Digital Transformation Game Plan

Foreword

Change, change, change. For as many years as I’ve been working in the industry (which is sliding past 50 now), pundits have talked about change and the need to respond appropriately. Is the next decade different or more of the same? My vote is for different. Klaus Schwab, author of The Fourth Industrial Revolution, seems to agree:

The speed of current breakthroughs has no historical precedent. When compared with previous industrial revolutions, the Fourth is evolving at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Moreover, it is disrupting almost every industry in every country. And the breadth and depth of these changes herald the transformation of entire systems of production, management, and governance.¹

According to Schwab, there have been four stages so far in this industrial revolution:

• The age of mechanical production

• The age of science and mass production

• The digital revolution

• The age of technology transformation

Each of these ages caused major disruptions to businesses, government, and other institutions. What can we learn from these disruptions? First, big changes are inevitable, and they usually happen fast. Many institutions don’t survive the change. Surviving and thriving requires the ability to adapt, and often a bit of luck. As the authors of this book point out, “around half of the current S&P 500 members will be replaced over the next 10 years.” So let’s make a broad-brush assumption that 50% of today’s organizations don’t thrive (and might ...