Raktim Singh
Infosys | Thought Leader In Digital Transformation, Metaverse, Web3.0

I have been working in the software industry for more than 25 years. Though many times, I was able to understand technology and the benefits of the latest technology, but many of my friends/relatives (who are from non-technology background), were finding it tough to understand the benefits of technology.

Especially, after the introduction of the Internet, smart phones, digital media, smart wearables…there were always 3 questions

  1. This technology is not for me.
  2. This technology will destroy human generation and takeaway jobs.
  3. We have already seen similar things in the past and this will not work.

According to me, technology is always an enabler & technology is always neutral. But unless, an individual understands technology in a simple way, it can bring doubts/apprehension in the mind of the common person.

Also, according to me, it’s the responsibility of people working in the technology sector, who are really expert in this field, to explain technology & it’s benefit to the common person.

‘Can I explain Digital Transformation to the common person’.

Keeping that as an aim in mind, I had written the book ‘DRIVING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION’. This book in English was a huge success. It’s an AMAZON best seller & has been sold in more than 20 countries.

Following the vast reach that my first book, I got innumerable feedback from various students, universities and SMEs requesting a Hindi version of the same.

Considering the increasing demand, I have now launched the Hindi edition of this book. This is the first book in Hindi on digital transformation that aims at helping all aspiring entrepreneurs, businesses and students to understand the concept of digital transformation.

Tell us about your journey as a writer?
During my childhood, I used to speak a lot on stage and participated in various seminars. I used to speak on various relevant topics. And for those speeches, I prepared the material, on my own. That was my first attempt at writing. For those speeches, I used to do a lot of ideation/research/discussions with other people. During my IIT BHU days, also, I participated in various debate competitions. I believe that all these activities have created a good foundation for me in terms of being a writer and speaker.
What inspired you to write this book.

I have been working in the software industry for more than 25 years. Though many times, I was able to understand technology and the benefits of the latest technology, but many of my friends/relatives (who are from non-technology background), were finding it tough to understand the benefits of technology.

Especially, after the introduction of the Internet, smart phones, digital media, smart wearables…there were always 3 questions

  1. This technology is not for me.
  2. This technology will destroy human generation and takeaway jobs.
  3. We have already seen similar things in the past and this will not work.

According to me, technology is always an enabler & technology is always neutral. But unless, an individual understands technology in a simple way, it can bring doubts/apprehension in the mind of the common person.

Also, according to me, it’s the responsibility of people working in the technology sector, who are really expert in this field, to explain technology & it’s benefit to the common person.

‘Can I explain Digital Transformation to the common person’.

Keeping that as an aim in mind, I had written the book ‘DRIVING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION’. This book in English was a huge success. It’s an AMAZON best seller & has been sold in more than 20 countries.

Following the vast reach that my first book, I got innumerable feedback from various students, universities and SMEs requesting a Hindi version of the same.

Considering the increasing demand, I have now launched the Hindi edition of this book. This is the first book in Hindi on digital transformation that aims at helping all aspiring entrepreneurs, businesses and students to understand the concept of digital transformation.

Tell us more about the book & how this book will help our readers, which includes many business owners.

In my opinion, we do business transformation to provide a digital experience to the customer. Our ‘What’ part has remained the same, but ‘How’ part has changed. For example, we are still watching movies, reading books, ordering groceries. But now we watch movies on Netflix, read books on Kindle, order grocery through Amazon. So now FAAAN (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, Netflix) are providing us true digital experience, that is you are able to consume these services (Watching movie, reading book.) at any time, any place, anywhere. Also, they provide totally personalized experience. I call this as ‘Digital Experience’
So, Digital Transformation consists of four aspects:

1. Understanding the true meaning of digital experience and applying this in your context.
2.Understanding the cultural mindset and ground realties of your organizations
– Why digital transformation fails at many other companies.
– You need to solve these WISE problems, before you embark on transformation journey.

WISE
W – Know your WHY. Why your company exists & what value, it wants to provide to customer in long run.
I –   Integration with the ecosystem.
S –   Silos in the organization.
E –   Environment and Cultural aspect.

3.Understanding new technologies and using them properly to transform the business process around us. Don’t run behind each shiny object. You need to properly understand, which technology to use and why?
According to me, you need to apply ACID formula

A – Artificial Intelligence,

C – Cloud

I – Internet of things

D – Data

4.Understanding Digital Anthropology, to change your mindset and subconscious mind. First, we see what we like, later we start liking whatever is shown to us. To future proof digital transformation, we need to understand our sub-conscious mind and digital anthropology play a key role here. Also, to execute this transformation journey, one need to create a Learning Organization & have an Agile Mindset.
This book explains in detail, all these concepts with examples from day-to-day life.

Each concept, be it related to technology like Artificial Intelligence or the ‘Importance of Environment & Culture ‘or ‘Digital Anthropology’ is explained in a very lucid way, with lot of examples. The book contains more than 51 examples.

Based on your corporate experience of 26 years, what messages, you will want to give to our readers.

I believe that we all need to understand the importance of soft skills as that plays a major role in your corporate journey. Though we learn many technical skills as part of our education, we also need to develop soft skills. These are the main soft skills, which one should have. I call this SCALE model.

  1. Self-awareness
  2. Collaboration
  3. Articulation Skills
  4. Learnability
  5. Empathy


Self-awareness: This is the most important thing. Many of us, just don’t know about ourselves.
From day 1, we work on what our parents advised, the school taught or what our friends were doing. Though this helped in gaining important lessons, but finally, it’s you & only you, who knows about yourself. Sadly, many times, we are taught, how a computer works. But, we don’t know, how our own mind works. Assuming that your age is 40 years then it means, you have spent around 3.5 lakh hours ( 40 years*364 days*24 hours). Out of these, your parents, teachers, managers would have spent around 50,000 hours with you. So you are in the best position, to know the details about yourself. What you really like to do (and not what, your friends are doing)  How you cleared your exams or for that matter any other test (really by learning or taking shortcuts). how many times you were telling the truth in a difficult situation, how many times, you genuinely helped someone else, without expecting anything in return. Other, external persons (your parents, teachers, coach.) can help/guide you, up-to an extent. But remember, it’s you, who is sleeping/breathing with yourself for the last 40 years.  Once you know, what are your strong points, what are the areas which you don’t like/not good at, activities, which give you the real kick…. You can now take the ‘correct help’ from others.
Collaboration: Taking the first point further, now that you know, what are your strong points & in which areas, you need help.
One should be ready to collaborate with others, who can help you with their complementary skills. This also means, sharing the credit of a successful project with others. Also, one should be able to share his weak points /vulnerabilities with others.

Articulation skills: You may be having lot of ideas/thoughts/point of view, but are you able to express that properly.
Can you express your thoughts, in a manner, with which other can relate? In a discussion, depending upon the audience, context & duration, can you express your idea/POV in 2 minutes or 30 minutes.

Learnability: ‘Learn, how to unlearn & re-learn new things.’. We are living in exciting times. But this also means that we should be able to learn & be ready to adapt to new things.

Empathy: Are you able to relate, to what your peer/co-workers are going through & curate your conversation/behaviour accordingly.  

What are your hobbies?
I read lot of books, almost one book per week. I love travelling & exploring new places. Also, I am an avid movie watcher. It amazes me how, various directors/writers could think of a grand movie, with its rich, colourful, beautiful sets, mesmerizing characters & surprising events & sub-plots. Here, one is almost able to create a new world through these movies.
 
What next from Raktim Singh.

I am writing a book on Metaverse & WEB3.0. The book title is ‘Metaverse and WEB3 for Business transformation’. It is expected to be released in JUNE 2022.

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