In this chapter, Howard goes beyond the buzzword to explain what digital transformation really means. He outlines the 3 main stages of the business applications of digital—first communications, then ecommerce, and now digitally driven. Digitally driven means that a company is aggressively creating products and customer experiences that take full advantage of the potential of digital, in the process becoming a business that would probably be impossible outside of the digital world.

This chapter reviews some examples of digital leaders today, demonstrating that these titans are not just digitally adept, but rather are centrally reliant on digital experiences for their consumer value proposition and business model. This brings Howard to his message to legacy businesses, which is that to be digitally driven like Zipcar and Skype, a "transformation" is required. And while this transformation is often painful, it may just be imperative.