Question

Case Study

As we wade further into the digital age, it's apparent that computers are at the center of everything. Last year, McKinsey & Company pointed out that the "topple rate" at which companies lose their leadership positions has increased by almost 40 percent from 1965 to 2012. What's more, the pace of digital disruption continues to accelerate. When McKinsey conducted an in-depth diagnostic study of 150 companies globally, it found that 18 practices related to digital strategy, capabilities and culture lead to a factor it calls a digital quotient, or DQ. The consulting firm ultimately identified four key factors

Strategy Matters. Companies must understand where they reside, where they want to go and establish a roadmap.

Investments Are Critical. Investments must support the strategy and they must scale to the task.

Technical Capabilities Aren't Everything. The study found that while strong technical tools such as big data analytics, digital content management and search engine optimization are crucial, there's also a need for a strong and adaptive culture.

Alignment Is Imperative. An organization must align its organizational structures, talent development, funding mechanisms, and key performance indicators (KPIs) with the digital strategy it has chosen. Getting the strategy right is where the heavy lifting begins.

You are the Leader of a start-up. You provide security services to small business with a focus on PCI and transactional processing. Knowing what you know about the digital age, the complexities of cyber-security and what demands customers will place on you, what are the most important elements in creating an effective strategy for this new business? You have 200 existing customers, 5 million in annual sales and 15 full-time and 20 contract positions within the company.

You have just been appointed CEO.

1. How do you determine the existing strategy?

2. How do you determine the existing Culture?

3. Which of the two are more important in your opinion and why?

4. What do you believe are the tangible and intangible aspects of leadership?

5. Is leadership learned or are you born with just the right qualities?

6. Which is more important in being able to create and lead an organization?

7. Do you do a SWOT analysis? If you do what do you do with the results?

8. Ultimately, you must collaborate with internal business and technology leaders to define the strategy, deploy technology and processes to scale capabilities, build a fast, agile and innovative culture, and find the talent to support it all. Where do you start?

Answer 1

1. The current business strategy must revolve around the short term as well as the long term target and goals of the company. Business strategy must aim to achieve such goals.
2. The existing culture is based on the value system of the business. To determine the existing culture, one needs to study the work atmosphere as well as the working style of the employees as a whole. Culture assessment survey can be conducted to get a holistic view about the existing culture.
3. Business culture is more important than the business strategy as culture is one of the major enablers of strategy. Culture is the standing point of any business as it can’t be copied while the business strategy can be easily copied. Strategy is effective if it is in sync with the culture of the company.
4. The tangible qualities or leadership are skills, optimism, courage and determination. The intangible assets of leadership are wisdom, integrity and self-insight.
5. There are both kind of leaders- who learn and become leader and ones who are born leaders. Born leaders are charismatic leaders; they have an innate charisma in their personality. People like to follow them and are in an aura of them. Leaders who learn and grow are the experiential leaders.
6. Self-belief and determination are the most important in order to create and lead an organization. One must have the self-belief that he is capable of bringing such a magnificent change. Also the determination to achieve big helps in paving the way to success.
7. SWOT analysis is an excellent tool to identifies the weaknesses and work on them, to identify the opportunities and capture them and to identify the threats and outdo them.
8. Building the culture of the organization is the most important and the foundation step. All other aspects of business revolve around it.