【中英双语】指导数字化转型的4个原则
4 Principles to Guide Your Digital Transformation
毋庸置疑，数字化转型不再是可有可无之事，而是势在必行。事实上，埃森哲新近的研究业已发现，在2018年之前的三年里，在行业里率先采用企业技术的公司，增速是落后者的2倍。今天，倍数变成了5。拒绝数字化或行动迟缓的风险，不只是屈居人后，甚至是被淘汰出局。
Clearly, digital transformation is no longer an option, but an imperative. In fact, recent research from Accenture has found that in the three years prior to 2018, firms who led their industry in enterprise technology adoption grew two times faster than laggards. Today, they are growing five times faster. The risk is no longer merely getting left behind, but being eliminated altogether.
然而，不要误会，技术可不是数字化转型的全部。仅仅是选择出色的供应商，做一些用户培训，离数字化转型的成功还有迢迢远路。它绝不是技术领导者和IT部门的独角戏，而是与生态系统中的多个利益相关者紧密相关。
Make no mistake, however, digital transformation is not just about technology. Success involves far more than simply procuring competent vendors and doing some user training. These initiatives can no longer be left solely at the feet of technology leaders and IT staff, but must involve a diverse set of ecosystem stakeholders.
我们极其需要转换焦点，不可把它视为一个技术问题。诸如成本优化和流程改进这些基本的目标，不再是终极目的。领导者务必要激发并赋能整个组织去大胆地重新想象他们的工作环境、顾客需求、产品形态甚至企业的目的。
We’re desperately in need of a shift in focus. We need to do more than just implement technology. Basic objectives such as cost optimization and process improvement can no longer be the ultimate aim. Leaders must inspire and empower their entire organization to boldly reimagine their work environment, customer needs, product offering, and even the purpose of the enterprise.
我们的工作是帮助一些世界级的卓越企业应对数字化转型的挑战。在工作中，我们聚焦四个关键的原则。
In our work helping some of the world’s top-performing organizations navigate the challenges of digital transformation, we focus on four key principles:
原则一：数字化转型≠创新
Digital transformation is not the same as innovation.
在过去几十年里，数字化创新的速度可谓一日千里。但是，电子商务、社交媒体、移动网络乃至流媒体开始对企业产生影响，其实是从十年前开始的。现在，它们是几乎所有企业竞争环境里的重要组成部分。
The pace of digital innovation over the past few decades has been nothing less than earth-shaking. E-commerce, social media, the mobile web, and even video streaming didn’t really begin to impact businesses until about a decade ago. Now they are significant components of the competitive environment for almost any enterprise.
因此，不难发现，由于诸如机器人流程自动化（RPA）、机器学习、云计算这些先进技术随处可得，领导者很容易迷失在技术创新的无限可能中去。然而，数字化转型的主旨并不是创新，而是要实现更佳的商业效益。
So it shouldn’t be surprising that with the advanced technologies available today, such as robotic process automation, machine learning, cloud computing, and so much more, it’s easy for leaders to get lost in all of the incredible possibilities. Yet digital transformation isn’t about innovation. It’s about achieving better business outcomes.
正因为如此，我们才建议客户从问与生意相关的问题开始，比如，如何通过应用更快、更柔性的技术来更好地服务消费者？再比如，我们该如何充分利用人工智能技术以改善员工的体验并留住顶尖人才？明确了企业的目标，才能回到技术决策环节去攻坚克难。
That’s why we advise our clients to start by asking business-related questions, such as “How could we better serve our customers through faster, more flexible technology?” or “How might we leverage artificial intelligence to improve employee experiences and retain top talent?” Once you identify business goals, you can work your way back to the technology decisions.
举个例子，在线服装行业的一位客户，曾试图缩减库存，以改进成本效率。那个简单的目标，引导他们购买了一些系统。而这些系统，则成为远远超出此目标的转型的基础。转型充分利用了数据分析来削减与管理“呆滞库存”（excess inventory）相关的成本，同时改进顾客满意度和利润率。
For example, one of Andrea’s clients in the online apparel industry sought to improve cost efficiency by reducing inventories. That simple objective led them to invest in systems which formed the basis for a much larger transformation that leveraged data analysis to reduce costs related to maintaining excess inventory in their warehouse while improving customer satisfaction and profit margins.
原则二：征招“狂热者”
You need to enlist the enthusiasts.
任何转型面临的第一件事都是阻力。希望维持现状的人，总有他们自己的惯性，而且绝不肯体面地放弃手中的权力。然而，没有组织会是铁板一块，总有一些人热衷于改变现状。他们是可识别且可利用的。你一定想从变革者占多数的地方开始转型。
The first thing that every transformation must confront is resistance. The status quo always has inertia on its side and never yields its power gracefully. However, no organization is monolithic. There are always pockets of enthusiasm that can be identified and leveraged. You always want to start in an area where enthusiasts are in the majority.
比如说，当征信巨头益博睿（Experian）的首席信息官（CIO）为向顾客提供实时的数据访问服务，欲用基于云的架构替代传统技术时，他知道公司里的有些人会反对。然而，因为从已对云计算倍感兴奋的产品经理开始，他成功地规避了早期的抵制。
For example, when the CIO at Experian sought to shift from traditional technology to a cloud-based architecture in order to offer its customers real-time access to data, he knew that some within the firm wouldn’t like it. However, because he started with product managers already excited about the cloud, he was able to sidestep early resistance.
一家日本银行在采用区块链相关的技术时也面临相似的处境。高管对区块链技术的前景十分看好。然而，他们知道，许多中层管理人员认为它会干扰成熟业务。因此，他们避开了既有的顾客，而是瞄准一个新的细分市场——更年轻、精通技术的企业主，因为他们会对产品的新特性感兴趣。
A Japanese bank had a similar issue with blockchain-related technologies. Senior leaders were enthusiastic about the possibilities. Yet they knew that many middle managers would see it as a distraction from more proven lines of business. So instead of focusing their efforts on existing customers, they shifted toward a new segment of younger, tech-savvy entrepreneurs who would be attracted to the novelty of the offering.
原则三：从一项里程碑式的变化开始
Start with a keystone change.
每一次变革，都是由一种愿景和命运（vision and destiny）的观念驱动。变革的领导者可以尽力描绘愿景，但是，人们通常很难将潜在的收益内化到足以克服天生的偏见——损失规避的程度。许多人都是不见兔子不撒鹰，只有在看到新的主张取得了某种成功，才会全力支持它。
Every transformation is driven by a sense of vision and destiny. Change leaders can try to articulate that vision, but it’s often difficult for people to internalize the potential enough to overcome their innate bias for loss aversion. Many will need to see the idea achieve some success before they are willing to buy in.
因此，从一项里程碑式的变化开始，才能为更大的转型铺平道路。在得克萨斯州的阿马里洛学院（Amarillo College），变革就是从理解学生为何频繁退学这个简单的诉求开始的。学院院长拉塞尔·劳瑞尔-哈特（Russell Lowery-Hart）博士决定寄希望于数据分析，以更好地理解退学率高的关键原因，发现问题的根本所在。过去的调查结果呈现了许多原因，从持续的财务压力，到宿食安全问题，焦虑、沮丧、精神紧张，交通不便或不得不成为一位主要照顾者，或仅仅是因为钱花光了。
That’s why we prefer to start with a keystone change that can pave the way for greater transformation. At Amarillo College in Texas, which Todd advises, it started with a simple desire to understand why students were dropping out with such frequency. Its President, Dr. Russell Lowery-Hart, decided to invest in data analytics to to better understand the key drivers of attrition rates and get to the root of the problem. Survey results showed a host of causes, from ongoing financial challenges; to housing and food insecurity; to anxiety, depression, and stress; to access to transportation or having to be a primary caregiver; to simply running out of money.
对数据分析的投资为学校如何理解学生、服务好学生以及为学生着想提供了全新的视野。结果，伴随着教育“公平鸿沟”（equity gap）在“黑人、原住民和有色人种”学生（BIPOC）中大幅收窄，在拉丁裔学生中完全消弭，学生的毕业率大幅飙升。“当整个系统基于希望学生成功而建构时” ， 劳瑞尔-哈特说：“整个模式都发生了改变，除了学院的财务状况，还包括我们对基本使命的认知。”
That investment led to a completely new vision for how the school could understand, serve, and advocate for its students. As a result, completion rates soared while the equity gap closed significantly for BIPOC students and closed completely for Latinx students. “When systems are built to love students to success,” Lowery-Hart told me, “the whole model changes, including not only the economics, but our conception of the basic mission.”
与之相似，益博睿上云也不是一蹴而就的，而是从内部施行API（应用程序接口）做起的。一旦转型团队能够证明公司范围之内的实时数据访问具有商业价值，再打造一个充分展示云技术的案例就容易得多了。
In much the same way, Experian didn’t shift to the cloud all at once, but instead started with implementing internal API’s. Once the transformation team could demonstrate the business value of improved access to data within the confines of the organization, it was much easier to build a case for full deployment of cloud technologies.
原则四：利用数字化转型重构企业
Leverage digital transformation to reimagine the enterprise.
技术本身不是目的，而是到达彼岸的渡船。目的应当存在于企业的服务之中，而非其他。仅仅靠某个特定的技术项目或别的方面做出改进，无法获取数字化转型的真正价值。它的终极目标应当是全面重塑企业，改变组织在市场中创造、交付、获取价值的方式。
Technology is not an end in itself, but a means to an end. It should be in the service of the enterprise, not the other way around. The real value of digital transformation cannot be achieved in one particular initiative or another. The ultimate goal should be a full-scale reinvention of the business that transforms how the organization creates, delivers, and captures value in the marketplace.
前面提到的服装企业发现，优化后的数据系统，让他们彻底改变了设计产品线的思考方式，不再像过去那样对市场流行亦步亦趋，而是依据在其平台上观察自家客户所获得的洞察前瞻性地设计服装。这个新的商业模式成为一个关键性的竞争优势，使其在这个品类中占据领导地位，实现了两位数的营收增长。
Andrea’s apparel client found that improved data systems allowed them to completely change the way they thought about how they designed their product line. Rather than trying to react and adapt to fashion trends in the marketplace, they were able to proactively design clothing according to insights they were seeing develop with their own customers on their own platform. This new business model became a key competitive advantage, allowed the firm to take a leadership position in its category, and drove double-digit revenue growth.
益博睿转向云计算产生了一个平台Ascend，助客户基于近乎实时的数据（near real-time data）做出信贷决策。它现在是公司利润最丰厚的产品之一。阿马里洛学院投入在诸如食物、交通、儿童保育等服务和资源上的每一美元，创造出超过之前3倍的毕业率，变成了16美元的学费。最初的成功，让学院为开创性的新项目大力投资，这些项目聚焦于在教育程度低下的社群开展大众化的职业教育。这些变革都有数字技术的加持，但人才是其核心。
Experian’s cloud transformation led to Ascend, a platform that allows its customers to make credit decisions based on near real-time data. It is now one of the company’s most profitable products. For every dollar Amarillo College invested in services and resources such as food, transportation, and childcare, $16 of tuition was retained by more than tripling completion rates. That initial success led to funding for groundbreaking new programs focused on democratizing skills-based education in underserved communities. Each of these transformations was enabled by digital technology, but had humans at the core.
最后，数字工具的最大用处，不是降本增效，甚至不是更敏捷地适应，而是提出了根本不同的问题。正是因为经由探索这些新的可能，我们才能解决复杂的问题，并为顾客、雇员以及我们服务的社区创造更有意义的价值。
In the final analysis, the most powerful use of digital tools is not to cut costs, create efficiencies, or even move faster and with greater agility, but to ask fundamentally different questions. It is through exploring these new possibilities that we can solve complex problems and make more meaningful impacts for customers, employees, and the communities we serve.
文 / 葛瑞格·赛特尔（Greg Satell）、安德莉亚·凯茨（Andrea Kates）、多德·麦克利斯（Todd McLees）
译 / 邓中华
