Adoption
The final phase of Creative Business Transformation refers to both external and internal Adoption.
From an external perspective, Adoption not only means providing a product or service to the market to be consumed but, when successfully undertaken, also leads to the transferral of ownership from designers to users that sets a new bar for success. This new bar for success is the result of internal Adoption as well. Adoption from an internal perspective refers to the assumption of a Creative Business Transformation into a “business as usual” state for the organisation.
For creative leaders, Adoption can be thought of not only as the phase that promotes maximum scalability for the current Creative Business Transformation, but also as the foundation for driving the next Creative Business Transformation.
With that in mind, Creative Business Transformation leaders interviewed by Deloitte Digital and LIONS are using the following strategies to maximise effectiveness now while setting the organisation up for further success later:
1.
Intentionally releasing control of the brand to those willing to experiment with it externally (e.g. media, influencers and the general public)
2.
Setting up dynamic response systems that enable in-the-moment course correction.
In the contemporary environment in which we now operate, consumers can choose what they see and how they interact with a company. As demonstrated in the included case study, rather than struggling with its customers for control, beauty brand Dove is embracing this dynamic by engaging with customers as equals in furthering the brand.
Releasing this control is not without its risks to a brand, but according to CMO Alessandro Manfredi, a Creative Business Transformation like “Real Beauty” is only possible with the engagement of customers who feel as strongly about the mission as Dove. To date, Dove has engaged more than 100 million young people in self-esteem and body confidence education. 15 By integrating processes to listen to and engage with these passionate consumers, Dove can work with them to continuously improve “Real Beauty” in real-time, while keeping lines of communication open for the next big idea.
Compounding cumulative creativity
There is a notion in anthropology that the evolution of human culture is cumulative. That is, a generation of humans will take on products and practices from the generation before it with relatively little loss. What’s more, the newer generation can add their own enhancements before the generation following adopts a practice, then the process continues and culture advances. This concept is called “cultural ratcheting” or “cumulative culture” and it is a uniquely human ability.16
One of the features described in the Adoption phase of Creative Business Transformation is that when a Creative Business Transformation reaches its fullest potential, it results in setting a new bar for organisational success. In anthropological terms, this might be called “organisational ratcheting” or perhaps “cumulative creativity”. Whatever it’s called, the impact is the same. Creative Business Transformation can solve larger and more complex problems, it can generate growth, and it can expand an organisation’s role in its industry and in society.
The human species has come a long way since the multipurpose hand axe was invented millions of years ago. But what has not changed is the power of an individual, armed with an idea, to alter the course of humanity. Using all the tools and ingenuity humankind has produced to this point, the business community has the power to shape the future with what is created today. With a Creative Business Transformation framework as a guide, the responsibility lies with leaders to bring it to life. If culture and creativity are cumulative, then the sooner you start, the sooner you can compound your successes.
Chop-chop.