In an ever-shifting world, what does it mean to be a digital-first business? Well last week at the inaugural CMO Series Live Conference, I was fortunate to sit in on my colleague Cam Dobinson discussing AMS's journey with the always-engaging Mary-Anne Russell, Global Managing Director of Marketing & Sales Enablement.

The Need:

• Externally: technology touches all our lives on a daily basis and this is no different for any business, so ensure that you enable your clients from a tech perspective. 
• Internally: listen to the business need of what is really needed. Those driving the business forward should be thinking about technology from the view of what it adds to the bottom line. 

Getting Buy-In:

• Communication throughout the business is key, particularly to key stakeholders. 
• Demonstrate the value the change is bringing. 
• When it comes to your budget, be both strategic and clever with it. It can go a long way. 

Reporting on Change:

• To quote Mary-Anne, "No matter how many times you weigh the pig, it is not getting fatter" - meaning, you can slice and dice it in as many ways you wish, but it isn't all about the way something is measured. Think about what really matters when moving the needle. 
• Mary-Anne made sure there was just one KPI for each team e.g. bid team to get a 60% win rate. 
• Small goals lead to big change. 

Managing Change:

• Undoubtedly the vision for the firm is different to the vision for the team, but you are all pulling in the same direction. 
• The key is to keep on top of it all, show the senior management you are 'on it', communicate even when you don't need to and if leading a team shield them where possible so they can get on with their job. 

Change doesn't happen overnight, particularly when shifting focus to new technologies, but ensure that you have buy-in across the firm and manage everyone's expectations along the way. And as proven with Mary-Anne and AMS, this will ultimately deliver a return on investment!