Live blog of NCB Digital Symposium 2018 - Patrick Hylton Opening Remarks

NCB Digital Symposium 2018 - Welcome and Opening Remarks

Presenter: Patrick Hylton

The research was conducted by Professor Duggan and Maurice McNaughton

Less than 5% of companies on the stock exchange declared an explicit digital agenda.

Why so few, given the

• power of digital?
• Opportunity
• Capacity

To improve the delivery of services etc..

As I reflected the following occurred to me. It is difficult for incumbents to engage in a process of significant change. For many reasons but I won't go into that this morning.

To drive change.

• Decide
• Set the change agenda
• Then execute

Choose to be aspirational. This was best said by an gentleman Nyron Muti from Infosys

"An aspiration is the main fuel for progress". Aspirations have the ability to transform ordinary people into extraordinary achievers.

We decided in 2015 to begin our transformation. We appointed a Chief Digital Officer. You have a blank sheet… dream big.

In 2017 we accelerated by adopting agile as a methodology, initially limited in scope with an now [we're going for ] agile at scale.

Why?

1. It gives us the competitive advantage
2. Customers are familiar with global entities like Apple and Amazon
3. Efficiencies
4. Most importantly, because digital has the power to transform 
5. We find things difficult to execute because we're trying to make changes and be constrained by the current context. 

There is no such thing as mature markets. We have mature products and ideas but there is always opportunity to disrupt (via digital). I often reflect on companies like Kodak and Nokia.

I was reading the comments of the chairman of Nokia when they were being acquired by Microsoft "We did nothing wrong, but we lost".

The danger of not transforming is that others will force you to transform or exit.

There is danger on one side and opportunity on the other side. By embracing the change you have the opportunity to disrupt and have others feel the power of your execution.

There is a transformation that [needs] to take place at the corporate level. For us, NCB, to optimise our own digital strategy it is best facilitated by an ecosystem that is digital in nature.

We more digital players, suppliers, partners

All will benefit from the rising tide…

There will be difficulties and challenges but one of the benefits of this type of transformation you are not limited by geography. Resources are a limitation but not as limiting as your mindset and discipline.

I like frameworks, then I came across a quotation from Warren Buffett. "To become an successful investor it does not require a [super] IQ but it requires a framework and the discipline to stick to it"

I tell my colleagues that every time I see challenges I get excited because it gives opportunities to create value.

[Insert Non-believers Nike ad]

So I watch it every morning and come out crazy.

I was reacing about the characters in the ad. One of them, a wrestler, born without legs also runs track and plays football (see: https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/year-born-legs-finds-success-wrestling-team/story?id=48643569). (more discussion of the athletes in the ad).

In closing, I want to leave you with some words… voice by an american architect Daniel Burnham.

"Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency.…"

The power of digital is that it puts the power in our hands… We have no excuses.