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See your world in digital

Digital doesn’t sit still, so neither can your business. To thrive in today’s ever-changing digital world, digital transformation is imperative. But there are many ways to do it. The one constant is your role, as CEO, and the need for your direct involvement.

Put simply, you can no longer afford to maintain the status quo. You need to be ready to take risks; be constantly on the lookout for disruptive patterns; and be willing to set a transformative, digital vision that enables you to capitalize on opportunities, counter any threat and maximize value. Transformation must come from the top.

The question is, how? As a CEO, how do you determine your exact role in digital transformation? And where should you focus your finite time and energy to best help your company succeed on its digital journey?

Deloitte's recent research on How the CEO’s leadership in digital transformation can tip the scales toward success and How to lead digital transformation from the top helps answer these questions and more. Based on real-world scenarios and powerful insights from global CEOs, the series are practical, research-driven guides for business leaders facing the challenge of transforming their organizations through digital technology. Centered on setting your ambition and assessing organizational readiness, they will help you see your world in digital and transform transformation.

The five levels of digital transformation

Digital transformations come in all shapes and sizes. CEOs must adapt their leadership focus to suit.

Data / Process changes

Same business model
Same capability
Same market
Digitization of some existing internal data and operating processes
Incremental cost or operational improvements

Platform changes

New digital platforms
Same business model
Same capability
Same market
Radical digitization of processes and / or platform
Revenue generation alongside radical cost / efficiency improvements

Market changes

Same business model
Same capability
New market or channel
Similar operating model (eases change)

Product changes

Same business model
New capability resulting in new product/service offering
Same market

Business model changes

New business model

New, innovative capability resulting in products or services that disrupt and transform industry standard

Likely to involve ecosystem model

New KPIs likely to be needed

The five levels build incrementally. The more a CEO’s business encompasses, the more likely it will need enterprise-wide transformation, including a new operating model and organizational structure.

CEOs can use these levels to help set the organizational ambition and assess its readiness for change based on the Leadership, Structure, Culture, and Capabilities in place already. The initial research details four scenarios to guide CEOs on this journey and goes on to demonstrate three specific actions they’re taking to lead from the top.

How the CEO’s leadership in digital transformation can tip the scales toward success

Read more on setting the transformation ambition for your organization

The three truths

A practical guide for leaders facing the challenge of transforming their organizations through digital technology

Truth 1

Your role as leader is crucial to any digital ambition, no matter the scale.

• Break through roadblocks
• Help others see the bigger picture
• Assign full-time ownership but keep your hands on the wheel

Truth 2

As the digital vision gets more ambitious, you must get more involved, especially if your company isn’t ready to change.

• Tell a compelling story
• Align objectives with digital transformation
• Address weaknesses exposed by the digital journey and be ready to accept short-term pain for long-term gain
• Enable the company to take digital transformation in multiple directions in the future
• Think beyond your tenure and plan for the future

Truth 3

Digitally-savvy companies still need leadership to lead on strategy, innovation and growth.

• Continue to nurture innovation, even if your company is digitally native
• Constantly assess the market for opportunities, and don’t be afraid to look well into the future

How to lead digital transformation from the top

Read more on our 3 truths and insights from our CEO interviews.

CEO Talks

We spoke to over 20 Global CEOs about their digital transformation journeys and how they lead from the top.

Giny Boer, CEO, C&A

“I can strongly recommend to set up a dedicated transformation office to track the progress of the various key strategic projects you need to drive simultaneously within a transformation of this size.”

J Eric Pike, Chairman and CEO, Pike Corporation

"In terms of day-to-day, did I “do” anything? Probably not. My role was to simply not let the organization back up, to continue to pump the vision of where we needed to be. And if anyone presented a roadblock, I told them to go under, over, through, around, any way to make it happen."

Marc Huffman, CEO, BlackLine

“Digital transformation is a full-time job, so you need people to work on it full time. You can’t just ask someone to do it on the side. Without that dedicated focus, people’s day-to-day jobs tend to take priority and the digitization effort struggles to make progress.”

Stephen Markovich, CEO, Ohio Health

“One of the biggest things we did was to establish a long-term incentive plan for our senior executives. We tied a third of their money to the success of this work, so they all had an economic incentive. If the project goes well, we all win. If the project goes bad, we all lose.”

Vincent Roche, CEO, Analog Devices

“Our core works very well, so I spend my time gazing at the periphery. We hired field marshals who can grasp what customers are struggling with, curious leaders keeping an eye on the periphery and building a nuanced vision for how we are moving ahead, how our customers are evolving, and figuring out the software and ecosystems.”

Kenichiro Yoshida, CEO, Sony Group

“Artists and songwriters are important partners in light of our purpose of filling the world with emotions, so we are trying to become the best company for them. For example, we are providing a digital platform to inform them how much they're gaining from their online music in real time.”

How we can help

To navigate the future with confidence, organizations need to make and act upon the right choices: clear, timely and inspirational choices that deliver growth in a dynamic, disrupted world.

Learn more

Insights and inspiration

A new language for digital transformation

Organizations still struggle to advance digital transformation. A common language that transcends technology could be the key to strategic transformation.

Customer stories

It isn’t easy to provide top-quality sales and service when your employees and production are spread across 42 countries - unless you can build the right structure to connect everyone

Start your digital transformation with the end in mind

Many digital transformations spurred on by the pandemic succeeded because participants knew what they were aiming to achieve. Here’s how to help maintain that focus.

Reimagining digital transformation with industry clouds

Organizations can leverage industry clouds to enable strategic transformation and stay on the cutting edge

The exponential enterprise

Fortifying the ability to win through the capacity for change

Putting digital at the heart of strategy

Before long, every business will be a digital business. CEOs must make explicit choices about their strategy to win in a digital economy.

Earning digital trust: Where to invest today and tomorrow

Leaders can invest in these four emerging digital trust solutions to enable more trusted data and information for the foreseeable future.

The Transformation Myth | Deloitte book collaboration

This book, published in collaboration with academics from Boston College and Northwestern University, sheds light on the continuous process required to adapt to a disruptive environment - and emerge stronger and more competitive.

Read the book

Get in touch

If you would like to discuss any of our recommendations in relation to your business, or would like to arrange a dedicated briefing, please get in touch.