After every phase of disruptive technical invention in history, there follows a period of innovation, deployment and value growth at scale. Meanwhile, what many call the Fourth Industrial Revolution is happening now with new digital technologies; this is our Revolution, and it is accelerating. Beyond social, mobile, analytics and cloud computing, technologies like automation and artificial intelligence now have real business impact, with newer technologies such as 5G, nanotechnology, drones and quantum computing rapidly coming to fruition.
Such a wave of digital invention incurs change throughout organizations, from corporate strategies and objectives to business processes and operations details. And a post-pandemic economy adds further complexity to these evolutionary efforts.
To cut through any hype or theory, we have asked switched-on business and technology leaders to tell us what they are really doing and how their companies are actually evolving to create value in an entirely new world. We sought out applicable insights from peers in the business world on how to build the modern business and partake fully of this digital revolution.
Based on our research and expertise, in combination with HFS analysis, we distilled 10 key recommendations to enable organizations to thrive — or even just survive — in these tumultuous times:
1. Don’t panic
(but the status quo is not an option).
2. Make your business anti-fragile
i.e., capable of embracing volatility and disruption.
3. Eat your broccoli
(healthy habits — such as accelerating digital modernization and hunkering down on costs — pay off).
4. Be a mammal, not a dinosaur.
When business “meteors” hit, adaptability means survival.
5. Don’t just build a “digital” strategy.
Technology and business strategies are deeply interconnected; make sure both sides align thoroughly with the company’s overall vision.
6. Embrace the new “why?”
Success metrics are shifting, as are strategic imperatives.
7. New rules of the road can accelerate business.
Changing rules about intellectual property, the sharing economy and cybersecurity should be seen as potential business accelerants.
8. Place your bets on the right tech for the future.
Calibrate the top business functions that need technology investment with degree of technology maturity.
9. Upskill for the modern business.
In the scramble for talent, human as well as technology skills are being sought.
10. Don’t just wish for the future you want.
Take bold action once priorities are clear.
