In a new book ("Leadership and Digital Change", Routledge 2020), I and my good researcher friend Associate Professor Einar Iveroth at Uppsala University write about how to lead change driven by new digital technologies. In the book, we use potatoes as a metaphor. Potatoes?! What does that have to do with digital transformation?! Let me explain why in a moment.

Changing society through new technologies

But first, let me be a bit academic and nerdy. The word "digitalization" itself needs to be defined more clearly. Today, the term is used extremely broadly. We have noticed that everything from internal rationalization of analogue processes to major transformations of entire industries and sectors of society can be classified as "digitalization". Often it is the technology itself that is at the centre - it is in fact "computerization". Instead, we believe that the concept of digitalization should be defined as the societal change that takes place with the help of new technology, i.e. the changing needs, demands, expectations and behaviours of different stakeholders resulting from the use of new digital services and functions both at work and in our everyday lives. Just like when the potato came to Sweden in the 18th century and changed views, traditions, farming methods and eating habits.

Remember the story of how industrialist and polymath Jonas Alströmer brought the potato to Sweden and saved us from starvation and misery? You might think that it was a success story, where this new exotic root from South America was welcomed with open arms by a beleaguered population?! It wasn't. There were several failed attempts to get people to grow potatoes instead of other crops. But distrust of the new was strong.

They didn't understand the crop, the cultivation techniques, or what to do with what was growing. How should it be cooked? Many people ate potato blast and became ill. Eating earthy tubers was also met with suspicion; wasn't it the devil's invention? What did the church say about it? Despite hunger and misery, there was great resistance to change to the new and unknown. It didn't help that senior men from the capital tried to spread knowledge through complicated writings. It therefore took several decades for the potato to gain a foothold among the population. But when it did, it led to better public health, new food culture, new farming techniques and land reform.

The potato thus became a catalyst for radical social change, just as the computer had been since the 1950s. What made the "potato transformation" successful was, among other things, the fact that Stockholm understood that it was not possible to simply send out decrees and demands for new crops and cultivation techniques, you also had to work on changing people's behavior. This realization was true then and is very much true today for leaders of change.

Digitalization initiatives also need to be driven in two dimensions, simply put both "from within" and "from outside". The internal bottom-up perspective (which is almost always about automation, rationalization and streamlining) needs to be complemented by an external perspective about understanding and responding to the changing needs, demands and expectations of the user (or customer/user).

The digital paradox

In other words, digitalization is the transformation of society through new digital technologies. And leading change with the help of new technological advances is, like so many other things, about changing behavior. Here, those of us leading different types of digitalization initiatives must learn to adapt the strategy to the change we are facing. Is it a digital fine-tuning or a total transformation of the business? "Everything" is unlikely to be digitized, even if it sometimes sounds like that. For example, we do not believe that AI and robots will take over the world and kill us all in our sleep. Traditional analog interfaces and personal relationships will survive for the foreseeable future, at least in many sectors of society and industries. It is therefore important to adapt your digital transformation based on the needs, requirements and expectations of both your business and your customers.

Finally, the book also makes a case for good old-fashioned human contact. We know that new digital services have also created what we call a "digital paradox" - many services have indeed become closer and are available 24/7, but the distance to close, personal relationships has increased. This is the core of our message. The potato helped make our country strong and successful. Digitalization can do the same. If we drive the change in the right way.

Jacob Hallencreutz
jacob.hallencreutz@epsi-rating.com
Chairman of the Board and CEO, Swedish Quality Index