Five lessons for leaders of the future

IS digital transformation something new or something old? After all, many high-tech sectors have been innovating digitally for decades. Why all the fervour now? It is because these high-tech sectors' innovations have now proliferated to all sectors of the economy and society. They are now grist for the mill for everyone.

Thus, any company or city embarking on a transformation can borrow from the experiences of others. Here are five lessons - drawn from the Roundtable conclusions - that corporate and government leaders can adopt and adapt:

Experts constantly have to pick up new understanding, empathy, mindsets, and skills. Experts will have to learn to learn from anyone who knows the context best, regardless of age, hierarchy, and qualification.

Do's and Don'ts about Digital Transformation

Don't assume there's an endpoint - Ms Greulich-Smith of Smart Health Leadership Centre

People love to talk about transformation but they hate to change. Adopting the "Do's" takes time - Dr Leong of SingPost

Patience - Mr Agarwal of AIA Edge

Persevere and lead by example - Dr Leong

Respect people's preferences if they choose not to pursue digital transformation - Mr Chang of SP Group

Let go of your own stereotypes because digital transformation can mean different things to different people - Mr Agarwal

Do challenge assumptions - Ms Greulich-Smith

Be customer-centric. But this does not mean acceding to the customer all the time - Dr Leong

Try to understand what the experience is like from the customer's perspective - Ms Greulich-Smith

Don't think of technology first, do think of getting everyone involved - Mr Heah of IMDA

Be open and willing to listen to the younger generation - the digital natives. If I'm prepared to hire millennials, I must be prepared to listen to them, in terms of digital transformation - Ms Neo of NCS

Don't assume expertise lies at a certain tier in the organisation. All your stakeholders bring a different expertise to the project - Ms Greulich-Smith

Everyone should feel they have a role to play, rather than feeling that they have to work their way up to a position before they can do so - Ms Greulich-Smith

Sometimes we can ask ourselves "why not?" - Mr Tan of ARUP

With digital transformation, what we are looking at is a reboot of the business model, instead of making incremental enhancements to a business operation - Mr Lai of NCS

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