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Inside Outdoor | Winter 2016 67
Staying aware
Hyperawareness is a company’s ability
to detect and monitor changes in its busi-
ness environment. Organizations need to
be able to see opportunities and threats
as they emerge. Most companies are only
hyperaware about themselves. Often,
they struggle to understand the changing
dynamics within their industries. Much
has been written about the dangers of or-
ganizational complacency, and this begins
with a lack of hyperawareness.
However, hyperawareness is only
valuable if the resulting data and
information is used productively.
Informed decision-making is a com-
pany’s ability to make the best deci-
sion possible in a given situation. To
do this, data and information must be
analyzed, scaled, packaged and dis-
tributed throughout the organization.
Data transparency, stable IT systems,
advanced analytics and a knowledge
sharing culture play important roles in
this capability.
Finally, informed decisions create value
only to the extent that they can be imple-
mented. Fast execution is a company’s
ability to carry out its plans quickly and ef-
fectively. This is where the majority of orga-
nizations struggle the most. The capability
to execute quickly requires a willingness to
experiment and a tolerance for failure.
The traditional role of strategy is
dead, but that does not mean that plan-
ning also is obsolete. A set of rolling
short-term operational plans can be even
worse than locking into a long-term ob-
jective. Plans are needed, but they must
be c nstantl assessed and adapted
along with changes in the environment.
In some cases, they need to be discard-
ed. Apple’s decision to enter the pay-
ments business, GE’s decision to divest
GE Capital, and Tesla’s movement into
battery production all represent signifi-
cant shifts in direction based on a keen
understanding of shifting marketplaces.
In the words of Manulife Financial
CIO Joe Cooper, “Knowledge is a 20th
century differ-
entiator.” In the
21st Century, knowledge about the past
is ubiquitous (Google knows it all), and
the future is largely unknowable. Thus
the ability to be agile – to sense, decide,
and act quickly – will replace strategy
as the key driver of organizational suc-
cess in the future.
Michael Wade is the Cisco Chair in
Digital Business Transformation, and
Professor of Innovation and Strategic
Information Management at IMD. His
interests lie at the intersection of strat-
egy, innovation, and digital transforma-
tion. He is Director of the Global Center
for Digital Business Transformation and
co-Director of IMD’s new Leading Digi-
tal Business Transformation program
(LDBT) designed for business leaders
and senior managers from all business
areas who wish to develop a strategic
roadmap for digital business transfor-
mation in their organizations.