Cambridge Business Association
Fast Times
Book

Fast Times

How Digital Winners Set Direction, Learn, and Adapt

Peter Dahlstrom, Klemens Hjartar, Florian Wunderlich and Arun Arora
Amazon Publishing, 2020
First Edition: 2020
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8

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Recommendation

How can your business achieve a successful digital transformation? In this book, the authors – all McKinsey consultants – offer wisdom and practical advice about what really matters for injecting speed into digital transformations. These aspects include understanding where speed really comes from, and building it into the entire organization. The authors emphasize the importance of clear direction, relentless learning, enabling tech and data, and going all out for top talent. The result is a clear call to action for CEOs not to go fast, but to build speed.

Summary

In the digital age, being first wins. Speed and scale comes from building a workforce that constantly learns and adapts. ​​​​​​

Firms that fail to develop learning cultures change too slowly. They may embark on a digital transformation journey but in a manner that is too sedate. These organizations face disruption at the hands of faster-moving firms.

Virtually every company across all industries will either digitize or fail. Their leaders tend to understand this imperative but underestimate the scope of the challenge and the level of commitment required. To succeed, firms must first strategize. Determine where you add value: your competitive advantage. Having thought carefully about your direction, invest far more in technology, talent and acquisitions, and at a far faster pace than the average firm. Revamp your talent management practices related to hiring, re-skilling and deploying the people you need to transform. Organize top talent into small, agile teams that experiment and learn quickly and constantly.

Speed results from slowing down enough to set a strategic direction toward where the next wave of value will be...

About the Authors

McKinsey consultants Arun Arora, Peter Dahlstrom, Klemens Hjartar and Florian Wunderlich create and manage digital transformation projects for organizations worldwide.

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