Business Transformation Requires Transformational Leaders

Successful companies have achieved outstanding performance by incorporating Lean management at the center of their corporate transformations. At the same time, the potential of digital technologies to transform performance has become widely recognized. However, bringing together Lean and digital tends to bring about two conflicting scenarios: companies that realize a radical performance increase of up to 50% or more, or companies that become stuck in situations in which initiatives happen in silos, efforts lack coordination, and success is never achieved. This Executive Update offers guidance on trans­forming companies to digital Lean by developing their Lean capabilities and embedding technological building blocks into their value streams.

Here in Part XII of this ongoing series on artificial intelligence (AI) in the enterprise, we examine findings pertaining to the use cases that organizations in our study viewed as most viable for applying AI.

In this Advisor, the author recommends, based on his personal experience, five key design topics to consider in rolling out scalable robotic process automation solutions. Above all, business stakeholders will expect attention to detail when it comes to robots that operate with live financial, customer, employee, and other corporate data.

In today’s business world, there have been significant changes in two basic dimensions in which companies operate: (1) there is an unparalleled requirement to consider potential extensions to the scope of the business (space); and (2) there is a huge acceleration in the required pace of the business (time). This Advisor explores the forces behind space extension and time acceleration.

Our behavior style is based on other people’s perceptions of us, not on how we see ourselves. There is no good or bad style. We all, unconsciously, seek out others who have a style similar to our own, and we can all tell, again unconsciously, who has such a style and who doesn’t. Having the knowledge to predict the interaction problems we may encounter with other people provides us with a basis for improving the quality of our interactions. This improvement in our “situational awareness” gives us the ability to better control the outcomes of our interactions with others.

Digital technology has a major role to play in the organizations of the future, but in order to reap the full benefits of these new technologies, organizations must continue to evolve on a daily basis. In this Advisor, we identify four strategic imperatives for organizations to consider as they continue on their journey to achieve a new digital norm, in which the focus moves beyond tactical cost reduction or operational enhancement toward the holistic enhancement of value propositions.

We have done reasonably well, evolving the architecture discipline over the last couple of decades to a point where we are generally able to align the architecture foundation’s progress with a system’s progress. However, a system is only one piece in the system of systems: the enterprise, as it evolves over time. We may win the battle in the finite game of a single capability. But do we have the staying power to win in the infinite game that enterprises must play in? That is the key question that this Advisor raises.

This Executive Update describes the Ambidextrous Organization Development Canvas and how it enables management teams to discuss organization development issues in a common language and make decisions on development aims and organization transformation priorities. (Not a Cutter member? For a limited time, you can download your complimentary copy here.)