Nokia, Kodak, Blockbuster, Xerox, Blackberry, Yahoo, MySpace?
What do these company names have in common? Yes, these are companies that had long successful runs and were extremely well known but died out rapidly because of their inability to recognize changes to the marketplace propelled by innovation & digitization.
88% of the Fortune 500 companies that existed in 1955 no longer exist.
Now think of companies like Apple, Uber, AirBnB, Netflix, Amazon. These names are quoted as examples of progressive & innovative companies built for the digital age.
So the success, no, survival mantra seems to be simple- “Evolve or Perish”.
So, what does it take to be Innovative, Progressive or Digital?
Well, it starts right at the top?
It is hard to dissociate success in the digital world from the visionary leaders that propelled such companies to success.
While the genetic makeup (business DNA) that such leaders embody builds on and develops much of what is considered good leadership skills in the Analog Era, there are some leadership behaviors that differentiate successful Digital leaders. These leaders are forward-looking, have a trans-formative vision, keep an intuitive pulse of technology trends & technology applications & are first movers in embracing change-oriented thought processes.
These leaders focus on creating an organizational culture centered around customer experience & pervasive collaboration across all levels of the organization.
