How Digitalization impacts the need for a new culture
It’s the culture, stupid
Dr. Joël Krapf
www.joel-krapf.com

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What changed?
What changed?

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Digitalization and other mega trends lead to a VUCA world

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Culture is "made by people" - how can there be a "digital" culture?
https://joel-krapf.com/2018/09/09/digitale-kultur-eine-einfache-begriffsklaerung/
New technology changes
„what we do around here“
To be successful, we change
„what we do around here“
"Digital" culture has two meanings

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In the "old" world, solutions can be "thought through" - the problems
are simple or complicated

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In the VUCA world, solutions can only be tried out, there is no "right"
solution - the problems are complex

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The impact of the VUCA world can only be understood if the
difference between complex & complicated is clear
Complicated
▪ Cause-effect not obvious, but
present
▪ Good practices helpful
▪ Typical problem-solving
strategies: More data, time,
resources, experts
vs
Complex
▪ Cause-effect not present or
unclear
▪ Emergent practices helpful
▪ Typical problem-solving
strategies: Bringing (many)
different people together

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Agile as the sweet spot for complex problems
Agile
Lean
CUSTOMER
NEEDS
UNCLEAR
CLEAR
KNOWN UNKNOWN
TECHNOLOGY
Avoid

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After a phase of efficiency pressure, we are again in an age of high
innovation pressure
Oesterreich, B. & Schröder, C. (2016). The collegially managed company. Munich: Vahlen

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it is not the strongest that survive, nor
the most intelligent, but the one most
responsive to change
- Charles Darwin

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"Old" world:
Every grip must fit
"New" world:
Fail early, Fail often

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Agile comes in different flavors – there’s no one size fits all

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The change from the "old" world to the "new" world requires a
paradigm shift
The "old world" was complicated and therefore focused
on efficiency through "command & control".
The "new world" is complex and needs a focus on
effectiveness and agility
Maximising "shareholder value
for short-term profit
Maximising "Customer Value
for long-term profit
Optimisation of existing DL & products,
to maximise efficiency
Disruption of existing DL & products,
to maximise effectiveness
Information flows top-down in order to
Maintain control
360° information flow,
to maintain speed
Perfection, efficiency and control
to secure the existing success
Speed, effectiveness and trust
to disrupt the existing success
Leadership through control, enforcement
and planning
Leaders as "Gardeners", "Coaches" and
and "explorer
Work according to job profile Work in (multiple) roles
Top-down hierarchy with clear chain of
command, to ensure control
Networks of self-organised teams,
to increase adaptability
Linear approach with clear milestones,
to maintain control and planning
Iterative approach to generate value
to generate value through rapid feedback
Purpose
Innovation focus
Information flow
Values
Leadership
Working style
Org structure
Processes

Dr. Joël Krapf
#Max{Value}
#Min{Waste}
www.joel-krapf.com
#Cont{Adapt}