1. THE OPPORTUNITIES TO COPY FROM OTHER SUCCESSFUL COMPANIES ARE LIMITED Benchmarking has been a favorite tool which is used by many companies to keep up with the competition. Unfortunately, in a "sticky-note" environment what is good for one company may not be good for another company. Many of the strategic challenges and opportunities which your company will encounter will be unique, with nuances related specifically to your company, your industry sector, your geography and your competitive environment. The nuances may overwhelm the similarities. In addition, solutions to challenges previously discovered by other companies will highly likely be outdated by the time your company can implement them. As a consequence, opportunities to "lift and shift" digital strategies from other companies is limited. There is no alternative but for your company to figure out what the best "sticky note" fit of technology is for your organization.
DIGITAL STRATEGY IS LIKE STICKY
NOTES
Each platform or technology that is brought into existence has a myriad of uses. Similar to the sticky note examples above, unexpected uses often emerge which were not even envisioned by the technology's developers! The use of Twitter provides an excellent example of the potential of multiple usage. Major media outlets use Twitter as a means to broaden the reach of their content. Airlines use Twitter as an effective customer service tool. Many other companies use Twitter as a business intelligence tool - by following certain Twitter feeds, organizations receive an early warning of what competitors are undertaking. To enhance their readiness to respond, Red Cross uses keyword monitoring on Twitter to quickly identify natural disasters as well as their intensity. Every technology - platforms, collaborative software, 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, etc. – embodies this multiplicity of uses. I like to think of this potential as the "the sticky note nature of digital technology".
2. DIGITAL STRATEGY REQUIRES CONTINUOUS EXPERIMENTATION (AND FAILING).
WHAT ARE THE
IMPLICATIONS OF THE
Since the appropriate use of technology can differ from user to user, how do you find out what the best fit is for your company and its customers? The opportunities to use technology in new
' STICKY NOTE ' NATURE
OF DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGY ?
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