[Book Sip] How the World's Top Companies Prepare for the Future: 'Beyond Digital'

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of the book itself, while others instantly resonate with the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We excerpt and introduce such meaningful sentences from the book. - Editor's note

Jeff Bezos of Amazon said, "I am often asked, 'How will the world change in 10 years?' But I am rarely asked, 'What will not change in 10 years?' I firmly believe the latter question is more important because you can build strategies around things that do not change over time." PwC, the world's largest consulting firm, which studied 12 global companies that succeeded in digital transformation over three years, poses a new question about the competitiveness of companies leading the post-digital future through this book. The answer found from these 12 global companies was simple: technology alone cannot ensure survival. You must base your strategy on 'things that do not easily change' to focus on what is most important to achieve your goals. The core principles of leadership in the beyond digital era provide concrete guidelines for all CEOs and practitioners who are contemplating how to secure sustainable competitive advantages and create new corporate value.

Various trends that formed the foundation of Inditex's integrated online and offline platform strategy accelerated further due to COVID-19. In June 2020, Zara announced it would accelerate and expand its digital transformation. Over the next two years, it plans to invest 1 billion euros to strengthen its online business by adopting advanced technology solutions and 1.7 billion euros to upgrade its integrated store platform. Additionally, more than 1,000 small stores that are not optimized to provide this new customer experience will be consolidated. Pablo Isla, Chairman of Zara, said, "The most important goal is to accelerate the full adoption of integrated stores based on the principle of providing customers with seamless service anytime, anywhere, regardless of time, place, or device."_p.33

We evaluate whether our organization has what it takes to become an enabler in the ecosystem as a platform provider, orchestrator, integrator, or innovation partner. Excellence is required across various capability areas, including building and managing a trusted platform, technological innovation, value management, partnership management, and trusted governance. Managing a high level of volatility requires significant investment and unwavering determination. While there are many opinions about the conditions necessary to become the next Amazon, Uber, or Airbnb, it is important to remember that these companies endured years without profit while continuously investing heavily to achieve the minimum scale required to be recognized platforms._pp.111-112

One of the fundamental organizational changes in Microsoft's transformation was the innovation of its global commercial business. This was a substantial effort. Over several months, 70 executives and about 400 senior managers developed the strategy and announced it in February 2017. This strategy fundamentally changed how Microsoft's commercial division launched products. It focused on transformation in five key areas to provide the right resources to the right customers at the right time, enabling Microsoft to support customers' digital transformation and expand the use of its solutions._p.187

Beyond Digital | Paul Leinwand & Mahadeva Matt Mani | Translated by PwC Consulting | Maeil Business Newspaper | 334 pages | 20,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.