Earlier this summer, I rebranded my YouTube channel from 5 Minutes with
@NYIke to the
Driving Digital Standup.
The change reflects a broader mission that includes sharing insights from
CIOs, CDOs, and other digital transformation leaders. The Real Stories from
Digital Trailblazers will supplement my Driving Digital best practice videos
and other formats that I will introduce. You can learn more in the
Driving Digital Standup intro video, and please consider subscribing to the channel.
I’m interviewing leaders that exemplify
what it means to be a Digital Trailblazer. They are lifelong learners, challenge the status quo, and are
collaborative, inclusive, and agile leaders. They are experts in their
fields and share both their triumphs and hard lessons learned. I am certain
you can learn a lot from them, even if you work in different industries or
focus areas.
My first two Digital Trailblazer interviews are with Helen Knight, a
nonprofit CIO, and Martin Davis, a manufacturing industry CIO. There’s much
to learn from them, even if you don’t work in these industries.
Using the right tech to drive impact in nonprofits
“When you put in a world-class system, it magnifies the output of the
mission,” says Helen. She tells the story of how with a $200K IT investment,
they were able to raise $5M in new donations. But even more important was
the impact on employees. “The social workers suddenly had the funding and
the staffing to focus on their area of expertise. They housed 42% more
people the following year.”
Helen’s key message to Digital Trailblazers is, “Senior IT leaders should
get involved with nonprofit governance boards. It’s great for your career,
and you make great contacts. These governance boards for nonprofits, they
need technical experts.”
Tune into the episodes for more insights!
Jargon-busting industry 4.0 and digital transformation in manufacturing
While it’s important to know the latest technology trends and terms, Digital
Trailblazers know that their roles are to simplify the jargon and explain
how to use specific technologies to business advantage.
Martin illustrates this in his episode of real stories from Digital
Trailblazers, starting with this simple way of defining industry 4.0 and
digital transformation in manufacturing. “Industry 4.0 is really about data.
And how do you use data to better drive your manufacturing and deliver value
through that use of data and automation.”
And then he says, “Digital transformation is about focus on the customer,
how you deliver value for the customer, and how does that then drive you to
do different things in your business.”
While that sounds simple in concept, it’s a significant challenge for
manufacturers that may be two or three steps removed from their products’
end-users. Watch the episode because Martin shares key advice on being
customer and data-driven.
