McKinsey just published this article (by James M. Manyika, Roger P. Roberts, and Kara L. Sprague with contributions by Jacques Bughin, Michael Chui, Tony Huie, Brad Johnson, Markus Löffler, and Suman Prasad) on emerging technology trends that can help transform markets and businesses. Their bottom line advice is that “Executives should learn to shape the outcome (of their strategies) rather than just react to it.” Indeed, technology is the great enabler of process, and the two (well-combined) can help people deliver on outcomes. The desired outcomes are shaped by corporate strategy, goals, and overall mission – not to mention by variable compensation!
Also have a look at our blog on Gartner's IT imperatives here.
Here are McKinsey's Eight to Watch:
(For further reading, I’ve put links – to amazon.com – at the end of each one)
MANAGING RELATIONSHIPS
1. “Distributing co-creation” – despite the awkward moniker, this is about your ecosystem: customers, suppliers, channel partners, consultants and specialists helping to shape the creation of products, services, and experiences.
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom
Open Business Models: How to Thrive in the New Innovation Landscape
The Wisdom of Crowds
Democratizing Innovation
2. Using customers as innovators – I used to be on the Customer Advisory Board at Hyperion. While meetings were usually b*tch-sessions, once people’s product issues were out of the way, customers came up with some great new features that helped solve real-world business problems.
The Future of Competition: Co-Creating Unique Value with Customers
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything
3. Tapping into a world of talent – companies really need to start paying serious attention to ‘human resource’ levers which really drive the business. Attracting and retaining the right people in the right position should be the top priority, even if the talent is off-shore, contracted, free-agent, or virtual. Have a look at our earlier blog entries: The most important driver of value,
and Key Performance Indicators for Human Resources
The Rise of the Creative Class: And How It's Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life
Free Agent Nation: How America's New Independent Workers Are Transforming the Way We Live
4. Extracting more value from interactions – this is one of the key precepts of eXtended Performance Management: taking all of those interactions (transactional data) and looking for patterns, analyzing cause-and-effect relationships, modeling possible outcomes, and building rules and drivers based on that knowledge into your strategy, plans and forecasts.
McKinsey Quarterly 2005 #4: The Next revolution in Interactions,China's Labor Shortage,Much More
The Future of Work: How the New Order of Business Will Shape Your Organization, Your Management Style and Your Life
MANAGING CAPITAL AND ASSETS
5. Expanding the frontiers of automation – interconnecting systems & processes, RFID, enterprise “mash-ups,” Wikis, social networks, and so on. One of the reasons performance management systems have gained so much traction is that the technology really is starting to come together. Many of the foundations and standards are now in place (ERP, HTML, XML, TCP/IP, Java, .Net, etc.), allowing business to focus on the business use of technology.
For example, as I said on Seth Grimes’ blog: “..since MISO (Microsoft, IBM, SAP, Oracle) recently acquired BI + CPM technologies (ProClarity, Cognos, BOBJ/Cartesis, Hyperion) we would see a further blending/melding of BI with performance management capabilities such as budgeting/planning/forecasting, enterprise reporting, financial & operational modeling, scorecards, etc. And even tighter integration with transactional systems.”
Out of the Box: Strategies for Achieving Profits Today & Growth Tomorrow Through Web Services
RFID and Beyond: Growing Your Business Through Real World Awareness
Enterprise Architecture As Strategy: Creating a Foundation for Business Execution
6. Unbundling production form delivery – I guess this is an example of distributing co-creation (#1 above) it includes shared services, infrastructure re-use, and generally making your assets available for external use.
Service Orient or Be Doomed!: How Service Orientation Will Change Your Business
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) Compass: Business Value, Planning, and Enterprise Roadmap (The developerWorks Series)
LEVERAGING INFORMATION IN NEW WAYS
7. Putting more science into management – couldn’t agree more! Have a look at our Periodic Table of Business.
Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning
Word of Mouse: The Marketing Power of Collaborative Filtering
Experimentation Matters: Unlocking the Potential of New Technologies for Innovation
Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder
8. Making businesses from information – I think this needs its own blog entry!
Performance Dashboards: Measuring, Monitoring, and Managing Your Business
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century
Information Rules: A Strategic Guide to the Network Economy
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