3#11 - Anna Carolina Wiklund - Strategy in the Digital Space (Eng)

«We are going to treat our data at the highest level, making sure that we can use it as a competitive advantage. Then it’s a strategic choice.»

Unlock the strategic potential that lies at the heart of Data and AI with our latest discussion featuring Anna Carolina Wiklund from IKEA. Embark on a thought-provoking journey with us as we dissect the significance of robust strategies in shaping digital landscapes. From the role of data as the lifeblood of digital commerce to the ways it can radically alter customer behavior, this episode promises insights that redefine the boundaries of e-commerce and digital merchandising.

 We explore the complex interplay between business, digital and data, revealing how the alignment of strategies across various organizational levels can forge a path to  business impact. Learn how a coherent vision can transform not just marketing strategies, but also those of HR and other departments, and the critical importance of shifting from output to outcome-focused objectives to measure success.

Finally, we navigate through the evolution of strategy in the face of AI's relentless march, examining the essential need for agility and visionary thinking to keep pace with a rapidly transforming arena. This episode is a masterclass in instilling a culture of excellence, accountability, and collaboration that can propel companies forward. With real-world examples and actionable insights, we offer a clarion call for businesses to reassess and adapt, ensuring that their strategies are not just surviving, but thriving, in the AI era. Join us and fortify your strategic acumen for an increasingly digital future.

My key takeaways:

• «When we talk about product mindset its all about how we work as a team.»
• It is important to ensure aligned autonomy, when working in a compartmentalized organization with product management. You are delivering a piece to the totality.
• «Now, we need to have an adaptive Strategy everywhere.»
• Digital is the totality, the ecosystem that you are creating. Data has to flow in that ecosystem.
• There is no digital without data, but there is data without digital.
• People are coming and going within your company, and are bringing data along.

One Strategy

• The goal of strategy is to create one clear direction for the company.
• If you have multiple strategies, you will pull people in different directions.
• Break down strategies in where you deliver the value.
• Organizational models and actual value creation do not always overlap.
• There are transversal strategies that stretch throughout the entire organization (eg. HR, product), whilst there are specific strategies that strive towards one goal (eg. marketing).
• You can no longer afford to have business and digital separated.
• Digital tools do not deliver any value unless they are part of a process and used by the business.
• Ensure that you measure that matters, what is the value that you are creating.
• You need to work on a mindset for the totality of the organization, not a digital vs business mindset.
• OKRs can help to get that forward leaning mindset and to become more process oriented.
• The strategic part is really the choices you have, while plan is the actions you take towards these choices.
• A plan is about creating transparency in the company, so everyone understands what they are delivering and how it fits together.
• You need to have a goal to work towards. Your Strategy is laying out the logic to get there.
• «Culture eats strategy for breakfast»