My 6 Most Popular Articles of 2024 (so far)
My 6 Most Popular Articles of 2024 (so far)
Over six months, what articles did you read & share the most?
Happy summertime, my friends! And thank you for your continued support as subscribers to David Rogers on Digital.
A Midyear Reflection
I spent much of July 1 meeting with my team, reflecting on lessons learned from the first half of the year, and redefining priorities (“what should we stop, keep, and start doing?”).
It sparked great conversations and renewed excitement about the year ahead.
I’d like to do the same thing for this publication, and for you, my readers!
So, before we barrel ahead into the second half of the year…
Let’s take a look back at the articles from David Rogers on Digital that resonated most with YOU in the first half of 2024.
What struck a chord?
Since January, we’ve published 20 new articles, on a wide range of topics.
Below are the most read articles from our first six months of the year. I’ve listed them in reverse order—as a countdown to number one.
Drumroll please…
THE SIX MOST POPULAR ARTICLES OF 2024 (so far)
#6
Your Company Is Unique. Just Like All the Others.
This post was inspired by my first trip to Japan this year, and a series of conversations with leaders there on the challenge of digital transformation (DX) for traditional Japanese businesses.
The article challenges many of our assumptions about what makes our own firm unique—and about what insights we might be able to gain from organizations that appear very different than us, at least on the surface.
#5
Why Innovation Fails Without Strategy
This first appeared as an article for Harvard Business Review online.
In it, I argue that many corporate innovation efforts fall into the trap of “innovation theater” because they fail to link the work of their innovation teams to a clearly defined business strategy.
Instead, I propose, companies must learn to harness every innovation effort to two pillars of strategy: 1) a clear set of growth priorities, and 2) an understanding of their firm’s unique advantages.
#4
The Perils of Planning
In this article, I try to help readers understand the risk of applying traditional planning to the pursuit of growth in the digital era.
This surprises many leaders! After all, planning is commonly seen as a way to reduce risk.
But under conditions of rapid change and high uncertainty, a reliance on planning actually increases the risks to your firm.
To understand why, I explore how traditional planning plays out when pursuing new ventures. We see a striking case study from CNN, where the legacy news brand attempted a transformative digital strategy via top-down planning.
And we consider an alternative approach to managing new ventures—one that dramatically reduces risk for your firm.
#3
Define a Shared Vision
The first step in my framework for successful digital transformation is to “Define a Shared Vision”—of where you are going and why.
In this article, I explain why a shared vision matters so much.
We learn lessons from the Covid pandemic, and from the famous story of Nokia’s “burning platform.”
I explain why most corporate vision statements fail to make any real difference for their firms.
And I explain how effective leaders, like Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, inspire both employees and shareholders with two complementary types of motivation.
(This article also inspired one of my top LinkedIn posts of 2024.)
#2
The Digitalization Trap
One of the most common mistakes I see companies make when embarking on digital transformation is “the digitalization trap.”
These companies view DX simply as using new technology to upgrade their existing business.
Digital is embraced—but only as a means to cut costs, optimize, and add efficiency to the core.
There is never any thought given to using digital for growth beyond the core.
The prior success of these firms leads them to view the future in terms of the products that brought them profit in the past.
(With a case study from the early years of digital transformation at The New York Times!)
#1
Measuring Innovation: A Four-Stage Framework
My most read article of the first half of 2024.
Measuring innovation is a perennial challenge.
New ventures cannot be managed by the same KPIs that you use in your core business. What’s more, the metrics needed to grow any new venture will rapidly change.
Based on my own years of research and coaching innovation teams, I have developed a framework for measuring innovation.
I call it The Four Stages of Validation.
In this article, I explain how any leader can apply this simple, adaptable framework to avoid the most common mistakes made by corporate innovators and accelerate discovery of their next innovation—one that truly works.
Special Mention
A eulogy to my dear friend Bob Dorf, this post appeared in the December 2023 and gained some of the most thoughtful commentary and feedback in the early days of 2024.
I hope you enjoy…
NEW BOOK:
“THE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION ROADMAP: Rebuild Your Organization for Continuous Change”
ORDER NOW:
Hardcover: https://amzn.to/41U85dl
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3OWD437
Audiobook: https://bit.ly/DXR-Audiobook
Bulk orders up to 60% off: https://bit.ly/DXR-bulk-orders