Our Vision

3 minute read

The power of digital

The influence and power of everything digital in our lives has been apparent for years now. But what was once a nice-to-have or a long term ambition, has been forced into hyper-drive because of the events of 2020.

Some industries have resisted (banking), most have adjusted (retail), but only few have adapted (Telcos). The difference between adjustment and adaptation lies both in commitment and strategy.

There are two types of businesses

There are businesses that see digital as just another communication channel and adjust their budgets and outsource services, accordingly.

And then, there are businesses that see the growing impact and potential of digital in the business itself, and understand that the only way forward is to become future-proof.

What does being futureproof mean?

In a nutshell:

• Being able to identify opportunities by anticipating the future;
• Use this knowledge to develop a strategy to take advantage of future events;
• Use this strategy to take action and continuously learn.

Here’s the difference in terms of outlook:

Digital talent: missing in action

At Karma we believe the key to fully tap into the potential of digital lies in talent – the ultimate arbiter of innovation, transformation, growth and impact.

That is why we’re adamant that businesses must shift their approach to digital talent from “outsourcing” to “in-housing” – a fancy way of saying: “start building your own digital teams”.

But this shift isn’t easy

Across the global talent pool there are 3 key things missing:

1. Deep digital knowledge.
2. The ability to understand and frame digital as business-centric.
3. Advanced technical skills across multiple technologies.

And to address this talent need, there are 3 approaches businesses can take:

1. Wait for Universities and Academies to pump out as many graduates as possible, who, due to lack of experience, will be naturally under-qualified for the real world.
2. Poach talent from other businesses. And then lose sleep at night whilst trying to figure out how not to get poached back. Rinse and repeat.
3. Or, lastly: be smart and up-skill and re-skill their existing talent.

The opportunity

With technology becoming evermore user-friendly and price competitive, the opportunity lies in having talent that:

• Understands the potential of digital as a strategy;
• Understands how it influences his / her job;
• Conceptually knows how to take advantage of it.

In 5 years, the company with the average-plus product that has invested in a workforce of both broad (a little of everything) and deep (a lot of one thing) talent, that knows and understands digital, will outperform the company that focuses too heavily on a team of few and outsources to many.

The good news is: there’s always time to start building this path. And that’s what we’re here to help you with.

Ready When You Are

Karma is a Digital Execution Agency (Digital Agency + Strategy Consulting firm). We design and implement superlative digital strategies and training that creates extraordinary value for our clients.