Rewired: The McKinsey Guide to Outcompeting in the Age of Digital and AI by Eric Lamarre, Kate Smaje, and Rodney Zemmel.
Rewired is certainly an insightful, addressing strategies organizations must address to successfully adopt AI as part of a digital transformation. The downstream impact cannot be neglected. Organizations will risk their future by not pivoting to AI as the key driver for their existing digital transformation.
There is a well outlined roadmap from McKinsey’s experience across all markets. Recently published (June 2023) this guidance will help organizations still addressing the impact of the pandemic, understand the need to adopt AI and the downstream impact upon their current state business model.
Based upon key insights, Rewired is further outlining that organizations must pivot to simply remain competitive. This is truly a ‘publish or perish’ moment for many organizations regardless of market. Organizations need only look at their competitors already adopting AI. The realization that you are already playing catch up hits home. Or perhaps looking deeper, long time competitors impacted by the pandemic’s economic downturn since 2020 have simply closed their doors.
ChatGPT fueled the watershed moment
So, yes it is an AI publish or perish moment. Not convinced? Perhaps you fail to understand the immense shift in AI adoption fueled by ChatGPT. At the time of this writing ChatGPT has been available for less than 11 months old. Do not ignore the fact that ChatGPT is the fasting adopted digital transformation, faster than Facebook and faster than X. Perhaps the more important question is how long did your organization embrace the web and online services? Think that adoption timeframe is the same for AI? Think again.
Know the AI basics
Rewired is certainly emphasizing the critical task of authoring a clear vision for digital transformation, developing your digital talent, plan transformations effectively, and perhaps most importantly harness the power of your data. This obviously serves as a blueprint for company realignment.
Today a well-defined and well planed actionable vision is certainly mandatory for success. Leadership must author their organization’s digital future. This must be clear, transparent, and easy for the organization to support moving forward. In fact, digital transformation is not about technology, it is actually about the people within each organization who will execute the change. By nurturing the diverse talents, leadership must create learning paths, upskilling, and reskilling programs for employees and themselves.
Digital transformations must be holistic. Confirming adoption by the workforce impacts the organization’s entire business model. There are alignments to Competing in the Age of AI by Marco Iansiti and Karim R. Lakhani
Today this includes needing dedicated teams to manage change. AI is indeed a game changer as it is no longer about introducing ‘new tools’ but actually providing a fundamental update to the core mission of any business. Again, data plays perhaps the most critical role. Identifying the right data, ensuring it can be accessible via new AI services, and standing up a new dynamic data architecture is essential. Governance is crucial to ensure data quality, security, and compliance. However organizations must adopt a data informed culture rather than simply a data-driven one to fully reap the rewards of their data via AI services.
Is your organization Hardwired ?
Aimed squarely at leadership, McKinsey’s guidance for AI and Digital Transformation is in fact, addressed across six comprehensive sections:
- Creating the transformation roadmap: A business-led roadmap is the blueprint for a successful digital and AI transformation
- Building a talent bench: Creating an environment where digital talent thrives
- Adopting a New Operating Model: Rearchitecting your organization and governance to be fast and flexible
- Technology for Speed and Distributed Innovation: Building a technology environment that empowers the entire organization to digitally innovate
- Embedding data everywhere: What it takes to make data easy to consume across the organization
- The Keys to Unlock Adoption and Scaling: How to both get users to adopt your digital solutions and scale those solutions across the enterprise
So, is your organization ready ?
In fact, organizational adoption will be the make or break moment for AI. McKinsey is providing insights to adoption, called an Influence Model In Action. In addition, Rewired is emphasizing the importance of crafting a clear vision for digital transformation, nurturing digital talent, scaling transformations effectively, and harnessing the power of data. This is a blueprint for your organization’s digital and AI realignment.
So, is your organization ready ?
In the digital age, having a well-defined and actionable vision is crucial. Leadership teams should create a shared understanding of the organization’s digital future, making it tangible and easy for the entire organization to rally behind. Striking the right balance between starting small and avoiding overwhelming changes is essential to success.
Digital transformation is not just about technology; it’s also about the people who drive it. Recognizing and nurturing diverse talents within the workforce is vital. In providing custom learning, upskilling /reskilling programs that can empower employees to remain focused upon their primary roles. It’s not just about introducing new tools but reshaping the core way of doing business.
Data plays a pivotal role in the digital era. Identifying key data, making it accessible through data products, and establishing a dynamic data architecture are essential steps. Governance is crucial to ensure data quality, security, and compliance. Organizations should cultivate a data-driven culture to fully harness the power of data.
In conclusion, Rewired offers McKinsey’s guidance in navigating youe organization’s digital transformation. Leaders must who can understand the importance of delivering a clear vision, building talent, scaling transformations, and leveraging data to outcompete in a rapidly evolving digital and AI-driven landscape.