How to Be More Digitally Savvy

Ilustrasi Pendidikan Vokasi di Era Digital (Foto: Luis Llerena)

The disruption of digital technology to business is accelerating rapidly and happening with or without your participation. Your white-collar career is increasingly dependant on you using online technologies to collaborate and get things done faster.

While most people view digital transformation as installing more technology at work, what often gets ignored is the required "upgrade" of people who use these tools.

Having a digital mindset is not just about adapting faster to new technology. It is the development of your soft skills to:

As well as other skills that simply make you a better human being.

Technology will continue to automate more and more jobs, so your only hope is to become more human. It's the primary way to stay relevant and contribute value in the future.

After over fifteen years working in digital media, including helping launch Zalora and Setipe.com, I have summarized four things I believe you should understand to help initiate you to a future that relies more and more heavily on digital technology.

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1. Understand what technology is

Technology is nothing but tools we create to make things more efficient and effective. For example, the wheel was created so that we can transport heavier things more efficiently and effectively.

This definition of technology continues to be true in the Internet era as we experience the explosion of online products and services. Online technology more specifically is a focus on the tools that connect people more efficiently and effectively.

What is the effect of people interacting better? Elimination of waste, the optimization of resources and improvements in service delivery.

Once you provide tools that help people solve problems amongst themselves, you're in a position to create more scalable business models, i.e. software that can generate exponential revenues without exponential costs.

This is the reason why Go-Jek is valued higher than Blue Bird without owning their own fleet.

Why Traveloka is bigger than Panorama Tours without owning any physical outlets, and also why Setipe.com is responsible for more marriages than any offline matchmaking service.

2. Attention is the new currency

The free flow of communication and availability of seemingly infinite content has reduced attention spans to near zero. It is easier than ever to reach customers, but it has become harder to keep them engaged.

Everybody demands personal recognition from public figures, including brands. They complain directly via social media and expect an immediate, personalized response. They feel entitled to better, cheaper, faster and more satisfaction without the wait time.

Despite all of this, one thing hasn't changed: the power of trust that comes from fostering personal relationships.

Would you trust a person more if they had helped you selflessly in the past? Conversely, if someone you just met started selling you something, how would you feel?

What is social media but the amplification of one-to-one relationships? Online technology allows you to interact with more people at the same time. It hasn't changed the rules of engagement though so you still need to build trust and offer value beyond what you're selling.

Your ability to communicate, empathize and solve problems cannot be understated. It highlights the importance of leveraging human-centric design to create differentiation with your competition.

You can always grab someone's attention by offering a unique experience but you can only keep their attention by delivering remarkable experiences.

Razi Thalib. (Foto: Facebook/@Razi Thalib)

3. Improve your soft skills

I split professional skills into two categories: hard and soft skills.

Hard skills are the technical capabilities that are relevant to a type of job or profession. For example: knowing a programming language, the ability to use a design tool or your knowledge of grammar.

Soft skills, on the other hand, are those that can enhance every aspect of your life. For example, your ability to make good decisions, think critically and problem-solve under pressure.

As a professional, you need both skills, but with learning tools becoming increasingly accessible, soft skills become the difference maker. If you are a fast learner, seek knowledge proactively and are good at prioritizing your time, you can draw from the infinite pool of knowledge that is available online.

When I was hiring at Setipe.com, especially early on, I was more interested in a candidate's soft skills than what they could do technically. Starting a business is perilous and fluid. Team members with the ability to learn fast, adapt on the fly and lead others are at a premium.

4. Online ideas are inspired by offline processes

Online services mimic offline experiences. The main difference is data, which is to say that, online, you can track everything.

Consider an online shop like Zalora: it recreates the fashion retail experience with the convenience of being able to do so anytime and any place. For instance, opening a product page on a website is the online version of picking up the item at a store to decide whether or not to buy.

As the shop owner, the main benefit is that you can track the behavior of your customers. You know how many times each product is "picked up" and how well it converts to a sale. You can imagine that with enough data it becomes easier to prioritize highly converting products to the front of the shop!

Consider also the journey of using a service like Setipe.com. It replicates the experience of asking someone you trust to set you up with a potential match. Setipe.com is like your friend, who happens to be a socially well-connected psychologist who so desperately wants to matchmake you with someone.

The benefit of a software matchmaker is that it can consider more matchmaking data points and reach out to a larger pool of people.

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Digital transformation starts with people and the ability to optimize available technology. The goal is to solve existing problems with better solutions. The key is your development.

Activating a digital mindset requires you to ask smart questions, be an active listener, assume nothing and learn from actually building something. It's important to experiment and learn from actual results.

You have unlimited access to learn and grow. You either take advantage of this opportunity or lose to someone who does.

The question is, after reading this are you encouraged to dedicate more time to taking online courses or are you going to spend more nights watching Netflix?