 Do we have to go through digital transformation and I would say you don't have to You don't have to go through digital transformation, but digital transformation is gonna go through you It doesn't matter if you're an SME if you're a large organization if you're a government organization The time is now Professor Lorena. How are you? I'm very good Sabri. How are you? I'm good. Thank you So it's a pleasure to see you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do for equally and ASP So my name is Lorena Padurian. I'm a professor of management and entrepreneurship at Asia School of Business I'm also the associate dean and faculty director for action learning. I was born in Romania And then for a while I lived in Switzerland where I got my PhD and I used to you manage a ski resort believe it or not That was an adventure and then after that I moved to US where I became a professor For a while. I used to teach at the Indian School of Business And then I moved to Kuala Lumpur in 2015 So I've been with ASB since day one. Well done. Well done in the Ekliffe ASB executive education program I was told you are teaching a program called digital transformation. Tell us about this program So I have to say that probably digital transformation is the biggest buzzword of this decade And especially post COVID I think all companies are very much aware of the need for for digital transformation But there's a little bit of a caveat here, which is because it's so new because it's so destructive. I think We have different perspectives on what it is and how to do it So the way we think of digital transformation at ASB, which I think is very unique than in most programs is We think of digital transformation in three stages or three three areas One is strategic Transformation so it has to do a lot with with a leadership and innovation The second one is culture and people and the third one is what we call operational technical transformation And the truth is The more you talk to people who are going through this this process of digital transformation companies that you that you talk to They say that the biggest hurdle is not technology The biggest hurdle is leadership and people So that's what I focus on Well, you must have spent a lot of time researching on the subject matter. Tell me professor What specific business or organizational issues do you hope to help solve by teaching such a program? So I've only become interested in this topic because everybody else is talking about it, right? And I get so many requests to help companies reflect on their transformation journey and I'm not a technical person. This is not a technical program So you're not gonna come to this program and learn cloud or computer languages or anything of that What we would like you to come for this program for is to understand that for any disruption Digital whatever that is you have to first have a mindset transformation So before we are ready for any kind of destructive change this century a century ago, right? we have to go through a people transformation a mentality transformation and One of the biggest hurdles that we have learned in our research when it comes to transformation digitally this case is a lot of mindset rigidity Right way we humans don't like change as much as we like to talk about change We actually don't like change is against our DNA is against our survival instincts. That's right And digital transformation is such a major change that we naturally tend to resist So all these success case studies of companies that I spend time with in in this journey of digital transformation They are successful because at first they focus on these two things leadership transformation and people transformation so I hope that when people come for this program they understand that You can do everything you want if you have the right mindset mm-hmm and Even if and I'll tell you this as an anecdote before COVID I used to go and talk to a lot of people a lot of companies and people and I used to ask them Are you ready for digital transformation? And a lot of these companies would tell me off We're actually doing pretty well without Digital transformation. Do we have to go through digital transformation? Mm-hmm. And I would say you don't have to You don't have to go through digital transformation, but digital transformation is gonna go through you Right because this is a change similar if you want to When we started having internet electricity, right? That's right. It's not something that you can fight So like I said, I really hope that the first the first The program is gonna help people first and foremost in changing their mindsets So is it right to say it is coming to you and for you whether you like it or not It's already there Yes, and even if you're not ready for it, you know, you're gonna face consequences that Unfortunately are going to be dramatic and disruptive. So besides walking away with the right mindset What else do I look forward to learn from your program if I would sign up for it? What kind of skills can I learn from you? Please? so I think one of the things that we've been trying very hard at ASB Eclipse is to Create a very diverse classroom So one of the things we always said and the same thing when we teach at MIT is that the learning experience comes partially from the faculty But it comes a lot from the Type of people you have in the classroom So we are trying to curate the classroom that has a very diverse set of students participants if you want so we can learn from each other because The experience that you have in your company in Malaysia might be very different than the experience I have in my company in Boston or whatever that is So I want to facilitate a Discussion about you know, mindset transformation and disruptive innovation disruptive strategy disruptive leadership But using a lot of the practical experience of each and every one of us in the classroom For those people who might be thinking about signing up for your program. What final words do you have to say to us? Well, I'm gonna say what are you waiting for? You know to be very honest I had a very interesting conversation a few years a few days ago with a leader of a Malaysian Bank who is probably one of the most disruptive Digital leaders I have met in a long time and what she was saying she said it doesn't matter if you're an SME If you're a large organization if you're a government organization The time is now the truth is the time was last year or two years ago But start today today is better than tomorrow. That's right So like I said, what are you waiting for? Let's get transformed together