Change 2 Grow is a non-profit association which has been operating in the corporate sphere for the last two years to help businesses in our country unlock digital transformation. We provide learning tools, discussion forums and meeting venues to tackle the challenge of adapting to today’s world and breakthroughs in information and communication technology to ensure businesses can keep on running and become more competitive.

As a member of the Board of Directors, the ICF furnishes a strategic vision of our business community’s needs by drawing on its expertise in the Catalan economy and its specific financial features. Then as an institution which played a part in setting up C2G, the ICF inspires the project’s mission and objectives. At present it’s helping to ensure that the C2G’s founding purpose is accomplished through rolling out consistent work actions and strands.

We’re leading a number of activity strands which are generating extremely constructive outcomes. They include the Digital Transformation Executive Programme; the Training Tech programme to help launch products and new business models; the Business Breakfasts where we bring along leading experts to give us insight into a topic; our Open Days where in addition to a presentation by an expert we also arrange a visit to a unique venue with outstanding artistic and heritage value; and the C2G Forward sessions at which we host internationally acclaimed speakers in their respective fields who share their outlook on a specific topic. Plus we’ve also run numerous online briefing sessions about current issues which hundreds of people have attended.

Before doing anything specific, the business needs to be mindful of the significance of digitalisation. The first step would be to think about the purpose of their digital transformation. If you don’t set a specific goal, you run the risk of not targeting your efforts properly and missing out on opportunities. Furthermore, embracing digital tools to enhance your current business model and turning your business model into a digital one are two quite different things. Going digital is much more than just using Zoom or having a relatively sophisticated website. Once you’re fully aware of these issues, you then need to painstakingly unpack your operations and your business culture by exploring digital business strategies and models. It’s at this stage when advice becomes crucial.

They are the classic barriers which at all times and in all circumstances stand out against change. As a classic saying has it: “We’ve always done things the same way and they’ve always turned out fine.” There’s a perception that digital transformation comes at a huge cost, which is not necessarily true. In any case, the cost of not doing it may be very high because it can lead to running out of options in an increasingly competitive environment. Another barrier is not being able to figure out how to push a digital transformation process forward. This is where organisations like ours have room to grow. Finally, another major hurdle is that management may not be fully convinced about these issues. In fact, management often plays a pivotal role in digital transformation and if they know what to do, they are the hub which can instil enormous enthusiasm for change right across the organisation.

I firmly believe that it can help a lot. Change 2 Grow’s training programmes include a great deal of practical content. We teach models and methodologies so that people doing the courses can then use them in their own organisations. Tools such as business prototyping, or prototyping new business models, products and services, for example, are very useful for entrepreneurs.
We also describe the special features of conventional businesses in these processes and the things you need to factor in when putting measures in place. Likewise, we present methodologies such as Agile which can be a real game-changer as they bring you speed, adaptability and stability and enable you to successfully deal with uncertainty, such as the situation we’ve seen during the pandemic.

Our guests on our training courses have included companies such as Henkel, which has pushed forward an eShop process in the midst of a pandemic; Innomads, which has rolled out an innovation platform; Ibercaja, which has put in place an Agile model; Fersa, which has made a quantitative and qualitative step change by harnessing digitalisation; and Seat Code, which specialises in selling digital solutions. What these cases have in common is that they have embraced digitalisation with a single-minded approach. They all show that while this process may also have its highs and lows, perseverance coupled with smarts always pays off in the end.

Our milestones have been our everyday accomplishments which have enabled us to grow in stature and flourish as an organisation. And this has been made possible by the support of all the people who believe in us, who I’d like to thank from the bottom of my heart for the faith they have shown in us. I hope they will continue to do so! As for our future challenges, one of course is to keep on in the same way and improve as much as possible. Then at the same time and while keeping the spotlight on digital transformation, I think Change 2 Grow will gradually embrace other transformations taking place today such as the energy transition, sustainability and the circular economy.