A company's success depends on its digital strategy today and into the future. Disrupt or be disrupted is the mantra as businesses of all sizes rush to digitalize and deliver better experiences for employees and customers.

Digital is not a myopic approach to utilizing the latest technology to automate a business process. It's a holistic shift that embraces the potential of the business platform through the digital operating model—a proven successful pathway to digital maturity.

The digital operating model—DOM—revolves around three crucial elements: culture, business platform, and innovation. Culture lays the foundation for a business platform, and together both help a business remain relevant through innovation. Knowing the nuances of this interconnectivity in the digital world helps a business better position for the future.

When all three foundational elements are aligned and working together, a business gains the momentum necessary for the journey to digital maturity. That's DOM in motion and the result is bottom-line growth.

As lifestyles, workplaces, and demographics change, and businesses move toward on-demand goods and services, development and deployment of the multilevel DOM has become essential. Companies that don't make the shift to the digital mindset and reusable, reconfigurable business platforms can't move fast enough, lose their relevance, and quickly fall behind the competition.

Many leading companies of a decade ago are different today, and they will be different tomorrow. That's changed the dynamics of what's necessary to deliver on the rapidly changing demands of consumers. The digital operating model levels the playing field. Any company now can have the platform power to take on big players, disrupt, and win.

In 2010, the market leaders in the Fortune 100 by market capitalization included legacy giants like General Electric, Ford Motor Company, J.P. Morgan, and Bank of America Corporation. By 2021, technology giants as well as innovators and changemakers like Alphabet, Apple, and Amazon had displaced stalwarts like General Electric, Exxon Mobil, Walmart, and AT&T from the top spot. By 2030, the picture could change again as companies that focus on building a digital culture, organizing their businesses as platforms, and embracing innovation are ready to win again.¹

This is the guidebook to help any company remain relevant today and ready for the future of tomorrow. In these pages leaders and experts from all size companies—with revenues from a few million to billions of dollars—and across varying industries share their stories of what works on the journey to digital maturity, what doesn't, and why. They offer sage advice and guidance for others as well.

Readers will learn step-by-step the details of the DOM and its five levels to continuous digital maturity. The top level of performance—continuous digital maturity—happens when a company moves at a high velocity and can pivot as markets and economies dictate, and easily and smoothly incorporate the latest technologies into their business ecosystem.

The five levels to continuous digital maturity are:

• Digital infancy
• Early experimenters
• Digitally credible
• Digitally mature
• Market leaders

Digital Operating Model: The Future of Business gives readers clarity on why culture, platform, and innovation are so important, and what it takes to move any company to the next DOM level of performance. You'll learn how to assess where your company is on its own digital journey, and how to turn that assessment into the right road map for your company to maintain the momentum necessary for growth—DOM.

The digital operating model is the result of my three decades of experience in digital entrepreneurship and software. Since the software business has a proven multilevel engineering model, I figured why not a multilevel company maturity model for the digital journey. And so, the DOM approach with its five levels to maturity was born.

The book is divided into four parts:

• Part I introduces readers to the concept that the impossible is possible with the power of the digital operating model.
• Part II shares the secrets of how any company can build its own digital operating model, use it as a road map, and achieve digital maturity.

  

• Part III shares with readers how crisis can create opportunities that enable savvy companies to make the right moves now to get ahead of the competition and propel themselves into the future.
• Part IV looks at future business trends and technologies of today and tomorrow, and how companies can remain relevant and avoid being disrupted.

Throughout these pages there also will be case studies that explore how companies of different sizes and industries have overcome challenges and reached various levels of digital maturity. The end of each chapter includes Pathways to Growth, vital takeaways that offer a roundup of key points on any company's journey to embracing the digital operating model.

So many people have contributed their knowledge to this book. Combined with expertise from nearly two dozen CEOs and leaders, who share their behind-the-scenes challenges and opportunities in these pages, you and your company can be the disruptor in your industry. Outsiders don't have to come in with the latest and greatest. Your company can have the innovative foresight and digital savvy to transform and grow.

Over the years, my teams and I have worked with and helped thousands of companies create thriving cultures and achieve digital maturity. We understand the journey, know the nuances, challenges, and pitfalls, and how to triumph. Working with so many companies, we've also learned that all share these three common denominators on the digital journey—culture, platform, and innovation.

I also know what it takes to successfully build a business, overcome adversity, and thrive. Over the last two decades, we have transformed our company's digital maturity. It's evolved from the web to social, portal, analytics, everything digital, business platforms, and now we are ready to embrace the new era—the intelligent business platform. We are transforming 100 million lives today and have a clear path to transform a billion lives using the power of intelligent business platforms to make the world a better place to live and work.

The business platform and the DOM pathway opens the future to new ideas and new possibilities for businesses, especially when combined with purposeful excellence. Now is the time to embrace it and to recognize the importance of putting experience first for your people, your customers, and your customers' customers. So, turn the page and let's get started on the DOM journey together.