Soul torture: Should we follow the concept of digitalization?
A new wave is coming, and it is another hot word that everyone is talking about. This time is called "digitalization", sometimes called "digital transformation", sometimes called "digital upgrade". I don’t know if you noticed it. By the second half of 2020, this topic will be discussed everywhere, and various seminars and forums under the banner of “digitalization” abound. A group of new "digitalization" experts have appeared on the stage. With the enthusiasm of the media, capital and other parties, "digitization" has become the darling of the latest round.
After several rounds of so-called "outreach", the true wise man should have the scientific questioning attitude he deserves. No matter how good this tuyere or hot word is when everyone is holding the moon, it may still be a chicken feather in the end. In just 5 years, such hot words have been "sharing economy", "P2P", "virtual currency" and so on. Of course, we can't kill with one stick. Some of them are valuable, some are not valuable, some are useful to us, and some are useless to us. It is how you judge each company and everyone. In this regard, we need to ask a few questions:
Is it trend or popular?
Is this wave of digitalization a trend of the times, or is it a temporary trend? The difference between trend and popularity lies in whether there is long-term value. If there is no value or there is no obvious value enhancement, then the craze is everyone's hype. It is a bubble without a value foundation. Popularity without a value foundation will not be popular soon.
A common misunderstanding in recent years is that "everyone recognizes that it is the foundation of value", such as blockchain. This is wrong. Everyone will change from approval to disapproval overnight. The big bubble of mankind has not won the recognition and trust of the public, whether it is the South China Sea bubble, the tulip bubble, the subprime mortgage crisis, or the Bitcoin bubble. However, once people find that this is a bubble, it will be an instant turning over.
Is it the leader of wisdom or the follower of "right"?
How a popular thing generates value to the enterprise and to itself, this question must be considered. We have stepped into a trend. If this problem is not considered clearly, it is likely that it will not bring value-added, but just follow the trend. After a few rounds of such craze, the level will be obvious.
The wise men needed in this era are able to think independently and grasp the true trends and values, so as to lead the innovation and development of their own enterprises and bring added value. The mediocre people blindly follow the trend in the argument that "everyone says it is right" and "a pig can fly under the wind". They use the appearance of popularity to prove that they are not wrong, but they will not add value, but will waste corporate resources.
So the question is, how should we understand the wave of digital upgrades?
What is the essence of digital upgrade?
What is the difference between DT and IT
It is said that history is always in reincarnation, so is there any difference this time? We need to think about the difference between digitalization in this era and informatization in the last era. What is the difference between DT (Digital Technology) in the DT era and IT (Information Technology) in the IT era ?
Informatization is to deposit solidified things in the information system under the premise of certainty, so as to improve the overall efficiency with the high efficiency of the machine.
Digitization is the dynamic real-time collection and rapid processing of digital information (data) under the premise of uncertainty, and the output of dynamic and relatively definite wisdom results through machine algorithms, etc., to help people make decisions or direct decision-making, thereby improving business operations wisdom.
In the information age, only the established processes, steps, procedures, etc., are reproduced in the information system. For example, the procedures in the factory are originally the tasks determined by the workers and are completed by machines. It's just that the strength, accuracy, and efficiency of machines are better than those of humans. Another example is to calculate accounts. Originally, I used an abacus or calculator, but later I used office software and OA. The process steps have not changed, but the machine efficiency is higher and errors are reduced.
In the digital age, the difference is that the digital system must participate in decision-making, which does not exist in the information age. For example, when we visit Jingdong and Taobao, the recommended products that everyone sees are different, and they are more suitable for them. And who decides which products to recommend to whom is determined by the digital system.
What is the purpose and significance of the digital upgrade?
We must start from the value, not only from the tool to see the digital upgrade. Digital upgrading is a valuable trend and a requirement for a wide range of enterprises in this era.
The value of digitalization is not to solve a certain problem or certain problems, but to solve the problems of the times. In the ever-changing era, China's development needs a new upgrade direction, and corporate development needs to be upgraded accordingly.
Since the beginning of the past ten years, China has entered an era of change, and changes have brought tremendous pressure to companies and individuals. VUCA this word is increasingly being filed, VUCA age = changing times, it is the volatility ( variable resistance), uncertainty (uncertainty), complexity (complexity), ambiguity (ambiguity) acronym. In other words, we have entered an era of more changes, rapid changes, and uncertainty.
Another feature of the times is that China and Chinese companies have entered a stage where there is no reference ahead. In other words, we have no benchmarks that can be simply imitated. Gone are the days when Chinese companies could directly imitate advanced foreign experience. On the one hand, Chinese companies must cross the river by feeling the stones; on the other hand, they also need to be the first in the world.
What does this show?
The era of experience is over and the era of innovation is coming. The operation of Chinese enterprises has begun an era of innovation and development of observation, analysis, decision-making, experimentation, verification, and adjustment.
Such innovative development has entered all aspects of the enterprise, not only at the strategic level, but also in product, marketing, operation and other tasks that need to face such requirements. Relying on manpower alone cannot keep up with the requirements. This requires digital intelligence to help people cope. For example, e-commerce platforms rely on people to judge which products different users need to recommend, so they rely on digitization to help. Digitization works with people to enhance the overall wisdom of the enterprise, build the capacity for innovation and development, and generate competitiveness in this era.
2020 is an era in which changes are amplified and bad changes are amplified to the extreme. In essence, this has greatly increased the requirements for both companies and individuals. In a rapidly changing and uncertain environment, it is difficult for companies to adapt to changes in their original business methods and business intelligence, which requires upgrading. How to make dynamic and wise decision-making and dynamic optimization and adjustment has become the direction of efforts for enterprises in the new era. To achieve such a goal, digital upgrade and digital transformation are required.
The ability that enterprises need in this era-innovation
Innovation is the core competitiveness of an enterprise and the meaning of digitalization
In essence, building enterprise innovation is the goal and significance of digital upgrading. If an enterprise has the ability to innovate, it has the wisdom to develop dynamically in an uncertain era. This is the golden key of this era, which is why it is said that "innovation is the main theme of this era" is the core meaning.
What is innovation
Innovation power is the ability to respond to changing environments and solve complex problems.
What is a "complex problem"?
Feature 1: Important but not simple;
Feature 2: Dynamic changes;
Feature 3: There is no definite approach and standard answer.
In a word, a big problem that cannot be solved by "copying".
Have you discovered that in this era, we are surrounded by such problems every day. Therefore, in the ever-changing moment, innovation is necessary, whether it is an enterprise or an individual.
Enterprise innovation is the contemporary core competitiveness.
Digitization is the means, innovation is the core capability, and innovative development is the goal. Therefore, digitization itself is not the competitiveness of enterprises, but innovation.
Digitization is an innovative hardware system
Enterprises need to enhance their innovation capabilities, and digital upgrades are equivalent to hardware upgrades that are compatible with "improving innovation capabilities". It can help us make the innovation cycle of observation, analysis, decision-making, experimentation, verification, and adjustment more efficient, detailed and accurate.
Only stay in the hardware system, not much value
Companies only do digital upgrades, just stay in the superficial cycle of innovation, and easily fall into low-level duplication. Why do you say that?
Innovation is divided into three levels from the external to the core: innovative results, innovative behavior, and innovative thinking. As the name implies, the innovation that has been derived is the innovation result; the behavior that produces the innovation is the innovation behavior; the thinking behind the innovation behavior is the innovation thinking.
What is the positioning and role of the digital system in it? It is a catalyst for the cycle of innovation behavior and innovation results. The cycle between innovative behavior and innovative results is actually what we tried-iteration. The digital system can greatly accelerate iteration.
However, the innovation ability of the enterprise only stays at this level, in fact, it has not formed the core competitiveness.
Because of this superficial innovation cycle, there are only small cleverness, not great wisdom. It cannot generate independent, forward-looking, and differentiated insights. It can only temporarily keep the company from falling behind, but it cannot bring ahead.
For example, although the e-commerce platform can apply digital systems to establish a multifaceted interface. But soon, all e-commerce platforms are available, and it does not form the core competitiveness of a certain e-commerce platform.
And more companies, even how to use the digital system, lack of thinking and understanding, and they are still at the low-level stage where the last system is all right.
Innovative thinking is the core operating system of innovation
The core level of innovation is innovative thinking, that is, the inner thinking that determines behavior. Innovative thinking determines how innovation is thought and how it comes out. Human behavior is determined by thinking, and it is formed by thinking that guides us. Innovative behavior is change and creation, which is the opposite of inheritance, inheritance, and plagiarism. In other words, if it is the same as before, there is no innovation. Therefore, among human thinking, experience, copying, imitation, induction, etc., these thinking that determine future practices by past factors are not innovative thinking. Then, from the definition of thinking, innovation is independent, forward-looking, logical deductive reasoning. In terms that are easy for everyone to understand, they are "looking at problems from a unique perspective," "looking at problems from a developmental perspective," and "analyzing problems with detective reasoning."
Innovative thinking that determines behavior is the deepest level of innovation and the core that has the most decisive effect on innovation. Why do innovators have these behaviors? It is because they have innovative thinking. Through thinking, judgment, decision-making, and verification, they determine a series of innovative behaviors. Moreover, the fundamental of innovative thinking is the thinking structure, not the result of thinking. As early as 2009, Jack Ma made the decision to make Alibaba Cloud . This decision is extremely innovative and forward-looking. The key skill lies not in the result of thinking about "being Alibaba Cloud", but in how he thinks, and in his way of thinking. This is Jack Ma's key ability above others, and it is true innovation.
The three levels of innovative thinking, innovative behavior, and innovative results are a circular relationship that affects each other. Innovative thinking guides and determines innovative behavior; innovative behavior produces valuable innovation changes and produces innovative results; innovative results are the goals and results of enterprise innovation, which are the driving force of innovative thinking and give practical feedback to innovative thinking .
As a hardware system, the digital system actually accelerates this cyclical relationship and liberates people's energy, so that people's wisdom can be used more in innovative thinking, thinking about issues of greater value, rather than replacing people's innovative thinking.
The biggest difference between an innovative enterprise and an ordinary enterprise is not whether there is a digital system, but the level of innovative thinking. Because what really brings wisdom to innovation lies in innovative thinking. For many non-innovative companies, they may also be doing well at the two levels of behavior and results. Such companies often have good management, strong execution, goals and results. Innovative companies have innovative capabilities that others do not have. The fundamental difference lies in their strong innovative thinking ability. They can not rely on traditional experience, imitate others, or rely on the limitations of old ideas, think independently, and look forward. Insight, rational analysis, judging opportunities, identifying key points, seizing the main line, forming innovative ideas, plans, and plans.
Therefore, the core unique ability of innovative enterprises lies in innovative thinking. The biggest difference between enterprise innovation and non-innovation lies in innovative thinking. Innovative thinking ability is the most fundamental-innovation ability.
How to guide and use digitalization with innovative thinking
Innovative thinking ability model (abbreviated as innovative ability model)
Innovative thinking has four basic components: combined thinking ability, differential thinking ability, evolutionary thinking ability, and breaking boundary thinking ability. The four thinking abilities respectively represent the four main thinking directions and methods of innovative thinking. Innovation mainly comes from one or more of these four basic directions.
Combinational thinking ability means that our thinking is looking in a "precise" direction. To this end, we need to disassemble, analyze and recombine to find new value combinations. Elon Musk is a representative figure of combinatorial thinking ability. From making electric cars to making rockets, he uses the ideas of new combinations of old elements, finds new combinations, and realizes innovations that others can't believe.
Differential thinking ability means that our thinking looks in a "different" direction, which is often different from the perspective of others. Meituan’s Wang Xing is the representative of this aspect. Everyone buys products while Meituan provides services. Everyone does hotel accommodation in different places, while Meituan does accommodation in the same city. This makes Meituan always find a breakthrough from competition. road.
Evolutionary thinking ability means that our thinking is moving towards the "future development trend" and looking at problems with dynamic thinking and development. Jack Ma is the representative of this aspect. The secret of Alibaba 's ability to stay ahead of the times lies largely in its forward-looking vision and judgment on future development trends. Innovations from B2B to Taobao to Alibaba Cloud benefit from running seasonal evolution of thinking generation.
The ability to break the boundaries of thinking means that our thinking is moving in the direction of "breaking the existing appearance to see the essence and breaking through the original boundary restrictions", which is a high-level innovation. Jobs is a representative of this aspect. He challenged the original limitations of computers, broke the original assumption that computers were not used by individual users, expanded the boundaries of computers, and made PCs. He challenged the original limitations of traditional mobile phones, broke the original assumptions of the value and ways of using traditional mobile phones, expanded the boundaries of mobile phones, and made smart phones.
Combinatorial thinking, dynamic value mining, dismantling and testing elements
Let's take combinatorial thinking as an example to see how innovative thinking can guide digital upgrades. Combinational thinking ability is the most basic innovation. In one sentence, it is "the ability to perceive value."
Combination thinking ability is the thinking ability to uncover the surface, disassemble the elements, analyze in multiple dimensions, identify the key points, and reconstruct the value combination.
The role of combinatorial thinking is to realize the innovation of "old elements, new combinations", and this is the most basic form of innovation, and it is also the most basic idea of Schumpeter, the father of innovation.
Combinatorial thinking is not only as simple as rearranging and combining various elements, but also requires clear logical analysis, rigorous element disassembly, and deep insight. Combinatorial thinking has a basic mode of thinking. It is generally dismantled first, then analyze the priorities, find the key elements, and finally regroup the elements around the key elements.
Combinatorial thinking is not about sprinkling pepper, not covering everything, but focusing on key points, lines, and main contradictions. In the field of innovation, the focus of combinatorial thinking is to find the single most important element by disassembling elements. This single element is the element that changes the fastest and has the greatest impact over time and the environment. We need to focus on resources to capture and maximize, even all-in all resources.
In this process, the digital system should be used to quickly verify and verify the true value of each element, helping us to have more accurate and faster value judgments. For example, when we want to apply a new thing-live broadcast-to the project, we need to judge the various elements of the live broadcast and find the most important key element from it. The key elements are the audience, time period, duration, price range, price discount, audience interaction...? The digital system can help us quickly verify. And once the key elements are verified, the digital system can also help us to implement them automatically according to the key elements, such as automatically pushing them to suitable audiences.
It can be seen that innovative thinking is the operating system and the guiding ideology that guides the practice of digital systems and digital upgrades.
Innovative thinking beyond digital
In addition to combinatorial thinking, the value of differential thinking, evolutionary thinking, and boundary-breaking thinking will be greater and higher. These thoughts are far beyond what digital tools can do. They need human wisdom to possess and display. Therefore, at any time, including the current era, people are always above tools, and their abilities determine the level of enterprise development.
Enterprise innovation power comes from thinking, thriving from talents, and becoming an organization. Digitization is part of the organization.
Times need innovation, and times need digital upgrades
In the era of innovation, enterprise innovation has become the core competitiveness of enterprises now and in the future. The level of innovation power determines the level of innovation, development and value generation. In the VUCA era, the dynamic niche of enterprises will continue to change and evolve. Enterprises with a weak niche may become stronger and stronger in dynamic development, and enterprises with a dominant niche may not keep up with the times and gradually weaken. In such an environment, the core ability that determines whether an enterprise can take the initiative in dynamic development is innovation.
The core significance of digital upgrading and digital transformation is to enhance innovation. It is an integral part of an enterprise's innovative power, not all; it is a process and a tool, not a purpose and meaning; it requires a higher mindset as a guiding ideology, rather than blindly launching it. So, we need a new era, companies create new and create Sony's height, to look at and thinking about our digital upgrade.
