New global research from over 2,100 leaders reveals a critical execution gap — “digital detachment” — where senior leadership overestimates progress while failing to align culture, data use, and customer-centricity. Although many leaders express confidence and progress is evident, transformation efforts falter without a shared purpose, cultural alignment, and effective data-driven decision-making. The Advisor underscores the urgent need for leaders to shift from acknowledging challenges to taking decisive action that embeds transformation into the organization’s DNA.

With the business analytics market expected to double by 2033, organizations must move beyond descriptive and diagnostic analytics to predictive and prescriptive approaches that enable smarter decision-making, efficiency gains, and strategic agility in an increasingly data-driven world. This Advisor explores the evolving role of business analytics in transforming raw data into actionable insights that drive organizational value.

As businesses navigate the fast-approaching 2030 horizon, executives and boards must confront a complex mix of digital era opportunities and risks. Emerging technologies like AI offer powerful levers for innovation, efficiency, and growth — but they also bring challenges. In this Advisor, Cutter Fellow Noah Barsky looks at effective digital leadership tactics for the next five years.

Orlando, Florida, is leveraging cutting-edge 3D technology to drive economic and community development through one of the world’s most comprehensive regional digital twins. Spanning 800 square miles, the model recreates 40 square miles in high fidelity and is used by the Orlando Economic Partnership to attract businesses to the region. This Advisor looks at this interactive tool, which integrates data on demographics, infrastructure, and amenities, offering immersive experiences via tablets and VR headsets.

In this Advisor, we explore the vital connection between leadership and purpose, using Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as a powerful example. Amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Zelenskyy’s resolve, communication, and ability to inspire unity have rallied Ukrainians and earned global support. We argue that in times of crisis, deeply rooted trust and purpose-driven leadership are essential for resilience and survival.

Cutter Expert Curt Hall explores small language models (SLMs), which are gaining attention for their ability to deliver advanced AI capabilities with lower computational costs than LLMs. Optimized for efficiency, SLMs excel in domain-specific applications like customer service, healthcare, finance, and retail, where real-time processing and reduced resource consumption are key.

This Advisor explores the real-world implementation of a change management office (CMO) and highlights key phases of execution, success metrics, and the challenges organizations face in establishing a CMO. While a well-structured CMO can drive alignment, efficiency, and adoption, overcoming resistance, resource constraints, and operational silos is essential.

In this Advisor, ADL’s Eystein Thanisch, Greg Smith, and Michael Papadopoulos question whether AI will deliver on its promised productivity gains. While GenAI has surged in prominence, real-world efficiency improvements remain elusive. To maximize AI’s potential, leaders must take a strategic, human-centric approach — analyzing how AI can enhance key roles while preserving the professional skills needed to harness it effectively.

This Advisor explores the deep connection between organizational culture, leadership, and power dynamics. It highlights how cultures often develop unintentionally, reinforcing existing leadership behaviors — both good and bad. While many organizations rely on coercive or reward-based power, a shift toward collaborative and participatory leadership fosters adaptability and long-term success.

This Advisor explores how leading companies are advancing AI-driven large world models (LWMs) to enhance robotics and AVs. It examines the efforts of start-ups and tech giants, highlighting their innovations in virtual world simulation, AI training, and real-world applications. While LWMs remain an emerging technology, their rapid development is poised to revolutionize AI-powered automation, decision-making, and interaction in complex environments.

In this Advisor, Cutter Expert San Murugesan reflects on the enduring legacy of Steve Jobs, a visionary innovator who transformed technology and redefined industries. As he would have turned 70 this month, we revisit his pioneering spirit, unconventional leadership, and relentless pursuit of excellence.

This Advisor introduces a practical, scalable, and sustainable data analytics tool developed by the data science team at Sanofi. The tool helped the pharmaceutical manufacturing team transition from reactive modes of data analytics to a proactive approach through prescriptive analytics.

Establishing and maintaining corporate purpose is not limited to grand gestures but is shaped by everyday actions and governance decisions. This Advisor presents five principles that can help organizations guide deliberation about corporate purpose.

Cutter Expert Curt Hall explores the transformative potential of large world models (LWMs), advanced AI systems designed to simulate real-world environments. LWMs use massive datasets to create virtual, 3D representations of the physical world, enabling more accurate and efficient training for robotics and autonomous vehicles (AVs). Their applications include improving navigation, enhancing perception, optimizing obstacle avoidance, and enabling greater autonomy for robots and AVs in complex or hazardous environments.

As this Advisor highlights, purpose is vital for direction and unity. Beyond foundational steps, the ability to say no — empowered refusal — is essential for aligning decisions with organizational identity. By fostering this skill, organizations can ensure their actions consistently reflect their stated values.

This Advisor highlights how AI transforms agri-food supply chains by enhancing forecasting, optimizing processes, and enabling proactive risk mitigation. With AI-powered tools, organizations gain real-time insights for planning, adaptability, and resilience across all stages — readiness, responsiveness, recovery, and adaptability.

This issue of Amplify looks at how leaders can best balance digital era stewardship and growth. That future hinges on strong management in the next five years. Each article addresses the universal question that challenges boards and C-suites: will leaders shape the future, or allow it to define them?

This issue of Amplify looks at how leaders can best balance digital era stewardship and growth. That future hinges on strong management in the next five years. Each article addresses the universal question that challenges boards and C-suites: will leaders shape the future, or allow it to define them?

Arthur D. Little’s Eystein Thanisch, Greg Smith, and Michael Papadopoulos address talent management and career planning by asking, “Someone using AI will replace you, but who will replace them?” Their intriguing piece explores which everyday tasks can be augmented or automated by AI. They extend the discussion by examining skills needed across professions and encourage workplaces to reflect on and assess talent needs. Imagining future workflow, technology needs, and employee composition is an overdue dialogue — especially as AI capabilities accelerate.

Cutter Expert San Murugesan spotlights AI’s worrisome “dark side.” Specifically, he outlines a wide array of concerns related to AI’s inherent complexity, scalability, reliability, and ethical issues. More importantly, Murugesan sets forth a trust framework that can underpin responsible and effective AI design, development, implementation, and application.

Cutter Expert San Murugesan spotlights AI’s worrisome “dark side.” Specifically, he outlines a wide array of concerns related to AI’s inherent complexity, scalability, reliability, and ethical issues. More importantly, Murugesan sets forth a trust framework that can underpin responsible and effective AI design, development, implementation, and application.

Arthur D. Little’s Michael Eiden, Philippe Monnot, Armand Rotaru explore how knowledge graphs (KGs) help connect and extract value from big data. While widely adopted by tech giants, KGs shouldn’t replace relational databases outright; the choice depends on factors like data exploration speed and scalability needs. KGs enable visualizing connections for deeper insights, uncover hidden interdependencies through algorithms, and allow flexible scaling by starting small and expanding over time.

Jeremy Blain offers a thought-provoking demarcation of digital detachment and determination. He identifies the pitfalls of widespread tepid and failed transformation projects in recent years and trumpets the imperative for credible leadership that forges meaningful digital era readiness. The article equips senior executives with the insights they need to ask meaningful questions and take substantive actions to ready their organizations for the decade ahead.

Jeremy Blain offers a thought-provoking demarcation of digital detachment and determination. He identifies the pitfalls of widespread tepid and failed transformation projects in recent years and trumpets the imperative for credible leadership that forges meaningful digital era readiness. The article equips senior executives with the insights they need to ask meaningful questions and take substantive actions to ready their organizations for the decade ahead.

In his article, Noah Barsky explores the criticality of financial insight and responsibility. Timely and timeless financial acumen is as crucial as ever in the digital era, as it can quickly reveal which enterprises are, in reality, only technologies in search of a sustainable business model. Despite the fluid and fleeting lexicon of business buzzwords, leaders of well-run organizations honor fiscal stewardship, deliver competitive returns, and communicate with clarity and candor.