Digital Strategy: A Guide to Digital Business Transformation Paperback – March 12, 2016

With his hand-on experience, the author clearly explains on how companies create, implement, maintain and innovate the organization’s digital strategy.I’ve learned two things from this book.The first thing is general information on digital strategy described in the “Introduction” and Chapter 1”.The second thing is detailed information on digital strategy described in “Chapter2 to Chapter 7”.In the “Introduction” the author describes the story of technologies from the past, present and future with some examples. The author has found out that the process of digital transformation is sometimes mistaken for a one-time process to achieve digital excellence. He therefore emphasizes that digital transformation is ongoing process which requires continuous improvement over time. The author also touches on “digital investment” which many companies heavily invested in hardware and software but fail to deliver the expected results in the end. I agree with him on this point.In chapter 1, the author proposes the definition of Digital Strategy. Some components such as process, collecting information, planning, identifying risks and opportunities, maintenance, and creating sub strategies are also included as parts of digital strategy. The author points out the need of having digital strategy in an organization as a tool to consolidate and align all digital efforts with common business objectives. The author also points out the risks of not having a clear digital strategy. The scope of digital strategy is provided with some practical examples. In my view, it is very important for top management in every organization to clearly understand the scope and definition of digital strategy before moving toward the next steps.Chapter 2 is about “Strategy Creation”. The author provides step by step process in creating digital strategy which goes deeper into the business. The author explains how to get information from stakeholder, top management, department heads, and end users. In parallel with getting the information, a method for creating a digital asset inventory is proposed with an example. An important point in this chapter is organization’s business objectives. Some examples are helpful. Many other topics are discussed ranging from asset auditing, SWOT analysis, to planning, risks and ROI. This chapter is the beginning step on creating digital strategy. In my view, corporate strategy department should not be tasked to create this strategy alone it requires great supports from other stakeholders as well as top management who understand the concept of digital transformation and has a clear view on how digital strategy will look like. Without these supports the digital strategy is less likely to happen.Chapter 3 provides information on Strategy Implementation based on the organization’s Digital Strategy. Creation of a clear roadmap for all digital initiatives is the first step. Measurement plan is proposed to measure the success of the strategy. The author proposes to use iterative process, when implementing new digital assets, instead of using a rigid start to finish approach. Impact of user experience also explained together with user experience process. “Experience over technology” is worth noting as the author reflects the fact ,in organizations, that bad practice on technology decision always made before thinking about the actual experience that end users will have. Governance model is also proposed. Another bad practice is technical debt that the author points out in this chapter. Some suggestions are given.Chapter 4 provides information about “Substrategies”. Some well-known substrategies such as Mobile first, Web strategy, Inbound and Outbound marketing are provided with some examples. Content and CRM are also provided as a part of substrategies. Further reading is required on this topic.It is known that digital strategy must be continuously improved and be continuously evaluated over time. In chapter 5, the author provides how tools are used for maintaining digital strategy. Data collection and analytics are mentioned as part of maintenance activities. A/B and multivariate testing are given as tools to improve the performances of the strategy .On the topic of technical maintenance it is also worth noting that most maintenance works is corrective rather than adaptive or preventive. I believe this situation always happens in organizations all over the world. With the information suggests by the author, digital transformation of organizations require more proactive work and clear policy on strategy maintenance to avoid unnecessary redundant works which could lead to messy situation in the end.In chapter 6, the author proposes the meaning of innovation from his perspective. The story of a company that did not manage to innovate all areas of its products then failed to stay as dominant player is explained. Innovation on mobile operating systems is also provided as an example. Building a company culture for innovation has been discussed with some suggestions.In chapter 7, the author summarizes what he has described in chapter 1- 6.He also emphasizes the importance of having clear definition of digital strategy. The author also suggests that the digital education should be added as part of the strategy. The author gives a view on being a good strategist which requires an understanding business as a whole. Experimentation is also mentioned as a tool for innovation and creativity. Business objectives and KPI are mentioned as they are essential tools to improve the digital asset over time.This remarkable book highlights the specific areas of digital strategy which consists of four major topics i.e. strategy creation, strategy implementation, strategy maintenance and innovation. Further reading is required if you want to see different perspectives of digital transformation.I like the way the author describes things in this book. However, non-fiction book without an index is not familiar to me. It would be helpful for readers if an index is provided in the end of the book.Creating a digital strategy in a company is not an easy task. It requires a lot of effort, knowledge, understanding, leadership, and right people. Good guidebooks are absolutely required. This book could be one of them.

Great and precise book that touches on a lot of important topics. I was particularly fond of the measurement plan and how important it is to not only collect numbers, but also to be prepared to react to them. I am not new to creating digital strategies and many of the points discussed are what one would do intuitively, however it's a good collection of steps to take and has some interesting samples showcased.In a nutshell, being in the industry, I wouldn't only recommend it to my peers, but also for people that work on the client side as it gives both sides a broader perspective on digital transformation.

I expected more for the price that I paid. It's so basic. I should take in consideration the people who gave 3 starts or less, so take in consideration these comments.

I wanted to like this book but it's so basic to the point of being unusable. A few snippets to illustrate:1. Author's example of what a digital strategy could look like.. Define Challenges, Create Guidelines, and Roll Out in Achievable Steps (p 10-11).2. On interviewing top management... ask them about business objectives and current initiatives. For example, who is in charge of XYZ? (p22)3. On defining KPIs... they will align with your objectives and those of your stakeholders. Ask department heads about the KPIs that have been set for them. Otherwise the best way to define KPIs is to think about its impact on the business component and how to measure it. (p29-30). Ok I have to add my own commentary here... uh duh? This is dangerous in its naive simplicity. KPI definition has many nuances that can drive unintended behavior and consequences. There is no discussion of this and the different trade-offs of existing digital metrics.I'm not sure what's up with all the positive reviews - perhaps I'm really missing something but I wouldn't recommend this book. Instead pick up something like The Clayton Christen Reader which thinks about disruption theory in a far more nuanced and powerful way. While it's not specifically digital, the frameworks and theories can be applied to the digital space. Or Good Strategy / Bad Strategy which provides a thought provoking analysis of what makes a strategy effective or ineffective.

Defined the value of Digital strategy in general. Would have hoped more examples of how to make this work in real life situations.

Digital Strategist is a poorly understood role. Businesses expect this person to work out how to get social buzz and click-throughs. Creative directors expect this person to come up with "content" strategy (but stay away from "creative" because that part is his/hers). While peers never quite understood what digital strategists do. This book tackle this problem head-on by laying out a practical framework for a digital strategist and business to follow. It is an awsome first step to educate the industry that "digital" is much more than just "digital marketing".

Very good book on crating digital strategies. What I like most there are some real world cases that are discussed in the book, which can shed light on how theory really worked in reality.

Don't find too much insight from it. It can be applied at any time. Nothing special related to 'digital'. What it is stated is universally true.