New Challenges Require New Approaches

NEW

RELEASE

—Building on the global success of Digital Vortex, Orchestrating Transformation describes how to successfully execute your organization’s digital transformation.

Company leaders feel the urgency to transform their organizations in the face of digital disruption. New rivals are digitizing whatever can be digitized to attack incumbents’ value chains, gaining market share, eroding margins, and wreaking havoc to the competitive landscape in virtually every industry.

For large and midsized companies, the imperative to transform is clear. How to transform is another matter.

The hard truth is that despite leaders’ best efforts, and billions spent in pursuit of digital transformation, the vast majority of organizational change programs fizzle, falling well short of their expected impacts. Because failed transformation programs put incumbents behind the eight ball in dealing with disruptive competition, organizations can ill-afford for their transformation programs to flop.

With this important new book, Orchestrating Transformation: How to Deliver Winning Performance with a Connected Approach to Change, the team at the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, an IMD and Cisco initiative, set out a new prescription for getting transformation right.

The piecemeal strategies and pilot projects that are hallmarks of conventional transformation programs are hopelessly inadequate for the intricate, sprawling organizational environments found in most companies. Transformation practitioners need a different mindset and a new approach to executing change that can handle the complexity and scale of today’s market leaders. Orchestration—”mobilizing and enabling so as to achieve a desired effect”—paves the way for a new, more holistic view of organizational resources and how they work together to drive change synergistically.

The follow-up to 2016’s award-winning Digital Vortex, Orchestrating Transformation is packed with quantitative and qualitative insights from years of applied research and engagement with executives around the world. A unique and indispensable guide for practitioners, the book moves past traditional change management doctrine to show how a connected approach to change can change everything.

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Praise

“Orchestrating Transformation is an exceptional read for CEOs in this age of frequent technological disruption. You’ll get timeless tools, tactics, and frameworks to help you transform your business and adapt as artificial intelligence and digital technologies reshape your industry.”

Kai-Fu Lee, founder & CEO, Sinovation Ventures

“So, your digital business transformation got stuck? This excellent book shows you the way forward.”

Rolf Dobelli, author of The Art of Thinking Clearly

“The reason many digital transformation programs fail has little to do with ambition and technology. It is mainly about execution.” Read More

Didier Bonnet, co-author, Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation and SVP and global practice lead, digital transformation, Capgemini Consulting

“The reason many digital transformation programs fail has little to do with ambition and technology. It is mainly about execution. Digital transformation, at scale, respects none of the traditional organizational boundaries that we have created. In Orchestrating Transformation, the authors dig deep into the ‘How’ of digital transformation and provide hard-won lessons from many companies’ successes and failures. As we face perpetual cycles of increasingly complex digital change, this book is timely for both practitioners and business leaders who want to turn the odds of transformation in their favor.”

Didier Bonnet, co-author, Leading Digital: Turning Technology into Business Transformation and SVP and global practice lead, digital transformation, Capgemini Consulting

“As I read this book, I found myself nodding in agreement and scribbling down ideas at so many moments that were virtual playbacks of my own experiences as a transformation practitioner at Citi. Orchestrating Transformation is a powerful work that should be on the reading list of any executive serious about executing business transformation for results.”

Amy Radin, author of The Change Maker’s Playbook: How to Seek, Seed and Scale Innovation In Any Company

“A brilliant book! It demonstrates that digital transformation is not only about the tools, but even more importantly, about the means and the strategy. For all of us tasked with making it happen, it provides an excellent methodology based on practical cases.”

Fred Herren, senior vice president of digital and innovation, SGS

“’Digital transformation’ is a process and not a goal in itself. Reading the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation’s new book Orchestrating Transformation is like a déjà vu of what our clients experience day by day. The book gives very practicable and actionable tips on how to deal with the different aspects of transformation.”

Holger Greif, head of digital at PwC Switzerland

Carlos Cordon, author of Strategy is Digital: How Companies Can Use Big Data in the Value Chain

“Orchestrating Transformation is a must-read for executives who are looking for practical tools to succeed in their digital journeys. Based on research and practical experience from IMD’s Global Center for Digital Business Transformation, the book provides the frameworks and capabilities required to succeed in a digital transformation. In the jungle of many books and articles about digital, this book stands out with its down-to-earth approach, based on a wealth of experience and research about failures and successes.”

Carlos Cordon, author of Strategy is Digital: How Companies Can Use Big Data in the Value Chain

Nils Urbach, author of IT Management in the Digital Age

“Orchestrating Transformation focuses on the execution challenge of digital transformation, which is at the core of the struggle in many businesses today. While much has been written about the “why” and “what” of digital business transformation, the authors explicitly address the important and pressing “how” question. I consider this book a great source of inspiration, particularly for practitioners whose job it is to successfully drive digital transformation for their companies.”

Nils Urbach, author of IT Management in the Digital Age

“Orchestrating Transformation is a very timely compendium of frameworks for planning digital transformation and the collective wisdom of many senior executives on how to execute required changes. As digital transformation has no brake pedal, you should read this book to stay on the road to the future of business.” Read More

Rick Watson, author of Electronic Commerce: The Strategic Perspective and J. Rex Fuqua distinguished chair for internet strategy, University of Georgia

“In 1951, Lyons started the digital transformation journey with the first business application. New technologies, such as the internet, mobile phones, and AI, each depressed the digital transformation pedal a bit harder so that now the pace of change challenges nearly every organization. Orchestrating Transformation is a very timely compendium of frameworks for planning digital transformation and the collective wisdom of many senior executives on how to execute required changes. As digital transformation has no brake pedal, you should read this book to stay on the road to the future of business.”

Rick Watson, author of Electronic Commerce: The Strategic Perspective and J. Rex Fuqua distinguished chair for internet strategy, University of Georgia

“Orchestrating Transformation rightfully recognizes that a digital transformation is, in fact, not about ‘digital.’ Instead, it requires all aspects that make up a business to sing in harmony. The book successfully connects realistic digital transformation challenges to a practical, end-to-end approach to deliver results.”

Tom Voskes, CEO of SparkOptimus and author of Make Disruption Work: a CEO Handbook for Digital Transformation

“This book addresses one of the biggest business challenges of our time—digital transformation. The team at the Global Center for Digital Business Transformation addresses the several elements of that challenge in the context of today’s rapidly changing technology and society. A persuasive case has been made on how business leaders can continually reinvent their companies. I find the case studies compelling and the principles vital for business leaders.”

Howard Yu, author of LEAP: How to Thrive in a World Where Everything Can Be Copied

“Orchestrating Transformation is a must-read for those leading digital transformation as well as those trying to understand the enablers of change for an organization at a time when the speed of change and uncertainty are unprecedented. The value of this book is the practical and illustrative way that the authors address transformation challenges, using examples that are relevant and relatable to the managerial challenges faced, whatever the type of organization.” Read More

Charlotte Lindsey-Curtet, director of Digital Transformation, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

“Orchestrating Transformation is an essential read for every leader facing the challenges of developing – and critically executing – a digital strategy. The metaphor of transformation-through-orchestration is a powerful framework for organizing and guiding the process to a successful conclusion. The supporting concepts and tools provide a clear roadmap for implementation.”

Michael Watkins, author of The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“The missing link in digital transformation is neither ‘digital’ nor ‘transformation’ but, rather, detailed insights about how to make the two work together. Orchestrating Transformation goes right to the heart of the managerial issues that can make or break any transformation effort. It blends data-driven business logic with vivid, live illustrations to provide clarity on which choices must be made, why, and how best to do it. The book restores faith in why business research is essential to make business cases relevant.” Read More

Bill Fischer, author of Reinventing Giants: How Chinese Global Competitor Haier Has Changed the Way Big Companies Transform

“Today, we all face the continuous challenge of digital transformation. Orchestrating Transformation provides an actionable and concrete guide to understand how to respond to this challenge through a combination of digital triggers and organizational instruments.” Read More

Antonio Carriero, chief digital officer, Breitling

“The new book Orchestrating Transformation has given me both inspiration and very practical tooling in our own transformation at Rabobank. Transforming an organization is indeed a constant ‘orchestration’ of capabilities, tooling, and, not to forget, culture. Orchestrating Transformation is a great read for everyone responsible for, and involved in, digital transformation.” Read More

Bart Leurs, chief digital transformation officer at Rabobank

“This book is about learning from failure—what everyone is consistently getting wrong about digital transformation, and how to fix it. The authors critically rethink traditional approaches to change management and provide a fresh perspective on transformation. Based on rigorous research and full of interesting, real-life examples, Orchestrating Transformation is a must-read for every manager involved in transformation.” Read More

Anna Drobakha, chief marketing officer at Avito

“In Orchestrating Transformation, the authors provide a score sheet for successfully orchestrating transformation in today’s digital world—covering everything from implementing new processes, strategies, and technologies to company culture, customer relationships, and job skills. In practical steps, this book shows leaders which ‘entangled’ problems to focus on, and then explains how to untangle them to ensure their companies thrive amid our fast-changing times.” Read More

Maciej Kranz, vice president of strategic innovation, Cisco, and author of Building the Internet of Things

“Today’s digital economy, driven by Internet of Things technologies, not only reverberates throughout all industries, but throughout the multilayered interactions of each organization. However, many business leaders and their companies are struggling to adjust to these new realities. Traditional, linear change management practices no longer work. In Orchestrating Transformation, the authors provide a score sheet for successfully orchestrating transformation in today’s digital world—covering everything from implementing new processes, strategies, and technologies to company culture, customer relationships, and job skills. In practical steps, this book shows leaders which “entangled” problems to focus on, and then explains how to untangle them to ensure their companies thrive amid our fast-changing times.”

Maciej Kranz, vice president of strategic innovation, Cisco, and author of Building the Internet of Things

“Business models are expiring faster than ever before across industries, often due to digital disruption. Orchestrating Transformation shows you how to stay relevant in this environment by reimagining company resources and how they can work together to foster organizational change.”

Alexander Osterwalder, co–author, Business Model Generation, and co-founder, Strategyzer

“Orchestrating Transformation breaks down the greatest and most hyped transformation challenge faced by the leadership of any modern business today. In doing so, the authors deliver a clear, pragmatic set of guidelines and tools that anyone serious about succeeding in their digital transformation efforts needs to apply.”

Dominic Weir, chief digital officer, IWC Schaffhausen

How Today’s Market Leaders Can Beat Disruptive Competitors At Their Own Game

Published in 2016, Digital Vortex helps you learn how to use the business models and strategies of startups to your own advantage.

Instead of waiting to be disrupted, you can maximize the value of your existing businesses and move into profitable new ones. Most importantly, you will learn how to build the agility to anticipate threats, sense opportunities, and seize them before your rivals do.

In today’s world there are two paths: navigating to a new digital future, or being engulfed by exponential competitive change. With recommendations backed by research with thousands of senior executives from market leaders and startups alike, this book gives you a compass to chart your own course—to compete with disruptors and win.

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Praise

“Name an industry, and odds are it’s being disrupted by competitors deploying digital technology. Digital Vortex is a research-based look at this phenomenon, as well as a savvy guide to how your company can gain the nimbleness required in this new environment.”

Daniel H. Pink, author, Drive and To Sell Is Human

“If you’re in senior management and still trying to crystallize how digital technologies are going to impact your business, read this book. It unravels the issues and helps you to set a clear path for the future.”

Guy Laurence, CEO, Chelsea Football Club Plus

“‘Digital’ is more than technology; it’s a way of life, and we all need to be prepared to participate. From value vampires to value vacancies, there’s a new world of business strategy that needs to be mastered. Digital Vortex demystifies this next new frontier and… Read More

Bill Fischer, co-author, The Idea Hunter: How to Find the Best Ideas and Make Them Happen, and co-creator, DeepDive innovation methodology

“In Digital Vortex, the author team from Cisco and IMD provides outstanding insight into how digital disruption threatens established companies. Critically, they offer the in-depth, actionable advice leaders need to deal with the inexorable wheel of… Read More

Michael Watkins, author, The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter

“Digital Vortex takes an immensely broad and complicated topic digital disruption and masterfully distills it in a practical and applicable way. If you want to understand disruptive competitors, and what they mean for your company, read this book. Once you do… Read More

J.B. Wood, president & CEO, Technology Services Industry Association, and co-author, B4B: How Technology and Big Data Are Reinventing the Customer-Supplier Relationship

“A comprehensive yet practical blueprint for any organization that aspires to build the foundational capabilities that will enable a resilient digital future.”

Luis Hernandez Echavez, executive vice president, CEMEX

Providing world-leading research and analysis on organizational transformation

Preparing executives to take advantage of digital opportunities – and to manage disruptive threats.

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