Cracking the code -going digital in career transitions

A lot of people ask us what could most affect the ability of executives to transition smoothly from one role to another, particularly across borders. Our response? The digital world.

This world has had a real impact on our work with clients. As a result of digital, roles and opportunities are becoming much more multi-faceted, with a requirement to master several disciplines: 

  - understanding big data and interpreting its commercial potential

- familiarity with how a customer experiences the synthesis of different processes and types of expertise in a single, seamless service

- organizing many different data attributes into reporting and governance structures which provide completeness, accuracy and speed for analysis and processing

Several clients have moved into the digital world, developing their own businesses in oil and gas, healthcare, financial services and hospitality. Their common priority is to keep a strongly commercial eye on how the business can increase sustainable profitability alongside a range of product development and marketing initiatives.

Our role is to keep our clients grounded by playing the role of internal chairman and investor, challenging and supporting them in areas such as:

- what team and board are you building around you?

- how robust and realistic are the assumptions in your business plan?

- who are the other stakeholders?

- what is your action plan to manage each of them?

- what initiatives and conversations will you take forward, park or drop?

The common denominator in all of our activities with clients in the digital space is to focus on them as individuals in their emerging business rather than the other way around. There are plenty of advisers who do the latter and we can work well with them too.