In our fast-paced and rapidly evolving digital environment, mastering digital transformation and product-led success is crucial, as AI, digital paranoia, and challenging economic switchbacks are on the rise.
On May 2, 2024, UWEBC hosted the third annual Wisconsin Digital Symposium. Participants gathered in person at the Union South conference center in Madison, Wisconsin, and virtually. This half-day program gave attendees the opportunity to learn from leaders, network with like-minded professionals, and take the first step toward transforming their business into a competitive force in the digital landscape.
The event opened with an inspiring talk from keynote speaker David Rogers, Author of The Digital Transformation Playbook, CxO Advisor, and faculty member at the Columbia Business School. David described digital transformation as the adaptation of an established business to thrive in a digital age of constant change. He noted that digital transformation is not about technology; it is about strategy, mindset, and new ways of thinking. David talked about how hard it is for some businesses and discussed five barriers to digital transformation. These barriers include no shared vision, growth opportunities, focus on experimentation, flexibility in governance, and no change in capabilities.
To combat these challenges, David discussed the “Digital Transformation Roadmap” that he sees companies incorporating into their business to become successful. This roadmap has five steps that are not always linear but build on top of each other. The first step is to define a shared vision and figure out where your world is going, what role your organization will play, and why. The second step is to pick the problems that matter the most – it is all about strategy and setting top priorities. Technology often becomes a problem in this step because it becomes a distraction. David stressed it is important to “fall in love with the problem, not the solution.” The third step is to experiment and validate new ventures. To do this, he advised the audience to think like a scientist and create hypotheses, look for ways to prove you are wrong, get your own data, and don’t debate, validate! The fourth step is about governance and managing growth at scale. David exclaimed that transformation happens from the bottom up because this is where real change comes from. He told the audience to ensure they empower their teams and manage a portfolio of growth ventures. The final step in the digital transformation roadmap is about capabilities and what it will take to become a digital company in the future. To David, it comes down to three things: Is your company investing in the right digital technology?, Do you have the talent you need for the future? and Does your business really care about the company culture?
Following an enlightening Strategic Briefing presented by our sponsor cbs Corporate Business Solutions, participants heard a second keynote address from Martina Lauchengco, Author of LOVED: How to Rethink Marketing Tech Products, Coach, and Lecturer at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Engineering. Martina started her talk by saying that digital transformation is intimidating and challenging. She discussed that there are things you can do as a company for digital transformation, but many people often forget that there are also things you can do locally within the teams and groups you work with. Martina talked about what you can do even if you cannot change the entire company: the small things and the conversations you have can help move you toward the transformation state. One tip Martina discussed was to learn from those ahead of you. The privilege that this gives you is that it helps you build better and skip some of the complex parts.
Martina invited the audience to rethink three myths of a product.
- The first myth is to build a great product. Of course, you have to build a great product, but when it comes to bringing anything to market, building the perception of the product is as important as the product itself.
- The second myth is to improve everything in your product. When it comes to actually bringing things to market, Martina says that you need to massively improve what matters most because if you try to improve the entire surface area, it does not get noticed by users.
- The third myth is that good marketing requires good product marketers. In truth, anyone who is product curious can do great product marketing and that it has to come from all parts of the organization. She discusses four fundamentals of product marketing that a company has to have in place: an ambassador, a strategist, a storyteller, and an evangelist.
Martina ended her presentation by talking about how each company is different, and all teams are unique; it is up to you to figure out what is going to make your team thrive and put the “build better” mindset into action.
After Martina’s motivating presentation, the audience heard another scintillating Strategic Briefing from sponsor companies Tquila and UiPath, followed by our Distinguished Executives Panel.
We had the great privilege to be joined by four outstanding business professionals: Shree Dandekar, EVP of Engineering of Generac; Martin Christopher, CTO of Lands’ End; Ron Gilson, CIO of Organic Valley; and Anu Khare, CI&DO of Oshkosh Corporation. During this conversation, the panel discussed the digital transformation roadmap earlier discussed by keynote speaker David Roger. The panelists gave their input and talked about their experiences from their company’s respective digital transformation journeys.
One key takeaway from this panel is to have an established vision. Anu Khare discussed Oshkosh Corporation’s vision through this process in four simple words: “maximizing potential through technology.” For Ron Gilson and his team at Organic Valley, in order to transform their IT, they had to come in with a different set of thinking and create an IT strategy that is aligned with the business to change the company’s mentality from a hierarchical risk-averse company to one that is focused on risk-taking and empowering individuals. Shree Dandekar talked about how when you look at an already established company like Generac and a successful product and bring in new technologies, you must think about how to integrate all of this together and how to take the entire company on this digital transformation journey. Martin Christopher described his IT department at Land’s End as “lightning in a bottle” – people who are hungry for change, hungry to contribute, and hungry to be a part of the organization. He said all he needed to do was remove the barrier and create an environment to start the conversation.
Overall, the third annual Wisconsin Digital Symposium was filled with networking opportunities and learning from some of the best keynote speakers and business leaders. All sessions were recorded and are now available on demand for all registrants. If you missed the live event but would like to view the content, you can purchase an all-access digital pass. Visit https://uwebc.wisc.edu/wisconsin-digital-symposium/ for details.