Digital Strategy ... In the Eye of the Beholder ... An Elephant Fable

Digital strategy is analogous with the popular John Godfrey Saxe fable of the ‘Blind Men and the Elephant’. One of the blind men feels the elephant's body and thinks the animal is similar to a wall. The other feels it’s trunk and said it was like a tree. And so forth. Each saw the elephant uniquely.

Like this analogy, in today's organization, there are many ideas of what constitutes digital strategy. A marketing executive will see a digital strategy as social media and web channels. An IT person views a digital strategy as cloud. A product manager may see a strategy as data analytics. An analyst will see it as online revenue channels. And so forth.

Internet and social media success doesn’t happen accidentally – it happens through good planning and hard work. This includes articulating your goals, developing and implementing a plan, monitoring your activities, and making adjustments as needed. 

If you feel your organization is woefully lagging in digital or confused in this space, take heart - there are many others who feel the same. The whole world is being digitized right before our eyes and thus, taking the time to set a strategy for the things important to your business is essential.

Bottom Line: Digital success doesn’t happen accidentally – it happens through good planning and diligence. No matter what those blind men were feeling, the elephant is lofty and strong - like an effective strategy.

#1 Business Goals 

Be aware that a “digital strategy” should be a support resource for your business activities. State your business goals prior to your digital goals.

#2 Map Your Options

There’s always more than one choice in the abundance of digital offerings available to you. Looking at each option from a “practical to implement and support” perspective, will help you choose the best strategic options.

#3 Galvanize Your Ideas

Team participation in your strategy creates support and “buy in”. Involve your team as early as practical and definitely prior to completing a final strategy review.

#4 Generate a One Page Analogy
A one page visual picture of your strategy - a digitalroadmap® serves as a visual reminder of purpose and an easy reference guide.

#5 Measure and Adjust

Choose your success measurements before you start. Adjust as you gain experience.