Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation

by George Westerman, Didier Bonnet, Andrew McAfee

Overview

Become a Digital Master—No Matter What Business You’re In

If you think the phrase “going digital” is only relevant for industries like tech, media, and entertainment—think again. In fact, mobile, analytics, social media, sensors, and cloud computing have already fundamentally changed the entire business landscape as we know it—including your industry. The problem is that most accounts of digital in business focus on Silicon Valley stars and tech start-ups. But what about the other 90-plus percent of the economy?

In Leading Digital, authors George Westerman, Didier Bonnet, and Andrew McAfee highlight how large companies in traditional industries—from finance to manufacturing to pharmaceuticals—are using digital to gain strategic advantage. They illuminate the principles and practices that lead to successful digital transformation. Based on a study of more than four hundred global firms, including Asian Paints, Burberry, Caesars Entertainment, Codelco, Lloyds Banking Group, Nike, and Pernod Ricard, the book shows what it takes to become a Digital Master. It explains successful transformation in a clear, two-part framework: where to invest in digital capabilities, and how to lead the transformation. Within these parts, you’ll learn:

• How to engage better with your customers
• How to digitally enhance operations
• How to create a digital vision
• How to govern your digital activities

The book also includes an extensive step-by-step transformation playbook for leaders to follow.

Leading Digital is the must-have guide to help your organization survive and thrive in the new, digitally powered, global economy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781625272478
Publisher:	Harvard Business Review Press
Publication date:	10/14/2014
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

George Westerman is a Research Scientist in the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. His research and teaching help senior executives drive competitive advantage with digital technology. He is coauthor of two award-winning books: The Real Business of IT (2009) and IT Risk (2007).

Didier Bonnet is a Senior Vice President at Capgemini Consulting, where he serves as Global Practice Leader and heads Capgemini Consulting’s Digital Transformation program. He has more than twenty-five years’ experience in strategy, internet economics, globalization, and business transformation for large corporations.

Andrew McAfee is Co-Director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. He has also held appointments at Harvard Business School and Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. In 2008, McAfee was named number 38 on the Ziff Davis list of the “100 Most Influential People in IT.” He was also named one of the fifty most influential people in business IT, by Baseline Magazine. He is coauthor of The Second Machine Age (2014) and Race Against the Machine (2011), and the author of Enterprise 2.0 (2009).

Table of Contents

Introduction: Are You Ready? 1

1 What Is Digital Mastery? 9

Part I Building Digital Capabilities

2 Creating a Compelling Customer Experience 29

3 Exploiting the Power of Core Operations 47

4 Reinventing Business Models 73

Part II Building Leadership Capabilities

5 Crafting Your Digital Vision 97

6 Engaging the Organization at Scale 115

7 Governing the Transformation 133

8 Building Technology Leadership Capabilities 153

Part III Back at the Office: Leader's Playbook for Digital Transformation

9 Framing the Digital Challenge 175

10 Focusing Investment 189

11 Mobilizing the Organization 209

12 Sustaining the Digital Transformation 225

Epilogue: You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet 245

Appendix: Digital Mastery Self-Assessment 251

Notes 255

Index 275

Acknowledgments 287

About the Authors 291

Editorial Reviews

“This is not simply a book for digital-only companies, but rather a book for all companies who want to learn to amplify revenue figures via digital channels.” — 800 CEO READ

ADVANCE PRAISE for Leading Digital:

Pete Blackshaw, Global Head of Digital and Social Media, Nestlé—
“Successful transformation of your organization to digital doesn’t just happen—you need to lead it. Leading Digital shows the key elements and processes that have made Digital Masters out of companies around the globe, in many different industries, not just high-tech. A must-read.”

Michael Tushman, professor, Harvard Business School; coauthor, Winning Through Innovation—
“The days when senior executives could delegate technology issues to their technology people are over. Digital leadership capability is essential to thriving in a world of fast-changing technologies. Westerman, Bonnet, and McAfee provide a clear and readable guidebook to help any leader or manager play an effective role in turning technology challenges into transformation opportunities, both now and in the future.”

Joe Tucci, Chairman and CEO, EMC Corp.—
“To stay relevant in this new, always-connected digital universe, businesses in virtually every industry are reinventing their business models for unprecedented customer access, interaction, speed, and scale. Leading Digital shows how transformative companies are navigating this disruptive era successfully—and why others are falling behind.”

Pierre Pringuet, Vice Chairman of the Board and CEO, Pernod Ricard—
“Leading Digital provides comprehensive, fact-based insights into how multinational companies can leverage digital technology to transform their businesses’ performance. In this book, the authors provide not only the inspiration, but also the practical guidance required for CEOs to successfully navigate this complex transformation.”

Erik Brynjolfsson, professor, MIT Sloan School; Director, MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy; and coauthor, The Second Machine Age—
“Technologies—whether based on stone, steel, or software—are tools. They deliver results only when wielded effectively. Westerman, Bonnet, and McAfee’s careful and insightful research reveals the patterns common to the most effective leaders of the digital revolution and shows how they are using digital technologies to deliver impressive results.”

Charlene Li, founder and CEO, Altimeter Group; author, Open Leadership; and coauthor, Groundswell—
“Digital is no longer the responsibility of a few tech-savvy executives—in the age of digital customers, it needs to be the responsibility of every leader in the organization. Leading Digital provides a blueprint for digital transformation.”

From the Publisher