Future ready: The four pathways to capturing digital value by Stephanie Woerner, Peter Weill, and Ina Sebastian.
Stephanie is director and a research scientist at the Center for Information Systems Research (CISR) at the MIT Sloan School of Management. She holds a PhD in Organizational Behavior from Stanford. She has done presentations and workshops for top management teams and boards of large global firms, been a subject matter expert for the Wall Street Journal CEO Council, and moderated a number of panels, including one on the future of financial services for the Federal Reserve.
Peter is professor of Information Systems Research at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and chairman emeritus of the MIT CISR. He holds a PhD in Philosophy from NYU. He has also published in MIT Sloan Management Review, Harvard Business Review, the Wall Street Journal, and academic outlets. Ziff Davis recognized Weill as #24 of “The Top 100 Most Influential People in IT” and the highest-ranked academic.
Ina is a research scientist at the MIT CISR. She holds a PhDs in International Management from the University of Hawaii and is published in MIT Sloan Management Review, Management Information Systems Quarterly Executive, and academic outlets.
So, can you create a future-ready organization? Seems to be the hot topic in the new ChatGPT age of AI. Stephanie, Peter, and Ina are indeed addressing the real world of Schneider Electric’s IoT growth, CEMEX, WeChat, or even Fidelity Investments. Each has made a successful digital transformation to become as future ready as Amazon Web Services.
Do you remember….
If your organization is still not onboard then quite simply, your long term viability is at stake. Need proof? How about: Pier 1 Imports founded in 1962, Borders (1971), Sports Authority (1987), and even Theranos and Gaker both in 2003. But this also impacted Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (1884) and A&P Supermarket (1859). Do not forget Toys R Us, Compaq, Lord & Taylor, and of course….Blockbuster. Do they have your attention now?
So, does your organization have a playbook to increase value from a digital transformation? Stephanie, Peter and Ina push two goals: digital transformation to ‘speed up’ and eliminate legacy business costs via technology. In fact, they are providing a number of success stories of organizations that have found success. You should take note.
Four Pathways
Your pathway is dependent upon several factors, but your desired competitive position is the most important. So in our current post pandemic marketplace, which will be your best future fit? Perhaps as they note, their previous book: What’s your digital business model?: Six questions to help you build the next-generation enterprise. (link)
Today organizations must understand the four digital business models: Omnichannel, Ecosystem Driver, Supplier, and Modular Producer. Can your organization see overlap here? Many do indeed. So, which is the target for your customer? These are also addressed in Beyond Digital: How Great Leaders Transform Their Organizations and Shape the Future by Paul Leinwand and Mahadeva Matt Mani:
Actually, Stephanie, Peter, and Ina really push the envelope and understand today’s demands. Depending upon your organization’s market, internal culture, and customer they do not waste any time suggesting change as ‘organizational surgery’ to re-fit teams to meet today’s customer experience. This includes standing up new units including sustainability, commercial, operations development, and digital and organization development.
In conclusion, Future ready is certainly a must read for organizations and their leaders. This book is an impressive analysis of how organizations can succeed in driving new value in their digital transformation. Add a slash of AI done correctly and the future is indeed promising regardless of your marketplace.