Business Recoded

SHIFT 6SYZYGY: Recode your transformation

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO TRANSFORM YOUR BUSINESS EFFECTIVELY?

From incremental change to sustained transformation

Syzygy has its origins in the Greek word suzugia, meaning yoked or paired, and became popular in eighteenth-century Latin and English. More generally it means a conjunction or alignment. Synergy is a more modern word derived from it.

Consider how these organisations have reinvented themselves:

• Berkshire Hathaway started as a merger of the Berkshire Spinning Association and Hathaway textile mill. Warren Buffett transformed it into an investment powerhouse.
• Domino's Pizza stands out amongst today's fast food retailers, reinventing itself to offer a digitally centric brand experience that people will pay more for.
• National Geographical grew famous through print. Then it started exploring more instant and immersive media, becoming the most popular brand on Instagram.
• Nintendo was founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi as a playing card company, but was transformed by his grandson Hiroshi into a digital gaming empire.
• Shell was a London shop specialising in exotic shells from Asia before becoming the world's largest oil company, and now seeks to transform itself into clean energy.
• Western Union, once a network of early telegraph companies in the American outback, reinvented itself as the world's largest money transfer service.
• Wipro started in 1945 selling vegetable oil, before diversifying into other products. It is now one of the ...