The future is digital, and businesses that lead digital transformation at the CEO level will be more competitive.

Don’t be discouraged if up to 80% of digital transformation projects don’t meet expectations. The key to success is understanding that digital transformation is about business, not technology. With this knowledge, you can harness the power of technology to transform your business and achieve outstanding results.

Are you a CEO looking to set your company on the path to digital transformation? Rethink your company’s business strategy and future in our digital world. Learn how to use rapid technological advancements to your competitive advantage. Consider your competitors’ opportunities and costs if you act slowly.

To stay ahead, you must elevate your digital-first approach to the CEO level. Here is how to lead digital transformation at the CEO level and ensure your business is future-ready.

Digital transformation uses technologies to create new or modify existing business and operating models. We can do this to increase sales and operational efficiency, improve customer and employee experience, post-merger integration, or enter new markets.

Digital transformation can improve your business in different ways and keep you competitive in today’s volatile economy. But what does that mean, exactly? And how can you make sure you’re doing it right?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer here – it depends on your business, strategy, and goals. But there are a few general tips that can help get you started:

1. Define your goals. What do you want to achieve with digital transformation? Take a holistic view, avoid details and current day-to-day business issues.

2. Do your research. There is much hype around digital transformation – but not all of it is accurate. Make sure you understand the basics before moving forward. Talk to experts, study other businesses that successfully transformed, and find out what worked for them.

3. Be strategic. You should plan your digital-first approach carefully and adapt your overall business strategy.

4. Get your board on board. The board of directors and owner play a vital role in implementing significant changes. Get your digital business strategy signed off, involve them, and secure investments.

5. Implement slowly and steadily. Start with small changes – focus on one area at a time, and build from there. It is advantageous to start with the low-hanging fruits, so you can achieve success concisely, creating a positive environment for future, more significant changes.

Digital transformation can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. By taking it step by step, you can make corrections along the way to ensure that you’re doing it right and achieving your desired results.

As the CEO, you play a crucial role in digital transformation. You are the one who sets the vision and strategy for your business, and you need to be a champion of change. What does that mean in practice?

First, you have to be open to new ways of doing things. You must be willing to let go of old business models, processes, and mindsets that may have served you well in the past but no longer fit the new purpose. You must also be proactive in seeking new technologies and opportunities to help your business grow.

Secondly, you need to create a culture of innovation within your organization. CEOs must be forerunners in following newly implemented processes and using new tools. When discussing digital transformation initiatives, you must focus on creating a positive tonality as you want your employees to feel empowered to take risks and innovate. Great ideas can come from anywhere, so you can encourage your team members to embrace new ideas and think outside the box. It also involves providing support when things don’t go as planned so that employees feel comfortable trying different approaches without fear of failure.

Thirdly, celebrate successes so that employees know their contributions are valued and appreciated. By taking an active role in elevating digital transformation at the CEO level, you can ensure that your organization is better prepared to take advantage of new opportunities and stay ahead of industry trends. Doing so will help you maximize the potential of your staff and create a culture of innovation within your organization.

Finally, you have to stay abreast of industry trends and developments. You must know how to apply the latest technology innovations to your business. And you have to have a finger on the pulse of your customer’s needs and desires to anticipate market changes and adapt accordingly.

Digital transformation is an enterprise journey with your people and customers rather than a destination. As CEO, you lead the digital journey to ensure that your business can make the most of every opportunity. With your help, digital transformation can be an exciting and positive change for the organization, propelling your company into a future-ready digital-first business.

As digital transformation increasingly becomes a business imperative, CEOs must be directly involved in leading and driving these initiatives. If you want your company to succeed, you need to start thinking digitally. That means using technology to improve your sales, customer experiences, and business efficiency.

Hence, digital transformation is not a task that can be delegated to the CIO, other members of the executive team, or what is predominantly the case to middle management – it requires the total commitment and engagement of the CEO.

By elevating digital transformation at the CEO level, you can ensure that, in addition to the board and owner, all employees in your company buy into the digital-first journey and work together to achieve the desired results. Your position as CEO is unique; all the threads come together here. You hold the overall P&L accountability. You must make organizational and cross-departmental decisions in the company’s broad interest or bring them up to the board and owners, clear the roadblocks, and set the pace for how the entire company approaches this journey.

However, before embarking on the path of digital transformation, it is essential to carefully review the company’s digital vision, strategy, and goals. Doing so will help ensure that the board and, if applicable, the owners are on board with the transformation. Once the board has authorized the new digital-first strategy, CEOs and leaders should work with their teams to create a plan to implement digital transformation initiatives across the organization in the best way possible.

CEOs not directly involved in these initiatives miss the opportunity to position their organizations for success. So if you’re a CEO and are not already engaged in your company’s digital transformation efforts, it’s time to get started. Your company’s future depends on it.

1. Take a Digital Maturity Assessment and evaluate all dimensions that directly impact your digital-first business approach.

2. Define the organization’s vision, digital strategy, and goals. A winning digital business strategy starts with thinking about today’s customer needs and tomorrow’s business opportunities created by technology.

3. Work with your management team to plan how to implement digital transformation initiatives optimally. You can achieve game-changing performance at lower costs by reinventing your operating model.

4. Which technologies should we use for all this? Cloud infrastructure, platform, and software services offer modern businesses unmatched flexibility, efficiency, scalability, and security at reduced costs. Companies that build a cloud-ready operating model can capture the actual value of digitalization.

5. Consider what role you can assign to managers in the project whose departments can downsize. How do you retrain employees or deal with employees whom you lay off as part of the transformation without negatively impacting the work climate and ethics in the company?

6. Be prepared to invest time and resources into digital transformation. You cannot accomplish this overnight – it will take time and effort to see results.

7. Be patient and don’t expect perfection. There will inevitably be bumps along the road as you pursue digital transformation. The important thing is to learn from mistakes and continue moving forward.

The future of business is digital. As a CEO, you can lead your company to success. To ensure success, remember that digital transformation is about business, not technology. Focus on developing a business strategy that works in our digital world. With the right approach, you can leverage technology to transform your business, which will help put you ahead of the competition. Now is the time to take your company’s digital transformation to the next level and ensure your business’s future readiness.