2 tips to avoid Siri’s fate in your digital transformation

I’ve spoken previously about a passion to be the best and why it is important to set big hairy, audacious goals when it comes to digital teams and measuring success. Which brings me on to one of the most high profile digital failures of recent time. Her name is Siri.

Siri was launched in a fanfare of acquisition and the promise of a new era of digital assistants. She was first to market, came with a talented and driven team and unlimited funds (my assumption of working at Apple) and then died.

Reports suggest a lack of vision on how to scale, no ability to pivot/change key components and embrace AI combined with a change of culture could be to blame.

Whilst we’re looking into our own digital strategies and delivery it’s important to realise culture is key. Lift and shift of teams and ideas that work in one environment don’t always flourish when moved.

Time has shown that a winning start isn’t the only key to success. As a distance runner I’ll pull out the cliche: digital is a marathon not a sprint, there’s a lot that can go wrong on the day and being able to see the end and deal with change is key to success.

Don’t be like Siri in your digital efforts: focus on being the best in the race against the competition and look to smash your own PBs with each move — our job as digital visionaries is to always be looking at what’s next and bringing our organisations on the journey.

Top two tips to not be like Siri: Embed and foster different cultures, be in the race for the marathon.