Mike Stopforth was introduced at our Word On The Street event by Nick Terry, CEO of TMARC, as being the cool, wise and witty star of any room he spreads his knowledge in – and we could not have agreed more.

“Mike has the uncanny knack of taking the view of the world with a slight twist of humour, sometimes sarcasm but mostly a witty view of how he sees the world” – Nick Terry, CEO, TMARC.

This 5th Instalment of Word on the Street was all focused around one of the hottest advertising topics on the streets- DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION. It’s hard to fully translate Mike’s infectious personality into words; the best that can be done is to give a snippet of the knowledge he so graciously passed on.

As Mike panned the room for answers on what we thought Digital Transformation was, we all had this as the general idea:

  • Digital Transformation is all about transitioning from old school to new school.
  • It’s personalisation
  • It’s utilising data
  • But, most importantly, it’s interacting with your customers and providing services that are focused on the enhancement of the customer experience.

Okay, cool story. BUT…

Mike was very quick to point out that there was a fundamental difference between Digital Transformation and Digital Enablement.

Digital Transformation is taking the fundamental human truth and turning it on its head and of course the radical change that orients an organisation in a new direction.

However, According to Mike, Digital Enablement is basically the amplification of legacy business practices put into action with a digital approach.

To fully comprehend the above, one must first define the operative word, DIGITAL.

In its core, Digital is a set of technologies and the amplification of those technologies to legacy business practices.

It’s obvious that Digital Transformation and Digital Enablement are two conflicting ideas, that sometimes cause blurred lines. We, like other businesses, need to know the difference and which one we are pursuing. Neither one is wrong, but one if favourable to the people we have chosen to service.

Mike gave us a way to survive and thrive in the digital sphere with these ideals.

Think the DARWIN theory, but adapted by Mike to help us on the path of Digital Transformation and how to truly be digitally innovative.

Disrupt yourself.

Automation rather that AI.

Radical Trust.

Web decentralisation.

I – The internet does not have a central point of authority.

No Ego.

 

It’s so easy to unintentionally lose focus on what our core business intentions are, but adapting the Peloton mindset is the first call of action. So, figure out what will kill you today and know that is what will make you tomorrow.

 

WORD ON THE STREET is a learning event where TMARC and P5 invite specialists to come in and speak to the team, to educate and inspire. The engagements are interactive and always met with enthusiasm by the audience. If you would like to come and speak at a Word On The Street event, then please contact claira@tmarc.p5tech.co.za