Rules for Digital Revolutionaries

BNP Paribas, aka the bank for a changing world, is offering guidelines for financial institutions on digital technology and innovation via a new report termed “Rules for Digital Revolutionaries“.

Bottom Line Up Front: Fight VUCA (Volatility. Uncertainty. Complexity. Ambiguity.) with Clarity, Coordination and Controls .

Clarity.
According to BNP Paribas, there’s confusion around the term ‘digital’ as it could mean: integrating channels and systems, deploying mobile application, and/or modernizing backend systems, to name a few. And it is this lack of understanding that makes it hard for companies to justify and initiate digital investment decisions through conventional mechanisms. This is no good for business hence the need to diagnose the problem and come up with a framework to assess new initiatives.

Coordination.
This is where BNP Paribas suggests “conscious coupling” to ensure initiative are executed the right way via either one of these 4 strategies:

(1) Centralized: digital initiatives are coordinated by a central unit to ensure a higher level of control.

(2) Decentralized: digital initiatives are controlled by different divisions such as: digital marketing, online sales channels, support for field staff, to ensure faster delivery.

(3) Catalyst: digital initiatives are executed by catalysts, which are digital ambassadors from within the organization that have the sole purpose of pushing innovation forward.

(4) Dispersed: digital initiatives are fully integrated into the normal operating model; an ideal state but a rare one as is.

Controls.
Companies should put the proper controls in place to ensure organization don’t reject innovation because after all “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

All in all, embrace fuzzy, drop quantitative precision, and adapt a new mindset. Access the full report here.