Digital transformation: Overlooking the essentials with all the studies!

A few days ago, I described what I often encounter when dealing with customers: That studies, statistics and data are ignored with conviction and people are convinced that they know their customers and their behaviors best anyway. I have called it the “our user syndrome“. What I am also increasingly noticing, however, is that many decision-makers are getting lost in the details of studies and statistics. And fail to recognize the global trends that are relevant to them.

(Reading time 4 minutes)

Identifying global trends instead of a jumble of numbers

I sometimes like to slip in a statistics slide in my talks, only to point out, not without a hint of malicious glee, that I could do that for the rest of the talk, but I think other speakers would do it for me. And that’s how it usually is.

Digitalization is underestimated. And a sack of rice has fallen over in China. #DigitalTransformation #StudiesThatDoNothing

– Alain Veuve (@alainveuve) October 14, 2015

Of course, I don’t just recite percentages, but try to draw the right conclusions and interpretations in relation to our business. I think this is fundamentally important in order to be able to use this database efficiently in day-to-day business. And I get a lot of encouragement for this.

Studies to the point of no return

It has become established as a form of content marketing for consulting agencies to launch scientifically based studies. Most of these are not studies in the true sense of the word, but surveys with a sales brochure. Of course, this is an exaggeration, but what use is the 1000th study on “our industry is sleeping through the digital transformation”? Very little in a factual discussion. It is a fact.

We have known this for years, and anyone who has looked into it knows why: because at the end of industry careers, no more personal risk is taken.

Board members from a time when “long-term” meant 30 years

This is comparable to the soccer team that leads 3:2 in the 89th minute. They block the ball in a corner until the whistle blows. They should actually attack to make it 4-2 and improve their overall situation in the table. But they are more afraid of losing than winning. So they don’t take any more risks.

I find that somehow human, albeit irresponsible towards the company you run. You wouldn’t believe how often I hear this in conversations with elderly C-level decision-makers, followed by “My successors will have to do that with digital”.

And the boys?

When it comes to younger decision-makers, I like to differentiate between intrapreneurs and memorizers. I envy both: the memorizers usually know all the figures from studies by heart. I would love to be able to do that too and I find it fascinating when someone can tell me off the top of their head how high the mobile share in fashion eCommerce was in the UK in 2011. And in 2012, 2013 and in France, Turkey, Germany and Japan.

However, the vast majority of these number crunchers get lost endlessly in the question of which 3 main trends are important for your business in the next 24 months. They have the theoretical knowledge, but don’t know how to apply it to their current professional challenges.

Intrapreneurs are the opposite: they are also interested in numbers, do not memorize them, but save the conclusions they draw from them for themselves. Many of these people intuitively recognize what is relevant and also have the courage not to check these findings again. I would like to do that too.

Alarmism

And the digital consulting industry then uses these studies to emphasize how threatened the local industry is and how everything will go down the drain if something is not finally done in the direction of digital. I see this in part as a deliberate play on fear.

Don’t get me wrong. Of course I agree that change processes in the direction of digital must be tackled courageously across the board. Who, if not me! But I don’t believe that many consultants don’t preach these sermons primarily out of self-interest.

Earn to the bitter end

All too often, I have seen that such consultants do not give their clients a clean bill of health (à la: “Business area XY has no future”), but instead make a tidy profit from the protracted “solution” to digital challenges. Until they have to abandon what was an impossible undertaking from the outset.

Not entirely without purpose for the existing economy

My above-mentioned tweet was immediately followed by the following, justified objection:

@alainveuve Not for you and me. For the masses, digi is still a foreign word. – Peter Diekmann (@DerPeder) October 14, 2015

@alainveuve Drum. Studies can educate and admonish. Until even the last stakeholder has understood.

– Peter Diekmann (@DerPeder) October 14, 2015

And yes, I think he’s right, that’s an aspect that I’ve suppressed until now. In fact, if only a large corporation can be awakened and put on the right track by such a study, then that is helpful. Whether through fear or motivation is of secondary importance. Because as I often say to decision-makers in discussions about digital transformation: “There’s only one thing you mustn’t do: Do nothing. ”