From “Let’s Netflix and chill this weekend!” to “Google’ it,” success cracks a new level when your brand name becomes a verb. Bangaloreans would even know a more local version of this: “Dunzo it to me.” It refers to availing the services of the Dunzo app, an intra-city parcel delivery service. Something that all these companies did differently was that they anticipated the revolutionary transformation in customer demand with rising digitalization. Netflix wiped out Blockbuster and the movie rental industry entirely, and Google almost became the synonym for good old internet surfing.

However, digital transformation is much more than just a business strategy today. The massive scope of digitalization has created a whole new set of challenges for business leaders across the spectrum. Leaders in the digital era must master technical, managerial, and ethical competencies that were not as important before while staying at the cutting edge of emerging technologies. The power of data is more prominent than ever, and utilizing it is no longer an option. Using intelligence based on data analytics has become a matter of survival when there is no room for error in marketing, thanks to the dawn of the social media era.

Additionally, business leaders must have a fair bit of emotional intelligence as the employee requirements and expectations have also been undergoing sea changes. While identifying which employees should be provided with what capabilities and resources to optimize production remains a huge challenge, especially amidst the hybrid work culture, the clouds are dark and rainy in cybersecurity. The irony is that you are logically required to adopt a zero trust internet policy while still fully trusting your employees. Exciting times are ahead.