Why digital?
Let’s have a moment of silence for RadioShack.
Once upon a time, RadioShack was one of the country’s most beloved electronic stores.
At the peak of its great empire it had 4,300 stores scattered across all of North America. But, not unlike so many titans destined for extinction, they got complacent and by the time they realized their customers were buying electronics online from Amazon, eBay and Best Buy it was far too late.
In February of 2015, RadioShack went up in flames.
A company that had been around for nearly a century (they were founded in the 20s) went completely bankrupt almost overnight.
RadioShack serves as a reminder to brands everywhere that it’s not “innovative” to surrender your business to digital transformation.
It’s imperative.
And, while companies are beginning to recognize this… they are not doing digital transformation well — most are whiffing when swinging for digital business home runs.
A recent Harvard Business Review survey discovered the number one concern among directors, CEOs, and senior executives was digital transformation (or lack thereof). Last year over $1.3 trillion was spent on digital transformation.
(To put that in perspective that’s about the size of Australia’s GDP).
Despite this mind-boggling investment, 70% of all digital transformation initiatives fall short. Last year, it was estimated that $900 billion was wasted on poor execution.