“Coming of Age Digitally: Learning, Leadership and Legacy” is a joint publication from MIT and Deloitte discussing findings from the 2018 Digital Business Executive Study and Research Project. The findings are based on a global survey of over 4000 managers, execs and analysts. The research is further augmented by 17 interviews with execs and thought leaders. This research has been performed for a few consecutive years and provides some interesting insights in digital transformations (and learning!). I’m a fan of the publication for many reasons, here are a few:

• Digital maturity: I worry that Digital Transformation is seen as an event, goal or end state. The approach of discussing maturity and that we are always maturing resonates. It aligns with the idea that we are continuously learning, improving and adapting. Life is not static – there isn’t an end state for digital transformation. This also nicely aligns with the idea of having a growth mindset. All this is critically important as digital transformation is difficult.
• Stories and data: We relate to stories. Assessments of current state, setting of ambitions and charting a new path is difficult without insights into the experiences of others. Learning from the experience of others is valuable as it accelerates our own learning. Further, using external stories is a great way to open up a discussion.
  • While data is discussed throughout the paper, the end of the paper provides details on the questions from the survey and the responses.
• Progressing through iterations and experiments: The path of maturing and progressing is not simple nor linear. We need to find our way – figuring out the complexity of people, technology, markets, business models, operating models, customer models, and the larger ecosystem. Experiments are the means to finding our way. Further, how we approach experiments and the learning that occurs speaks to the maturity of the organization. Embracing and sharing progress and results from experiments is healthy and drives maturity (and growing maturity guides us to embrace and share results!). Most experiments lead to new discoveries – which is a nice way of saying, we get a result different than expected. In simple terms, we’d call this a failed experiment. But, I find that many organizations aren’t ready to embrace the idea of failures as a “good thing.”
• The criticality of learning: The data reflects the need to focus on learning for everyone in the organization. Further, it highlights the digital mindset, culture and pace of change that differentiates digital learning. At the timing of this survey, almost half of respondents recognize the need for continuous learning. I expect that this number is going to climb and soon everyone in the organization will recognize and demand support for continuous learning.
• Maturing companies build skills (continuously!): Organizations that are more digitally mature focus on building the skills of their employees. This connects back to the first point – transformations are not an end point. There needs to be a focus on continuous learning and development.

Here’s a video of the publication’s authors discussing the study:

I’m interested to hear your thoughts on the study, the stories and the interpretations. And here’s a few questions to jumpstart the discussion:

• Which data points stand out most? Where there any data points that surprised you?
• Are you seeing any published data / surveys that show different viewpoints?
• How do the ideas from this publication compare to what you are seeing in your organization?