and create more personalized experiences.

Creating a connected workplace

Customers are ready to embrace digital operations. But are organizations prepared to invest in a technology-forward, data-driven enterprise?

It might seem like a tall order, but leaders who can rise to the challenge and future-proof their businesses will reap the benefits, which include increased customer satisfaction, new revenue streams, brand loyalty, and fostering better relationships among all stakeholders.

This may mean reimagining many legacy “we always did it that way” business processes and streamlining operations to develop new channels to serve customers. In fact, the executives we spoke with said that increasing their overall business and digital agility to better serve the customer was one of their top priorities.

Many of the digital leaders we spoke with were focused on creating customer-first systems centered around digital operating models. For example: