Meet The New Analyst Covering Digital Business & Strategy: William Dahlgren
What Topics Will You Be Covering At Forrester?
I will be part of the Digital Business & Strategy (DB&S) service at Forrester and will focus on topics such as digital strategy and metrics across industries. I will help build out the service alongside my great colleagues in DB&S. Given that I’m based in our newly opened Stockholm office, I will also bring a Nordic perspective to support our nearby clients and share local best practices with our global clients. As the Nordics are ahead in areas such as digital payments, digital retail, and sustainability, to name a few, I hope this will inspire and help our global clients get ahead. A few of the areas in DB&S I hope to explore further are:
- How to build an effective digital team and how distributed digital teams can overcome geographical challenges in virtual teams.
- Digital metrics and how to successfully measure digital impact across organizations in different sectors.
- The impact that digitalization has on environmental sustainability for organizations.
- The future of work with digital capabilities.
Tell Us About You!
I have a background in mechanical engineering (MSc) and business (BA) with experience in consulting and enterprise digital transformation projects. I live in Stockholm, Sweden (or “the capital of Scandinavia,” though my Norwegian or Danish friends might disagree).
I’m the type of sportsperson that enjoys pretty much every sport with balls or other flying objects. As many of my country(wo)men, I love traveling both to warm and cold places and preferably in combination with activities such as diving or skiing. I truly cherish having family and friends living nearby and very much enjoy spending time with them, more often than not on the golf course during the few months when the Swedish weather allows it.
How’d You Get Interested In Digital?
First of all, who isn’t? I mean, it’s sort of like saying that you don’t like air.
Everything that isn’t digital yet is either going digital or is dependent on digital in one way or another. As a Millennial, I have grown up during the digital revolution and must think long and hard to remember a life without having a map on the phone to find the best restaurant in town.
There are so many opportunities and challenges in the digital domain, and to have the possibility to work at the forefront with Forrester and to help our clients make bold decisions to succeed in this ever-changing environment is thrilling.
What’s The Most Interesting Digital Trend You’re Tracking Right Now?
I think that I can’t settle on just one — so allow me to pick two.
Firstly, I have an insatiable interest in understanding the global challenges that we’re facing in terms of global warming and injustices (most of them captured in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals). This has led me to spend a lot of time researching how each and every one of us can contribute.
For me, one of the most interesting areas is how digitalization can contribute to a more sustainable world. The topic is huge, and so are the opportunities. Just imagine how digitalization allowed each and every one of us to work remotely during the pandemic and how the mindset has switched from office work to anywhere work — or how global supply chains can be visualized on your phone and potentially optimized just as easily.
Secondly, I think the topic around anywhere work is very interesting and very controversial right now. Even if there are some advantages to office-based work, it is obvious that we are moving in the direction of working from anywhere. But how will this play out for professions such as manufacturers, hospital employees, and store employees who are required to be physically present? I think this will be a challenge for organizations to wrestle with: having parts of the organization with the freedom of anywhere work and the other part having to be present at the office, store, or hospital.
I look forward to connecting with you via inquiry, advisory, guidance, or briefing sessions!