Transform at speed: Run business at a smart sprint
November 29, 2018
November 29, 2018
Digital is upending businesses. Industry lines are evaporating. New competitors arise. Traditional companies need to do far more than just try to survive. Many have cut costs to just stay in business but have not ignited growth. To thrive, companies need to be able to flex, to have competitive agility. They need to pursue new ways to increase margin and fund investments that will drive new growth.
Ninety-one percent of zero-based budgeting (ZBB) programs have met or exceeded their targets.
To drive new growth, look to what companies born in the digital era—and some progressive traditional companies—are doing. They are disrupting themselves. They know where their businesses need to go and are investing in new capabilities. At the same time, they are delivering returns to shareholders. For example, some leading companies are reducing payroll costs while adding needed skills to better meet customers’ needs. How? By developing their future adaptive workforce, including harnessing automation and AI. As transactional, repetitive tasks are pushed to machines, these companies are elevating humans through reskilling and an adaptive workforce. Another example is companies that are partnering with their ecosystems to be asset-light and cost-efficient, while offering to customers new capabilities and services.
Successful businesses are bridging today and tomorrow. They know how to keep the core business strong and efficient while making informed investment decisions about the right capabilities to create new revenue streams. They are making a “Wise Pivot” to growth.
The digital age calls for a new approach to organizational change that enables companies to make a Wise Pivot to their new businesses.
Companies need to do three things, all while maintaining an attractive ROI for investors:
Every business has different needs and is at a unique stage of maturity, so there is no single blueprint for next steps. However, the leaders will be the ones that transform existing businesses while decisively expanding into new businesses. They will make a Wise Pivot by identifying and scaling new growth areas at pace to not only survive, but also thrive.