Digital Mindset as a success factor

New study shows the business-related and economic potential of a digital mindset

Woman looking at the logo of ONESTOPTRANSFORMATION.
2020 - a year of upheavals and radical changes. The onset of the Corona crisis has put the society to the test. Deficits and potential areas of development in the German economy were clearly revealed. After all, the goal of digitisation is still a long way off. This unsparing truth does not stop at any industry or company and is resistant to any superficial and short-sighted digitisation measures. In order to successfully master these challenges, a long-term rethink is needed and therefore the ability of each individual to cope with the digital change. The foundation for this is the expansion of the digital mindset based on six personal mindset characteristics. The potential of the digital mindset is by no means abstract. They are tangible and economically measurable. A study by ONESTOPTRANSFORMATION offers a comprehensive insight into this topic in the context of a sector-specific investigation

Effects of the Digital Mindset on commercial value creation

The digital mindset is much more than a "nice to have" feature: According to the results of the study, the digital mindset is a critical success factor for the future viability of companies. The two mindset characteristics openness & agility as well as proactivity & entrepreneurial action orientation are of special importance here. Both dimensions show a considerable positive influence on the success of the company. The value creation potential per mindset dimension over a period of 8 years for German SMEs amounts € 5.44 billion for the mindset dimension openness & agility and € 6.80 billion for proactivity & entrepreneurial action orientation. Furthermore, an increasing development of both mindset dimensions shows a positive effect on the willingness of companies to develop new digital business models.

Positive correlation of the digital mindset with the employees

According to the empirical findings, all six mindset dimensions have a significantly positive influence on the factor "employment development" and thus on the innovative strength and sustainability of companies. Positive interdependencies are also evident in a consideration of job satisfaction. Particularly noticeable in this context are the dimensions creativity & motivation to shape and open-mindedness in dealing with failure. Thus, a 20 percent increase in job satisfaction is expected along with a growing development of both mindset characteristics.

Forecast: Towards innovation and sustainability with a digital mindset

Based on the central findings of the study, companies and decision makers are nevertheless faced with the central question of "how": How can individuals, teams or entire organisations be aligned for success-critical tasks? Where do the individual employees actually stand and how do you design their path to the target mindset? The key to success lies in individual learning. This is where the strong contrast between traditional and novel approaches is evident. As opposed to the classic scattergun approach, the learning of the future will increasingly focus on the individual. Based on a scientifically valid location analysis of the digital mindset of individual employees, personalised learning paths can be developed. This individuality is also reflected in the way the learning content is recorded. The employee must be enabled to integrate the learning content into everyday life in an optimal way. The generation of positive experience values of the individuum during the whole learning process is also achieved by avoiding excessive demands and complexity. At this point, the micro learning approach proves to be particularly effective.
In dealing with rapid change, the individuals can ultimately decide in what way the change is to be disputed. One can focus on deficits or on chances and potentials. The Corona crisis, for example, confronts society with major challenges, but at the same time it also offers the opportunity for re-orientation. With the expansion of the digital mindset, individuals and organisations now have the opportunity to cast off the role of passive spectators and become active shapers of the future.
About the author: Onestoptransformation AG from Nuremberg, Germany supports its customers in the four business areas Diagnostics, Academy, Recruiting and Consulting in the development of employee potential with regard to the needs of the digital working world. The starting point are individual results from the Digital Competence Indicator (DCI), a specially developed, scientifically valid analysis tool that forms the basis of the terminal-independent online platform Mindset Indicator Academy (MIA). Recruitment and consulting services complement the portfolio of Onestoptransformation.

Keywords: Knowledge, Digitization, Digital Mindset, Personal development, Study

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