Digitalisation

Question 1

What is industry 4.0?

Answer 1

The fourth industrial revolution, characterised by the integration of digital technologies, automation, and data exchange in manufacturing and industry, facilitating smart and interconnected systems.

Question 2

What are the 5 things boards must do to adapt in industry 4.0?

Answer 2

1. Prepare the board itself
2. Readying the organisation
3. Gain access to needed talent
4. Elevate the risk conversation
5. Choose the right risk strategy

Question 3

How does a board “prepare itself” for industry 4.0?

Answer 3

Understand risks & opportunities, enrich work with technology-centric advice & thought leadership

Question 4

How does a board “ready the organisation” for industry 4.0?

Answer 4

Avoid legacy-thinking, be ready and willing to adapt and generate a stronger value proposition

Question 5

How does a board “access the right talent” for industry 4.0?

Answer 5

Bringing in new talent, knowledgable people and provide means to acquire the needed skills → talent management, cfr. Deloitte University

Question 6

How does a board “elevate the risk conversation”?

Answer 6

Requires understanding of the business, processes, how cognitive technologies behave and how the risks that come with it can be mitigated , in order to properly account for new risks in the business strategy

Question 7

How has “choosing the right strategy” evolved?

Answer 7

Traditional long-term strategy was focussed on “big-bang projects”, big projects requiring lots of resources and time
In a fast-changing environment strategic agility is a must

Question 8

What are two frameworks for oversight of digital innovation?

Answer 8

1. Principal-Agent (classic board-management, with the Principal delegating authority and the Agent acting and making decisions)
2. Digital stewardship (focus on the board’s responsibility to steward the organisation’s digital assets and capabilities, requires understanding and readiness)

Question 9

In the current scenario , what are the two main issues considering digital oversight?

Answer 9

1. Outdated mindset: apply largely irrelevant practices
2. Inaccurate assumptions: thinking digital innovation requires long time-frames and big expenditures

Question 10

What are the 4 dimensions to adopting a digital mindset?

Answer 10

1. Target exponentials
   → focus on rapidly evolving and technologies or trends with high potential for value creation
2. Business model focus
   → new business models (not just new products) that allow people to work faster, with better feedback and collaboration
3. Zoom in and -out
   → zoom-out: innovate on customers’ needs and competitors’ moves in the next 10-20 years
   → zoom-in: test assumptions and create short-term revenue next 6-12 months
4. Rapid iteration: create teams that can output at high velocity (DevOps)

Question 11

Practices to consider when adopting a digital mindset?

Answer 11

1. Digital champion
2. Benchmarking
3. Define measures of success
4. Working sessions