Episode 0: What is the digital mindset?

Q&A

To help formally introduce the podcast and dive into what digital transformation means for companies, Casey Foss, Chief Commercial Officer of West Monroe, takes us into the world of not just doing digital but being digital. 

Casey, from your perspective, who should be listening to this podcast?

All business leaders. I think that the biggest misconception is that notion of ‘I need a chief digital officer to help my company become digital.’ And we don't believe it's any single person's job. And so, I believe that to deliver against a vision to become digital, you need support and buy-in across the C-suite or it won't work. We need organizations that have a culture of risk taking and failing fast. The C-Suite or CEO has to own building this culture and educating their employees on the vision and the direction of the firm.

What's your perspective on digital transformation?

The right tech does matter because it allows us to move quickly with the market, launch products that matter. And it even matters as companies evolve. As I think about the next generation of leading organizations, they are defined by good products, with good tech, with amazing design. All of those things coming together allow organizations to move faster into the market and making it easier for them to enter and change the landscape that they exist in today. 

Casey, what would be an example that would bring what you just described to life for us? What's a real-life company example?

Let's think about Delta Air Lines. You're navigating a huge airport. It's often hectic. For some of us who travel all the time, it becomes a lot easier. But travelers are bombarded with a ton of information at every turn. Digital screens, static signs, PA systems announcements, security, and everything in-between. Delta rolled out a new digital offering, Parallel Reality. It's a single large screen that shows information relevant to a traveler's individual needs: wayfinding directions to a gate, flight information, lounge information, and the list goes on and on. This iteration not only seamlessly blends the physical and digital elements of Delta's customer experience, but it also adds that next level of personalization and white glove touch.

There's been a lot written today about crisis fatigue and that we seem to jump from one crisis to the next, and it's taken a toll, certainly on people. What advice do you have for how to prepare for whatever's next and how to prepare for uncertainty?

I think if we haven't convinced our listeners yet that becoming digital is important, it's more important than it ever was. And that's because of the market uncertainty, right? But I think digitizing your business is an imperative before it's too late. It's how we can cut costs, how we can grow revenue. It's how we can change the dynamic of our firms or any organization better serve our customers. 

I'll leave you with a stat that kind of keeps me up at night, which is in the last recession, 20% of companies from the bottom quartile leapfrogged to the top by the end of the recession, focusing on productivity gains and how they can get more out of their existing customers. And they did that before the downturn. And 20% of leading companies fell off the map for remaining unchanged. So – if you have listened to any of these podcasts, read anything on digital, and you're still like, well, I don't have the time to deal with that, if you don't deal with it now, even though it's going to be hard, it's going to be too late.

Show Notes
Welcome to This is Digital, a new podcast from West Monroe. Meet our host and Chief Marketing Officer Rissa Reddan as she interviews Chief Commercial Officer Casey Foss. They discuss what it means to be digital and what you can expect in future episodes.

Jump ahead to these topics:

:00 - The purpose of the This is Digital podcast
:32 - Meet Rissa Reddan
1:20 - Meet Casey Foss
1:43 - Who should listen to this podcast
2:22 - Who we’re excited to hear from this season
3:36 - Digital transformation is a lifestyle choice
5:55 - Why is digital transformation so hard for some organizations?
6:32 - Digital is more than technology…
7:38 - How to prepare your organization for uncertainty
9:00 - More on what’s to come this season

Download the transcript