Digitally Yours

Think less about why you are working, think more about why you are here because work is only one means to an end. Understanding the purpose of life is the beginning of purposeful living. No one is immune to the act of ‘labeling’ others. You most probably have had course to adjudge someone good or bad. It doesn't mean you are right neither does it mean you are wrong. It’s about perspectives. Perspectives sometimes is founded on perceptions and perceptions may be deceptive. I think I have made this statement (or something close) before in one of the series but it’s worth repeating here: “No one is absolutely bad” and in like manner there’s no one that is absolutely good. Therefore, welcome to the digital world peopled by digital folks.

The digital world is one of 1s and 0s. In its basic form, the digital signal takes on one of two voltage levels: 5V or 0V. Reality is that these are not absolute numbers. For example, you may represent any voltage between 3 to 5V as “1“ and any voltage between 0 and 2V as “0”. As you can see, in digital world, “truth” and “false” are never absolute but remain abiding principles that aids digital transformation. The most important factor is in crossing the “tipping point” above or below the threshold. In the same vein, you don’t need to be perfect to be useful. What qualifies you for value addition is crossing the threshold. It’s the reason nobody calls anyone that adds little or no value for help. You qualify by choice and not by chance.

“I am digitally yours“. That was the last sentence of my opening address as well as closing address during one of the key sessions of the recently concluded Corporate Digital Week. It was one week to remember for a long time to come. Digital transformation (DT) is great but it takes greater deal of vision powered by acute discipline to move from the downhill of status-quo to the uphill of industrial internet of things (IIoT). Any business leader worth its salt needs to get involved or risk being left behind. You need to watch before you leap but doing nothing will not be a good option. We are at a point in time where any business that will not deliberately infuse DT into her overarching business strategy will hardly be successful few years from now. Concurrently, we are also inching closer to a point where anyone that doesn’t upgrade his digital competence will be as obsolete as outdated technology.

Digital is our world - the world of electronics, communication, industrial automation and so on. Everything around us is digitally framed. Our words frame our world. The world of word or opposite, True or False, Yes or No and so on and so forth. The mouth with which we praise also spills out condemnation. Most times we do so unwittingly. We expect our leaders to be perfect yet we excuse our inadequacies. If we would rise above prejudice, we must have a large heart that accommodates human frailties and inconsistencies. Also, we must understand our purpose per time as a central glue for managing relationships either laterally or vertically. The one who lends helping hand will not lack help.

Sometimes around 2010, out of necessity and in my quest to answer the critical leadership question for direction into the next phase of my life, I invented the profound leadership mantra - “SOAR-HIGH”. SOAR-HIGH is the acronym for “Secure Our Asset Responsibly - Helping Individuals Gain Height”. It was borne out of the philosophy of Eagle’s flight as it soars nicely on its wings against all odds. SOAR can be likened to the right wing and HIGH as the left wing. As the bird cannot fly with one wing, you can’t succeed managing the business without carrying people along. What is interesting about this decade long leadership philosophy is that it is based on time-tested digital logic. While writing for Control Engineering Asia, I adapted the principle for automation engineers' career development as published in one of their magazine's edition. I hope to document this broad-based digital leadership principle in a book in the nearest future. Till then, take nothing away from the fact that I am digitally yours.