Demystifying the “D” in CDO

Let’s get to the curious case of ‘D’ in CDO, as it relates to a corporate role… A Google search for CDO can bring up “Collateralized Debt Obligation” which is a type of structured asset-backed security developed as an instrument for the corporate debt markets, but that’s not what we are demystifying!

And before you stop reading any further and pronounce me as ill-informed in today’s world (it’s a no-brainer that the D here is “Digital”, right?), allow me to clarify that this post is really about defining the “Digital” in CDO, and the corporate responsibilities expected thereof.

 Trying to define “Digital” in today’s would conjure up things like SMAC (Social, Mobile, Analytics & Cloud) …but I assert that “Digital” is really (and only) a journey of embracing change, leveraging technical advancements like SMAC. SMAC will get replaced by something else in the not-too-distant future, but the journey of change is here to stay. And it’s a journey because to make significant change, you need to go where it really hurts! And, don’t we all agree that what really hurts is attempting to influence ‘brains’ as opposed to getting “bytes” to toe our commands?

So then again, what’s “Digital” about the CDO’s role? To me, a Chief Digital Officer -

Ø Is a catalyst (“transformer”) to change DNA – by making Digital integral to company strategy (aka “Digital Transformation”) - of People and what these People do - 20% technology and 80% people! Digital transformation would touch every aspect & person of an organization – business models, sales channels, organization structures, individuals, teams, departments, management, communication, infrastructures, workplaces, mindsets, processes, personal development – and way more.

Ø Is a perennial responsibility to tear down the walls of “status quo” and drive fundamental mindset changes that goes across every corporate function. It is a role causing momentum or unrest in a company’s current ways.

Ø Obsesses over the customer and has the foresight to see where she and the industry is headed and bring together all business units to make sense for the customer and the business. Uses the concept of customer journeys and big data mapping of these paths to show other functional peers where opportunities and pain points exist and how the organization can stay ahead of the curve thereby, helping the entire company shift to a “digital” mindset.

Ø Collaborates with all other leaders including the CEO, CIO, CMO, COO, CFO (and all CXOs) to be an active participant in shaping the company’s strategy. The CDO is thence NOT the –

§  CIO/CTO, who is responsible to "run IT" and leads the development of the technology powering the transformation, while CDO focuses on evangelizing and overseeing digital transformation from a business and process perspective and plays a supporting role to the CIO in developing digital initiatives to help the organization.

§  CMO, who leads the sales & marketing organization and oversees the customer and her overall “pre-buy” experience.

§  COO, who is responsible for operations across the business functions.

The life cycle of a CDO is aptly summed up by this quote from Mahatma Gandhi - FIRST THEY IGNORE YOU, THEN THEY LAUGH AT YOU, THEN THEY FIGHT YOU, THEN YOU WIN! 

 And some of the Imperatives & Outcomes that should drive the CDO’s job:

1.      Employee Enrichment & Outcome-driven culture -

• Creating a culture of Meritocracy and motivating employees to make impactful and non-trivial enrichment in experiences of all stakeholders.
• Synergizing every employee’s efforts with the overall strategic objectives and direction of the company.

2.      Improved Customer Experience strategy & Better Selling Success -

• Application of New technologies to personalize the customer experience
• Data-driven market segmentation, discover more adaptive and agile targeted marketing models based on customer parameters
• Create Quantitative and Measurable frameworks to maximize “Return-On-Experience” (ROX), a metric that captures return on its investment in enhancing customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) by bringing together “soft” investments in organizational culture with “hard” investments in technology and analytics.

3.      Improved Service Excellence -

• Improvement of Customer Loyalty & Advocacy through more Accurate and Timely resolutions.
• More personalized and responsive customer experience.
• More effective and thorough Root Cause Analysis of customer challenges & internal business process lacuna; and incubate preventive solutions.

4.      Sales Service & Channel Innovation -

• Differentiated offering focused on delivering added value online & offline - blur the digital and physical experiences.
• Adoption of new technologies to be nimbler and more responsive to current market trends and customer expectations.
• Identification of IT Modernization & Reduced Total-Cost-Of-Ownership Opportunities.

5.      Improved Operational Efficiency & Reduced Costs -

• Optimized & Re-engineered business operations using cost-effective, customer-focused digital tasks that streamlines business workflows and eliminates overhead.
• Better efficiencies in supply chain; increases speed, time and a transparency.
• Invest in automation capabilities to rapidly respond to customer & industry needs and trends.

There’s off-course much more to “Digitalization” and associated cultural changes; and I’ve barely scratched the surface in this post. I would love to hear feedback and thoughts.

And since you have been reading, Thank You!