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You don’t have to be a technology company — or a technologist — to be concerned about the impact and rise of digital business. Developing and executing a digital strategy is too important to delegate or outsource. Indeed, according to the 2015 Global Digital IQ survey, the vast majority of chief executive officers — 76 percent — believe they are a champion for the use of, and investment in, digital technologies.
The 2015 Global Digital IQ survey, which draws on the insights of nearly 2,000 global business and technology executives from 51 countries, helps explain why CEOs are often behaving as if they are chief digital officers. Getting intimately involved with digital strategy is now an integral component of every CEO’s job.
Here’s why.
First, while technology investments are generally rising (and hence merit a CEO’s attention), they are also being applied throughout all areas of the business. Digital technology and thinking now permeates every business function, including supply chain management, human resources, financing, and sales and marketing. Moreover, the findings from the report also show that 69 percent of respondents report that business and digital strategy are shared enterprise-wide at their companies. And nearly one-third of respondents said their companies are investing more than 15 percent of revenue into technology investments that span all areas of the business, not just IT. So it behooves the executive who is the ultimate manager of all those functions to be focused on the comprehensive digital impact.
Second, digital investments can be vital levers for improving performance. Based on our research, it’s clear that those companies that excel in their digital strategy, innovation, and execution — that is, they’re more skilled at turning data into insight, are more proactive in cybersecurity, and are more consistent in measuring outcomes from digital investment — are twice as likely to achieve rapid revenue and profit growth. If CEOs are to be evaluated, judged, and compensated based on the performance of their operations, they need to be conversant with the tools and tactics that can mean the difference between success and failure.
Third, by virtue of their positions, CEOs have the unique ability — and imperative — to take the broader view, looking ahead to the future, laterally to competitors, and across industry borders to potential disruptors.
If they are to thrive in a digital world, organizations must understand the importance of collecting and analyzing data, improving efficiency through the use of digital technologies, and transforming organizational culture. The person who sits at the top of the corporate ladder must be the chief champion of such efforts.
If you want to achieve greater business results--and help people feel more fulfilled and happy with their work--you need to intentionally create optimism in the workplace.
Workplace optimism is the way the environment feels to the people spending 30 to 50 percent of lives at work. This positive feeling gives others hope that good things will come from their hard work. While optimism in the workplace doesn't require all team members to be optimists, this positive approach to work certainly shapes people's perspectives about their contributions during the work day.
So what can a leader do to create more optimism in the workplace? Here are five actions that help it emerge.
Create Clarity
To help employees get past the Industrial Age mindset, we must show--by example--that good results will come from hard work. Help employees understand how their role impacts their customer, colleagues and the bottom line. Most important, help them tie their work to the company's mission so, at the end of the day, they can say, "I did that...I made that happen."
Lean on Leadership
The best leaders understand how their leadership impacts the work climate. They know people do their best work when the leader actively listens, considers the diversity of opinions around them and inspires action.
Reinforce Relatedness
Peter Aceto, CEO of Canada's Tangerine Bank, sets aside the first ten minutes of every meeting to connect with people. A simple act by a leader like this helps people bond. It makes us more empathetic, tolerant and patient. It helps us work closer together, in a more optimistic fashion. This feeling of relatedness also helps people, as they work together, tackle difficult tasks or start tough conversations.
Promote Positive Identity
To enable positive identity, promote an environment where regular feedback--positive and constructive, formal and informal--is appreciated, even expected. Learn what excites each of your employees in their work, and help them experience it more frequently. Develop meaningful relationships with each person on your team, and contribute directly to their positive identity.
Magnify Meaning
Today, employees want to make a difference. In fact, in a recent DeVry study of what Millennials want from their careers, 71 percent said "meaningful work" was at the top of their list. It's no longer enough for members of today's workforce to contribute only to goals set by the company. It's just as important to satisfy one's own goals and make a difference for others--customers, colleagues and community.
As a leader, look at the whole person--not just the worker. Help them grow as people. Allow them to spend time supporting causes important to them. And they'll bring their increased confidence and optimism into the workplace. The workplace can be optimistic. But first, today's leaders must choose to make a difference; they must choose to create a positive, energizing work experience.
While TV is still the most popular news source for Americans—57 percent of U.S. adults “often” get their news from television—that’s mostly due to its popularity among older people. In essence, the older you are, the more likely you are to like TV. More than 70 percent of Americans older than 50 “often” watch TV news; less than 50 percent of Americans younger than that do. Meanwhile, only about a quarter of 20-somethings and college students are regular TV news watchers—but 50 percent of them are regular online news consumers.
Only about a quarter of social-media users regularly click through to read a news story on social media—the most basic form of engagement. Just 16 percent of social-media users often “like” a news story. Only 11 percent of people often share news stories on social media. And eight percent of Americans regularly comment on news articles—which, given the odiousness of this website’s comment threads, may be a good thing.
Eighty percent of Americans often or sometimes click on a news story, for instance, and 49 percent share or repost news stories. Still, a minority of people regularly engage with the news online in most algorithmically-recognizable ways.
Pew researchers conducted the study in two different phases. First, more than 4,600 adults were surveyed by web and mail about their general media habits in January of this year. Two months later, researchers followed up with about 2,000 of them, sending them online studies spaced out through the day that asked them to account for how they had used the web over the previous two hours. Pollsters conducted interviews in English and Spanish.
For some Americans, the old Facebook regime was working well: They saw the news they wanted to see, and they interacted with it. But most people skimmed over that news. If something seemed really interesting, they clicked on it—but, mostly, they learned about the world in other ways.
“Dark social”—Alexis Madrigal’s term for low-key, friend-to-friend URL sharing that takes to text and GChat rather than Facebook and Twitter—does not appear to be a widespread activity, at least among all Americans. The Pew found that only 13 percent of Americans share news stories by texting, emailing, or instant messaging them to someone. In contrast, a vast majority—85 percent—share the news by talking about it.
This latter statistic conjures a sweeping, happy vision of a living democracy: hundreds of millions of Americans, discussing the events of the day at home, work, and school. But for web publishers, who require people to load their webpages or download their apps to make money, it is not a particularly remunerative one.
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