Business Transformation Requires Transformational Leaders

Information technology innovations produce their biggest effects on businesses that are either too young or too old to stand the jolt to their cultures without stumbling. This kind of culture shock is substantially reduced in "mature" organizations. Indeed, maturity is a hallmark of the resilient organization.

As 1999 ends, it is time to reshape your thinking about technology and business. Consider the facts below.

For most of us, e-mail has become a part of our everyday life. We use e-mail to talk to friends and family, we use it to schedule appointments, and we use it to conduct business communications. In a 1999 Gallup poll, 90% of all large companies, 64% of mid-sized companies, and 42% of small businesses reported that they use e-mail.

It is still virtually impossible to create an accurate worldwide picture of the year-2000 readiness of nations, businesses, and society.

Those who could stand to learn the most from James Gleick's Faster: The Acceleration of Just about Everything are those least likely to read it, let alone learn anything from it.

Finally, there has been a small amount of substantive discussion of the Y2000 problem in the popular media, although most coverage continues to include only simplistic explanations and completely avoids (the dreaded) macroeconomics. Yet despite the media coverage, the public seems increasingly unconcerned about the problem. This summer, a National Science Foundation poll found the American public's concern about possible Y2000 problems was decreasing.

IT organizations turn to outsourcing for any number of reasons, and to fulfill a variety of needs.