Re-imagining Digital Transformation

Digital transformation and innovation, two essential partners that must work together in your journey towards a new digital future. Digital transformation is the integration of digital technology into a business to improve its business processes and how it delivers value. Innovation is the process that gets you there.

But despite their co-dependence this partnership is often challenging to manage. Why is that? Transformation seeks to overhaul the existing infrastructure to improve operational effectiveness and support new digital business models. For many, this involves optimising processes—business process re-engineering that drives continuous improvement, with a focus on doing things better.

Innovation, however, often results in discontinuous improvement through design thinking, creative problem-solving, and lean start-up methods, which encourage doing things not just better, but differently. Yet, for many, sticking with the familiar feels safer than embracing the risks of innovation, even if it means missing out on potential gains.

But ask yourself, why would you invest all that time and money into transforming, without first taking a step back and seeing how you can leverage innovation and find new ways to create value. It’s a task people sometimes try, but often find themselves struggling with, trying to bridge the gaps between the overall transformation strategy, new ideas and their execution. Often this results in a series of ad-hoc ideas and projects that fail to make any meaningful impact.

The introduction of ISO 56001 – the new international standard for innovation holds out the prospect of changing all of this. Based on the input from experts from over 50 countries, the new standard provides a structured framework for guiding best practice innovation. It emphasises a systematic approach to managing innovation processes ensuring that innovation is aligned with the overall strategic objectives of the organisation. Complementing ISO 9001 through the integration of innovation practices into the organisation’s overall processes it can also serve as a basis for certification, allowing organisations to demonstrate their commitment to innovation.

Systematising innovation in this manner can significantly improve the way we approach digital transformation. It inspires fresh thinking and encourages teams to explore new solutions, resulting in more effective digital strategies that break away from traditional methods. By prioritising discontinuous improvement, organisations can promote breakthrough thinking, opening the door for radical solutions that may not have been previously considered. Additionally, a structured framework for identifying opportunities, creating new concepts and validating them not only manages risk more effectively, but turns the whole process into a continuous cycle that makes innovation stick.

Before you rush into the next digital transformation program, take a moment to consider whether there’s a different way. Embracing a more structured approach to innovation can unlock new opportunities for breakthrough solutions that may transform your business in ways you haven’t previously imagined.