The concept of digital balance – strengthening analogue

Digital solutions are essential in today’s world. They are ideally set to scale excellence and generate efficiency in transactional work that can easily be translated into an algorithm. 

Excellence in analogue scaled by digital. In my experience, analogue excellence always comes first. In forms of talent, creativity, clarity of strategic ambition, finesse in molding execution into operating models, sharpness of questions, depth in internal reviews and data curation for bespoke themes.

Business excellence allows us to focus on applications that will make a difference. We will be able to curate the right datasets to answer the questions and understand how the data needs to be arranged to run the business effectively. Business understanding comes first; only when you have that, can you then develop algorithms as means to an end.

Is there a risk AI intimindtes analogue excellence? Absolutely. We need to be mindful elevating leaders that are excellent in analogue capabilities to use them pulling in AI and data solutions. If we do not complement our competences and know what we don’t know, we risk leadership to get nervous and calling AI for help. We can do it better as any transformation has a significant analogue part ideally pulling in data solutions where they can serve best.

Applications need to be guided by experienced business questions, with robust governance to assure the choreography. Just think many digital solutions get built but are never taken up. The end-user has to be the one who defines the rhythm.