What to do when the C Suite doesn't engage with Digital

Does your organisation have an executive board that fails to grasp the changing tide of digital transformation? Do the senior people at the top of your organisation still either ignore or just pay lip-service to the need to evolve people and processes into the 21st Century? (Note: It is much harder to get buy-in from a company board who think they are already implementing online technologies and practices, when in reality what they are actually doing is bolting digital onto what they currently do or just "updating our website")

If your C Suite isn't fully engaged with Digital, here's some suggestions to help move things forward and into the 21st Century.

1. Deliver quick wins Nothing impresses like delivering upon a promise you have made. No matter how small the actual task (a microsite that taps into a new market, an online marketing campaign that builds acquisition in a novel way, a website change that your Finance Director has wanted for ages) they all go a long way to showing just how little things can mean a lot. 
2. Have an implementation plan It's one thing to have a 'wishlist', it's another to have a 'roadmap' of when these things will eventually move online and it's a different matter entirely to have a plan of when these different initiatives will be delivered. Even if things change (e.g. other dependent project don't land when they should) you should still keep your digital implementation plan up to date. 
3. Understand how much it costs and what benefits you want to achieve It may be that you need to build a value model for the complete Digital business transformation, or it could be that you just need to build one or more business cases for the roadmap of major improvements you want to deliver. Either way, work out the cost and the return that digital change will bring to your organisation. 
4. Be clear on what you want from your execs Whether you need wider business direction, clarification on key deliverables or feedback on your ideas, get the input of the senior team. After all, they haven't just been put there, they probably earned their position through effort, innovation or understanding of what to do next. You may find that a few clear explanations on what you want and how you plan to improve things may be sufficient to get the buy-in you need.