What ‘digital’ really means
Karel Dörner and David Edelman
McKinsey Digital July 2015
Everyone wants to go digital. The first step is truly
understanding what that is.
Companies today are rushing headlong to become
more digital. But what does digital really mean?
For some executives, it’s about technology. For others, digital
is a new way of engaging with customers. And for others still, it represents an
entirely new way of doing business. None of these definitions is necessarily
incorrect. But such diverse perspectives often trip up leadership teams because
they reflect a lack of alignment and common vision about where the business
needs to go. This often results in piecemeal initiatives or misguided efforts
that lead to missed opportunities, sluggish performance, or false starts.
Even as CEOs push forward with their digital agendas, it’s worth
pausing to clarify vocabulary and sharpen language. Business leaders must have
a clear and common understanding of exactly what digital means to them and, as
a result, what it means to their business (for a deeper look at how companies
can develop meaningful digital strategies and drive business performance, see
“Raising your Digital Quotient,” on mckinsey.com).
It’s tempting to look for simple definitions, but to be
meaningful and sustainable, we believe that digital should be seen less as a
thing and more a way of doing things. To help make this definition more
concrete, we’ve broken it down into three attributes: creating value at the new
frontiers of the business world, creating value in the processes that execute a
vision of customer experiences, and building foundational capabilities that
support the entire structure.
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