DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS IN A MULTI-GENERATIONAL COMPANY
When a company is undergoing significant change, due diligence by board directors requires assessing potential risks that could harm or slow down the transformation. One risk that is often overlooked is the ability of management teams to navigate the diverse cultures, beliefs, and motivations within multi-generational organizations. Instead of treating diversity as an asset, it can become a liability that slows progress.
Digital innovation is by nature new and risky, and many companies struggle to achieve the agility required to embrace it. Digital tools can challenge existing power structures and introduce risk to someone's position, making them disruptive by nature. If the board does not recognize this reality and take measures to reduce friction, digital initiatives may not live up to their promise or may even fail outright.
There are many techniques for improving team dynamics within multi-generational organizations that can be easily implemented. However, from a board governance and due diligence perspective, it is important to understand how strategy, policy, and organizational decisions are made, and whether they align with the company's overall long-term growth goals or if they prioritize short-term risk reduction.
At a minimum, board directors should become familiar with the digital leaders within the organization to assess their approach to customer experience, digital strategy and tactics, as well as their organizational and financial acumen.
Secondly, directors should understand how digital decisions are made. Understanding the process, people, and policy that has been enacted will give board directors insight into the culture of the company and its ability to embrace change caused by digital transformations.
Thirdly, directors should question digital strategy based on knowledge of the existing industry and the competitors' use of technology. However, they must also go beyond industry boundaries to understand examples from other industries that might be applicable, or trends that can be leveraged to create new opportunities. This approach can help give voice to younger, more digitally attuned people within the organization whose ideas may be the right ones, but not always obvious, to achieve real growth opportunities
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