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The opening sentence of the book, "digital transformation is not about technology; it's about change. And it is not a matter of if, but a question of when and how." Organisations are not great at transforming, and the book includes six key questions that help organisations "course correct". Additionally, there are self-assessments at the end of every chapter to help guide areas of focus. These questions are carefully crafted based on the experience of the authors Peter Weill and Stephanie L. Woerner, both MIT digital research leaders. They conducted fifty-plus workshops for C-level executive teams and surveyed 334 enterprises. In the workshops, they noticed that the higher the threat of digital disruption, the more radical the change would need to be and this was exceptionally challenging for people within the enterprise as they struggled to make decisions. The book simplifies the complexity of what businesses can transform; their research concludes on two critical dimensions of change being; getting closer to end customers and moving from supplier models to digital ecosystems. The organisations that have achieved both outperformed their average industry profitability by 25%. The Digital Business Model framework is introduced early on (page 8) and continues to be referred to throughout; it will be necessary for any organisation to determine if they are a (% of organisations align to this with the research); Ecosystem driver (31%) Omni channel (18%) Supplier (18%) Modular producers 15%. What can your organisation do to compete in a digital economy? Another insightful gem, with at least one or more of three capabilities: Content, products and information Customer experience, multi-channel and multi-product Digitised platforms, internal and external. How? By mastering these through; Refreshing and enriching content, new sources of revenues will be driven Superior customer experiences, creating cross seeking opportunities resulting in increased revenue per customer Digitised platforms to enable economies of scale for better margins. Not all business will be affected equally. The research indicates that large enterprises with more than $7 billion in revenues have the most to lose; executives estimate that an average of 46% of their revenues is under threat. Why? Due to their hefty profits and inability to change rapidly. Small businesses are very effective at digital disruption as they create strong customer connections with their end customers, and partner well with other companies and suppliers. There are sensible suggestions based on research for an organisation that is starting to transform. They should strive to understand better what their end customers want and seek to create value through a coordinated network of enterprises and customers. The engagement of customers will change from a place to "a space" and rethinking is required; Establish how owns the customer internally, which area manages multi experiences? It will not be who manages the product Processes, how can these be automated to be self-service and seamless across channels Accessibility to customer data organisation-wide, data improves decision making. Customer mobile engagement is essential; organisations that focused on this and achieved their goals had net margins and revenue growth of 5.5% and 6.1%. If the points extracted are not sufficiently compelling or there is uncertainty on what to do? Consider what makes your enterprise distinctive, and how will you become your customers first choice in that distinctive space? What are your "crown jewels" within your business? How can these be made into digitised services? What would be the consequences of your enterprise not doing this? There are some great insights sprinkled across the book - What success have organisations had? "Some enterprises have moved significantly up the vertical axis by rethinking their customers and remaking their organisation to reflect the changed relationship." How do we win in a plug and play product market? To survive, they must be one of the best producers of their core activity. How to thrive? Innovate ensuring they offer the best option at the right price. Every enterprise is to consider becoming an ecosystem driver for at least some of their best customers. Enterprises who are ecosystem drivers will likely consolidate industries. Those enterprises that were in the top third of a digital customer experience had 8.5% high net profit margins and 7.8% higher revenue growth than their competitors. Industry analysis of content, customer experience and platform found that in the financial services industry the top third of economic performers had 29% - 35% - 26% better content – customer experience – platform scores. The IT and Services industry had the highest industry scores and energy, mining and health care scored poorly. Board members believe digital disruption as a significant threat, estimating that 32% of revenues could be impacted in the next five years. However, only 39% of board members recalled specifically discussing digitisation and the consequences for their enterprise business model. The future outlook considers things such as; the Internet of Things (IoT) with an estimated business market of $11.1 trillion by 2025 and with companies investing $6 trillion globally. Those enterprises that succeed in this area have a higher probability of moving their business model towards ecosystems. Some manufacturers have made significant commitments to IoT and generate between 60% to 90% of their revenues from new products and services introduced in the last three years. A closing thought for every organisation how "ambidextrous" are you? Are you innovating and cutting costs, often using money saved to fund the innovation? The book contains an abundance of great advice with enterprise case studies that can help you start now. Finally, if you ever have the opportunity to see Peter present his research, it's well worth attending.

In March 2018 I spent a week at IMD in Switzerland completing a joint IMD and MIT program; “Driving Strategic Innovation”. A memorable afternoon was spent on the topic of differentiation and here are my rough notes. When assessing your differentiation from your competitors, be careful not to look at the differentiation now, as this can change quickly in a digital world. Consider if or how your differentiation can be sustained? Applying traditional frameworks is outdated. A digital context now needs to be considered and a framework developed by Duncan Simester at MIT can help. Some parts of the framework may seem obvious; however, they should not be glanced over, it is important to asses each component of differentiation before determining the action. Einstein was reported to have said that if he only had one hour to solve a problem, he would spend 55 minutes defining the problem and the remaining five minutes solving it. Annual strategy cycles are outdated and being in a state of action frenzy of “working in” rather “on your business” is also not the answer. Strive for a greater consciousness to think more regularly "on" your business and the market, there are six factors to assess. Cost Advantages Before considering if you need to be at the lowest cost, you need to determine is this critical? If you can differentiate, you may not need to be at the lowest cost. A cost advantage is important in markets where there are no other sources of differentiation. Is being the lowest cost sustainable? Brand Differentiation Brands are different in different markets. Customers can now search for differentiation. If there is differentiation, it is based on the actual product or service and not the brand itself. Relationships Relationships are a common source of competitive advantage. Upstream and downstream, from suppliers to distributors, retailers or customers. Some of these are co-owned, some exclusive (like the rights to something) and the strongest is control. What are your relationships? Who ultimately has control? Human capital Human capital is possibly one of the most overrated resources; it is also one of the most dangerous. Success sometimes is attributed to people and not circumstances. Sometimes markets are entered early, and there is success, can this be scaled? Also is your market narrow and success has been sustained as it is narrow? Factors beyond human capital must always be considered. Switching costs Switching costs are possibly the most undervalued resource and are the area I found rather interesting. There was a control study of two retailers who contacted their competitors most loyal customers. Those competitors who targeting a retailers own customers made customers more loyal to that retailer by driving up sales of their product. Switching costs are about the the ease of doing business. Ease of ordering and transacting make customers more sticky. The one-off switch that requires a big effort can lock customers in. So if a customer decides to switch this could make them stick around for a while, You want a sticky group of customers, also you want your competitor to have a sticky group as this can help alleviate price competition. Your greatest risk in this scenario is a new entrant at a lower price. Market share Market share can represent past differentiation and may also represent future differentiation. Can the past make it easier to satisfy future customers? If there is a “switching cost” then past market might be a strategic resource in the future. Some further anecdotes: The extent of a positive external network that is used by others and for you to interact effectively with them you have little or no choice but to align Strength of a brands past can drive future success; however, this probably needs to be supported by an expert endorsement. Picture is of David Charles Fine (MIT) and Bill Fischer (IMD).

Guy Kawasaki has learned from those who have participated and contributed to industry defining shifts. He was at Apple twice in his career and is now sought by organisations to assist how they will evolve and potentially disrupt. Guy is forthright with his views and offers sharp insights: ‘I am 58 now and two-thirds dead; why should I be concerned about what people think’. Here is what I have learned from attending several of Guy’s keynotes. Make meaning rather than money When clarifying your meaning, it should achieve at least one of these three factors: Increase the quality of life Right a wrong Prevent the end of something good. When considering changing, avoid taking action until you find meaning. Then, check to see if at least one of the three above factors is the meaning behind the action. Make a mantra There are too many MBAs in the world, i.e. people who have their Masters of Business Administration. These smart people make organisations complex, and this is always a risk in any large organisation. Use life and learning from others to simplify your education. What is your mantra in a maximum of three words? Refine the mantra to become a compelling sense of purpose. Jump to the next curve Avoid iterating, always aim to be at least ten times better, and think completely differently. Build products and services you love that have true meaning. Who has the best ideas? We have seen people under the age of 30 who are trying to solve a personal problem. Generally, this is something that really annoys them. Consider Uber, which was put together after the founders couldn’t get a late-night taxi in Paris. Don’t be afraid of polarising people and standing up for something you believe in. Sometimes, this results in people loving what you are doing, while others dislike it. Aim to avoid neutrality and indifference. Find soulmates, your band of brothers and sisters, as these people will pick you up when you are down! Remember that Jobs had the Woz, Gates had Paul Allen, and Google was founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin. Roll the dice Aim to be different and remembered. Consider that Reef’s ‘Fanning Sandal’ has a bottle opener on the sole; after you see it, you won’t forget it. Ensure the product and service is intelligent and think laterally; Mercedes Benz cars release a loud noise just before an accident because a louder noise is coming, so it protects your ears. Think of the three Es: End-to-end of your product and services Empowering the user; Apple achieves this across multiple devices and the App store Elegance, such as the Herman Miller chair, which looks great and is super comfortable. Start from the bottom Avoid falling into the common trap of segmenting populations, calculating future revenue of only a % of the population and converting this to profit. Consider how you weave your ‘MAT’: Milestones; for example, the design or shipping of a product is a milestone, whereas setting up an office is not. Avoid being distracted by the mundane. Basically, milestones are something you would tell everyone! Assumptions need to be made. Consider sales efforts (calls and meetings), ROI, installation costs and anything else that contributes to the achievement of milestones. Tasks are different to assumptions. What activities are undertaken for the assumptions to meet the milestones? Become a storyteller regarding how you started, what you are doing and where you are going! Don’t be perfect and iterate Not everything has to be perfect; if you don’t cringe when you look back at the first version of something, then it hasn’t been shaped fast enough. Be prepared to iterate quickly – version 1.1, 1.2 or 2.0. Let 100 flowers blossom You are unable to control what people will use, so avoid limiting your breadth. Apple only exists today due to its publishing software, which kept Macs selling in the early days. What Apple didn’t realise at the time was that their spreadsheets and other software weren’t the key and wouldn’t be. Be prepared to do a lot of things; throw it at the wall and see what sticks. Value and Uniqueness Consider two matrices: value and uniqueness. There’s no point being unique without value, as nobody will be interested. Having value without uniqueness equals competition and reducing margins. When value and uniqueness intersect, businesses endure and margins can be maintained and increased. Nail your pitch; I pitch, therefore I am Steve Jobs was potentially the world’s greatest ever pitcher. Did Jobs create great products, or was he great at telling you that you needed the product? Guy thinks it is the latter. When pitching, customise your introduction, use pictures and think locally and personally about those attending. Connect with people rather than target populations. Supporting materials? Great pitches have a formula of 10 slides for 20 minutes with 30-point font, nothing smaller. Steve Jobs only used 200-point font. Don’t let the bozos grind you down Be careful who you listen to and ‘inoculate yourself from bozos’. Guy explains that bozos are people who continue with what that they have always done, achieving the same ordinary results. In addition, be careful of those who have been successful once; sometimes people get lucky and are not smart. Finally, Guy ends by saying: ‘let’s pity those who are neither lucky or smart’.

Jacob Morgan is the author of the “The Employee Experience Advantage”, the book was possibly inspired by his questions to many C-level executives: ‘if your culture was a pill, would you take it?’ Almost all answered no. His early research established that those companies that potentially have a ‘take-able’ pill appoint managers who truly want others to be more successful than they are. Further, these organisations have a coordinated one-team approach to: Culture Technology Space. This approach creates an Employee Experience Advantage (EEA). Jacob furthered this research with a team of data scientists reviewing companies on published ‘best’ lists. Some organisations appeared on these lists at least and up to forty times; they all embodied an EEA, in addition to benefiting from: Being three times more profitable Having 40% less turnover Having 24% less employees to revenue when compared to similar organisations. These organisations focused on some consistent themes across their vision, mission and values: Reason for being: interestingly, all organisations had no reference to being profitable nor unrealistic aspirations These organisations did have a genuine reason of being that rallied employees to consider their impact on and role in the broader community People in ‘positions of power’ cared about others: ‘people people’ were appointed to senior roles with very little or no emphasis on technical competency All organisations know their people well through the use of data tracking people-related metrics and genuine dialogue (not spooky thou) They think like a lab and less like a factory. When I met Jacob in mid-2017, he emphasised that discretionary employee efforts is a result of two factors; their employee experience and the organisation taking an active role in creating a meaningful future.

Walter Isaascon collated the history of the technology industry into a series of short stories in his book “The Innovators”. Here are some insights into how we can realise the potential of people, technology and business. Encourage diversity of thought Ada Lovelace (1815 to 1857), daughter of the great English poet Byron, was, in the early 1800s, the first person to document a computer software program as an algorithm (wow! Just wow!). For Ada, learning was exceptionally important. She was tutored by Charles Babbage, who was paid by the British Government to explore technical hardware. Ada was inspired, explored what could be achieved on the hardware, and developed ‘software’ language. Ada’s mother sought to balance her creative side, which was passed on from her father, with some mathematics, and this was Babbage’s role. Sadly, Ada passed away at 36, the same age as her father, who was a Luddite. Byron spoke of the risks of change and actively resisted change, whereas Ada challenged this and encouraged diversity of thought. Technology reduces costs and enhances capability Technology through innovation improves capability at reduced cost. The first prototype chip for the Apollo guidance computer cost $1,000, and, by the time it was in regular use, it cost $20. The average cost for a microchip in a missile in 1962 was $50, and by 1968 this was $2, which then encouraged the development of the microchip market for devices for ordinary consumers. Sensible timing and a structured approach can reduce costs and create possibilities; in this regard, business cases generally make sense. Processing power will accelerate exponentially ‘Moore’s Law’ is that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit will double every two years. This was as much a prediction as a self-fulfilling prophecy, with the industry setting this as a goal in the second half of the twentieth century. Moore’s Law is forecast to end around 2020, as other emerging technologies are expected to redefine possibilities. Strive for greater diversity with flexibility Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard managed three shifts of workers (many with women) through flexible working patterns in the 1950's. The role of women and their key role within the technology industry has been a key component for the industry. The workers were given plenty of leeway for determining how to accomplish objectives and for applying diversity of thought. Management hierarchies were flattened when merged with this flexible approach. Diversity of thought with flexibility will contribute to result in great outcomes. Casual connections spark ideas Robert Noyce, nicknamed ‘the Mayor of Silicon Valley’, developed a more open and unstructured workplace after working in a rigid hierarchy. He was a key initiator of the ‘Californian lifestyle of work’. His objective was to enable ideas to be sparked, dissented to, refined, and applied without ‘people having to go up through a chain of command’. The ‘Mayor’ created a true meritocracy by empowering employees, resulting in them being more entrepreneurial. Ideas must be combined with business skills Innovation from engineering talent must be combined early with business skills so as to set the world aflame. Many good ideas simply remain good ideas due to a lack of diversity of thought. Einstein once said that ‘intuition is nothing but the outcome of earlier intellectual experience’. People should strive to take insights from multiple sources and put them together. For example, there are ideas from the ‘hippie movement’ that helped define Silicon Valley: Authority should be questioned Hierarchies should be circumvented Non-conformity should be admired Creativity should be nurtured. Be rational but decisive Innovation requires some decisiveness that is not based on emotion, personal favouritism or whim but rather on a rational and precise analysis of options. By analysis, decisions can then be respected. People may disagree, but with a process that is crisp, clean and fair, they are more likely to accept decisions. Endeavour to avoid significant ambiguity when ideas are being formulated and seek to refine ideas and assess them. Simply smart The greatest creativity has come from those who have connected the arts and sciences. For example, people like Steve Jobs believed that beauty mattered. True geniuses such as Kepler, Newton, Einstein, and Jobs had an instinct for simplicity. Many of us are smart, but can we be simple? Simplicity allows you potentially to reach the largest audience. Divergence delays potential The internet and the PC were both born in the 1970s, but they grew separately from one another. There was a difference in mindset between ‘networkers’ and those ‘excited by the PC’. Tim Berners Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, who tinkered with various technologies that were not as successful as the WWW, stated: ‘We didn’t have the same ripe community and cultural mix around us like Homebrew and Silicon Valley’. New ideas occur when random notions mix together until they coalesce. As Tim explains, ‘they may not fit well, and then we go for a bike ride or something, and it’s better’. Exercise the mind as well as the body. Connect your experts In January 1994, there was only 700 websites, but, by the end of the year, there were 10,000, and then 100,000 by the end of 1995. In 1997, John Barger produced a fun website called ‘The First Blog’. By 2014, there would be 847 MILLION blogs. This was achieved in the way that most digital tools get commandeered for social purposes, evolving into communities. Connected communities can disrupt industries. Encyclopaedia Britannica stopped publishing a print edition in 2010 and now represents less than 2% of the content of Wikipedia, which began in 2001. With Wikipedia, people were initially concerned about the lack of experts; however, the crowd became the experts, sharing, critiquing and correcting knowledge. Who are your experts and how connected are they? Structure creative collaboration Creativity is a collaborative process. Innovation comes from teams more often than the light-bulb moments of geniuses. Innovation requires at least three things: A great idea The engineering talent to execute it Business savvy and the deal-making capability to turn it into a successful product. The best innovators are communities ‘who can link beauty to engineering, humanity to technology and poetry to processes’. Visionaries must be partnered with those that can execute; a vision without execution is a mere hallucination.