Why Boards of Directors Need a Digital Leader (WSJ)

09 Mar 2016

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EXTRACT - full article at http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2016/02/22/why-boards-of-directors-need-a-digital-leader/

THOMAS H. DAVENPORT: One aspect of contemporary organizations for which there is often insufficient leadership is the move to digitization of a company’s business. The market researcher IDC predicts that by the end of 2017, two-thirds of Global 2000 businesses “will have digital transformation at the centre of their corporate strategies.”

How a company digitizes itself can make the difference between business success and failure today, and it can involve massive investments. But this sort of transformational change requires senior leadership, and few companies have internal leaders who are familiar with digitization or who have led it previously.

With such a shortage of internal experience, here’s an alternative: Find an experienced digitizer and add that person to the board of directors. A digital hand on the board can help dramatically in an organization’s transformation. He or she can advise the CEO, help to guide major investments, monitor progress toward digital goals, and make connections to other organizations with similar issues. A board member won’t oversee day-to-day digital projects, but can provide resources and motivation to help them succeed..... more online at WSJ.

 

Comment

Considering the spend and reliance on Digital, it would seem amiss not to have C level / Exec representation on a board - someone with a clear view as to what is happening, why and from the point of governance clear metrics against which to report KPIs (Digital Governance).

A starting point could be the Sitemorse INDEX - running for over 10 years, looking at the key and ‘independent' Digital Governance metrics for organisation to across User Experience (UX), Search (SEO) and Governance (GRC). An unbiased view, rather than be drawn into how good it looks – more focus on to ensure brand is delivered and investment is maximised.

2016 Q1/Alternative Investment Market - http://www.sitemorse.com/rt/1195/5940cae9

2016 Q1/UK London-listed PLCs - http://www.sitemorse.com/rt/1198/dd0ac3dc