What could Barbie 2.0 teach us about digitalization?
Barbie 2.0, the Barbie Group's launch of curved barbie dolls, can teach us a lot about digitalization and digital transformation. Among other things, how you have to put traditions aside when you have to pave the way for a new era. (Foto: Arunachal Art/ Unsplash)
Digitalization – change the ladle and forge at the right time
Does digitalization in your company and the Barbie Group's launch of curved Barbie dolls have anything in common?
Absolutely, they put traditions aside and pave the way for a new era.
It is almost a year since NRK showed the documentary about the drastic changes the Barbie company had to go through when they were to launch a new edition of the Barbie doll. The razor-thin figure was to become more curved and represent a greater diversity of women through variation in skin tone, height and length. Key voices outside the business demanded a product change that safeguarded a healthy body ideal. The group management had to make a choice, should they continue as before or seize the opportunity and create something new? The sales curve for today's product gave them a clear indication.
The decision to make a new barbie doll was nevertheless a big risk to take for the doll giant. Barbie is much more than just a toy. Everything rigged around her from clothes, house, furniture and car, is designed according to a fixed shape: thin waist, long legs and small feet. A redesign was therefore not about the doll in isolation, but about an entire value chain of products that would no longer be compatible. The casting ladle had to be changed and the production chain rebuilt. The company had to come up with the sketchbook, swarm of ideas and prototype, with the expectations of the customer group in mind.
For us outsiders, it's easy to think, isn't it just designing a new Barbie then? In the same way that it is easy for people outside a business to recommend that they move away from paper forms in favor of fully automated processes, or modernize a cumbersome case management system. Why is it so difficult to change course?
In the Barbie group, departments and tasks were organized according to the traditional barbie model's forms. Making the model shorter and thicker meant that everyone in the group had to work differently. Old tasks fell away and new ones came into being. Routines and processes were changed overnight. A seemingly small adjustment had ripple effects for everyone in the entire organization.
Today, the Barbie group can look back on a successful launch of four new different "bodies". A success that would not have been as great if they had not at the same time changed the direction and focus of the entire business. They dared to challenge the company's traditions and core product and follow an important principle, not to let the past ruin the future.
The story of the Barbie Group is not unique. It only tells in a figurative way what changes an organization has to go through if they want to create something new or renew the products or services they manage. Digitalization or digital transformation is the term used for this changeover. Without change, digitalization becomes difficult. The technology remains a support function, instead of a perpetual catalyst for learning and innovation. It is only when the business is able to innovate on the opportunities that exist in the technological landscape and compare this with the expectations in the market, that digitalization is part of their DNA.
Digitalization is therefore not about adopting new technology and automating manual processes in isolation. It is about looking up and seeing what the renewal entails in the business as a whole.
What consequences does the launch of a "new barbie doll" have for us? What do we have to do to get the gains we want? And what necessary measures must we dare to take so that the renewal actually bears fruit? I would argue that digital transformation is about challenging attitudes, mindsets, working methods and leadership within the organization in order to meet the demands of an increasingly demanding customer base.
It is therefore important to remember that digitalization is not a well-formulated IT strategy only reserved for the management team. Digitalization is a cultural shift that requires restructuring at all levels and levels of the business. If you fail to create a culture of willingness to change, you also fail to extract the benefits that technology provides.
Digitalization projects or digitalization initiatives will therefore always carry a certain risk of not being successful. It is the organizations that manage to change the mold and forge at the right time, that reap visible benefits from their digitalization and that become pioneers and role models for others. They win the public's favor and become leading market players in their field.
Do you want to become a digitalization pioneer and start digital transformation in your business? We not only operate with the latest technology on the market, we also have skilled business developers and project managers who take care of all the underlying processes that must be in place for the digitalization initiatives at our customers to be a success.
Is your business continuing with product development or are you in the starting pit for purchasing new off-the-shelf products? We have people and complete teams who have the expertise, tools and methods required to achieve a well-functioning product development or a successful product implementation. In the spirit of digitalization, we are concerned that our deliveries should have a customer focus, both in terms of product and process.
Good luck with the digitalization in your workplace!
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