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of parts: hyperawareness, informed decision-making,
and fast execution.
Staying aware
Hyperawareness is a company’s ability to detect and
monitor changes in its business environment. Organiza-
tions need to be able to see opportunities and threats as
they emerge. Most companies are only hyperaware about
themselves. Often, they struggle to understand the chang-
ing dynamics within their industries. Much has been writ-
ten about the dangers of organizational complacency, and
this begins with a lack of hyperawareness.
However, hyperawareness is only valuable if the re-
sulting data and information is used
productively. Informed decision-making
is a company’s ability to make the best
decision possible in a given situation. To
do this, data and information must be
analyzed, scaled, packaged and distrib-
uted throughout the organization. Data
transparency, stable IT systems, advanced
analytics and a knowledge sharing culture
play important roles in this capability.
Finally, informed decisions create
value only to the extent that they can
be implemented. Fast execution is a
company’s ability to carry out its plans
quickly and effectively. This is where the
majority of organizations struggle the
most. The capability to execute quickly
requires a willingness to experiment and
a tolerance for failure.
The traditional role of strategy is
dead, but that does not mean that plan-
ning also is obsolete. A set of rolling
short-term operational plans can be even
worse than locking into a long-term objec-
tive. Plans are needed, but they must be
constantly assessed and adapted along
with changes in the environment. In some
cases, they need to be discarded. Apple’s
decision to enter the payments business,
GE’s decision to divest GE Capital, and
Tesla’s movement into battery production
all represent significant shifts in direction
based on a keen understanding of shifting
marketplaces.
In the words of Manulife Financial CIO
Joe Cooper, “Knowledge is a 20th century
differentiator.” In the 21st Century, knowl-
edge about the past is ubiquitous (Google
knows it all), and the future is largely un-
knowable. Thus the ability to be agile – to
sense, decide, and act quickly – will replace
strategy as the key driver of organizational
success in the future.
Michael Wade is the Cisco Chair in
Digital Business Transformation, and
Professor of Innovation and Strategic
Information Management at IMD. His
interests lie at the intersection of strat-
egy, innovation, and digital transforma-
tion. He is Director of the Global Center
for Digital Business Transformation and
co-Director of IMD’s new Leading Digital Business Transfor-
mation program (LDBT) designed for business leaders and
senior managers from all business areas who wish to devel-
op a strategic roadmap for digital business transformation
in their organizations.
IP
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