Thoughts from the Fredman Group CEO Clas Fredman of the challenges in modern high-speed leadership are quite universal. Here is their story, where my vision and dream for the potential of digital leadership realized, as the customer shared my vision. Basically, how the pieces fell in place so perfectly.

The group, directed by its leadership team and board of directors, had a bold strategy plan, where a multidimensional matrix guided the follow-up of strategic initiatives. Every member in the board had a responsibility area, the progress of which was scrutinized in board meetings together with the leadership team.

Discussions regarding the potential of Digital Leadership led the chair of the board Peter Fredman to ponder, if the family-owned business highly regarded for their innovativeness could deploy digitalization to their leadership processes. While the contents of the strategy were top notch, the monitoring was a done in the traditional way: through PowerPoint slides, Excel spreadsheets and emails.

Moving from static strategy work to cloud-based strategy platform

Having found a common ground, it was time to set to work. We began modelling the Fredman Group strategy map on Fingertip’s cloud platform. The process was swift, as the implementation team was visibly excited, the benefits were clear, and Fingertip fit the bill without configuration or customization. As an added bonus, Fingertip is a native Salesforce application, meaning the strategy plan links all the way to operative work as well.

Significant advances from Digital Leadership

“One dashboard gives us a visual cue how different parts of our strategy and implementation progress. Fingertip ties planning together with doing. Now, our strategy is actually a part of our daily work!”

We asked Clas Fredman what benefits Digital Leadership has brought from his point of view:

“Working with strategy is more efficient, continuous and focused than ever before. Fingertip bring all the pieces together: strategy, planning, activities, discussions and decisions. Now, our strategy is actually a part of our daily work!”, says Fredman. “One dashboard gives us a visual cue how different parts of our strategy and implementation progress. Fingertip ties planning together with doing.”

Fredman Group CEO Clas Fredman sees clear benefits in Digital Leadership

According to Fredman, digitizing and documenting decisions is incremental. When the discussion is conducted in context on a digital strategy platform, within a plan or decision, it’s possible to trace back the steps that lead to the decision. “It enables learning from mistakes as well”, says Fredman.

Tips for successful execution of strategy

Involving the entire organization in strategy process with real-time information is essential for successful implementation of the strategy. Additionally, to ensure effective work in the board, the members need visibility into the progress of plans and projects in the organization.

“The board are the owners of the strategy. They also oversee the execution. Our goal is to digitize the high-level management and monitoring to a common platform for the board and leadership team. Fingertip’s interface was a positive surprise. We quickly realized that we should also include the leadership team in our subsidiary. That way they are automatically involved our strategy and use Fingertip in daily work. This automates the adoption and commitment to the strategy, and their progress can also be seen throughout the organization. Everybody has access to the same data, and there’s no need for additional reporting or passing out information.” comments Fredman.

Mobilization of work sets new standards for decision making

“On-the-go processes will become more and more common. Consequently, grounds for decision making need to be constantly available.”

Since fast pace and mobilization have already shaken work life, we need to facilitate asynchronous decision making, which isn’t time-bound and doesn’t require physical presence. “On-the-go processes will become more and more common. Consequently, grounds for decision making need to be constantly available. Strategy implementation cannot hinge on meetings.” says Fredman. “True digitality enables constant examination of strategy and allows it to evolve as the environment changes.”

In the early 2019 I was impressed by Fingertip and Digital Leadership. How boards and leadership teams can be more dynamic through digitalization. Working together with an innovative bunch – the management of Fredman Group – we were able to work wonders.

Fingertip is a pioneer in Digital Leadership. A cloud platform focused on planning, decisions, execution and goals, with real-time collaboration and in-context communication. Book a meeting with the Fingertip team, or reach out to me on LinkedIn, should Digital Leadership resonate with you or your organization