On the Job by Anita Bruzzese How to Survive in the Digital Age

On the Job by Anita Bruzzese How to Survive in the Digital Age Companies with leadership that is determined to do business the way its been done for the last several decades and focus only on selling more products to customers may be destined to fail. Thats because the traditional focus doesnt take into account the new way that value now is being created through networks of customers, employees and business partners. Thats the assertion of a new book, The Network Imperative: How to Survive and Grow in the Age of Digital Business Models. One of the problems in the failure of companies to make thistransitionis that theres a pretty significant skills gap among leadership teams, says Megan Beck, co-author with Barry Libert and Jerry Wind. These leaders are often older and have a really strong skill set, but in a completely different place. They may not be savvy with the right technology, they may not be following the very bleeding edge of their industry. And then theres the mental piece theres just sort of a gap in observation, Beck says. Unfortunately for some companies, that lack of awareness of the critical importance of digital is a blind spot that may not be easily remedied. I dont think its fear thats holding some leaders back from making the transition I think its a bit of overconfidence, Beck says. These are leaders who have been very successful in the past, and its hard for people to believe that the skill sets theyve had for the last 20 years are not going to provide the results they need. Theres a lack of savvy, she says. They think that it (digital) is a flash in the pan. Beck says that because of those mindsets and the fact thatdigital transformationsare a big undertaking, many companies will fail as a result. That doesnt mean you shouldnt try, she says. For many companies, it means refocusing(read more here)