The Live Enterprise Model

Authors Jeff Kavanaugh’s and Rafee Tarafdar’s new book, The Live Enterprise, is all about how to create a continuously evolving and learning organization.

They explain that the very nature of organizations has come under pressure. The way we think about experience has changed. Value chains have changed. Decisions are the triggers of the digital economy, the actions that initiate response and provide its shape and direction. Talent has progressed from a cost to be minimized to source of competitive advantage. IT systems are evolving from static processing engines to agents of change. And even change management is changing as well.

In their book, the authors use eight themes to offer guidance on how to change perspective and view the enterprise as a living organization, enabled by technology. Those eight themes are:

Quantum organization
Perceptive experience
Responsive value chain
Intuitive decisions
Hybrid talent
Design to evolve
Digital runway
Micro is the new mega

As they explore each theme, you’ll learn where to focus and what to do differently within your organization. Throughout the book, Kavanaugh and Tarafdar share a rich mix of examples from companies that get it right, as well as cautionary tales.

“The Live Enterprise is a journey, not an event,” they explain. “The model enables the organization to rapidly experiment, learn and scale.”

Today, the authors answered these questions:

How has the coronavirus pandemic challenged businesses’ operating principles?

The coronavirus pandemic accelerated a lot of existing trends and it also revealed perhaps one of the greatest challenges of all, how to be resilient in the face of disruption.

What differentiates the Live Enterprise from other operating models?

The Live Enterprise model is different because it allows good agile principles to be practiced at scale in a large company, not sacrificing the structure and scale needed to be successful while still being flexible and adaptable.

Why is employee experience the next frontier of corporate performance?

For too long customer centricity was put forward as the focus, while employees got second shrift. It's exciting now to see all this focus on employees and on the employee experience, because if they truly are the company's greatest asset, let's treat them that way and equip them so they can serve customers and society more effectively.

How does responsive design make products more valuable to their customers?

Responsive design and computational design are exciting because beyond demographics and even simply personas, tailored individual experiences can be brought out. And so even if it's the same content, the way it's shown to someone is based upon the way they process and their desires and motivations. It could be a numerical, quantitative approach or someone who really looks to references and recommendations. Same content, but presented in a way that makes sense to them.

What is the real value of automating routines?

The real value of automating routines is that the many things that must happen that are rules-based can be done with maximum human intuition and minimum human intervention. This allows people to focus on what's most important, while not losing sight of all the detail and scale that's needed to operate in a large complex enterprise. Again, maximum human intuition, minimum human intervention.

How can companies capitalize on the shift from full-time employees to employees + machines + gig economy?

The modern organization has gone through a profound shift from full-time employees to also having part-time employees, or the gig economy and extreme automation. And the combination of these three groups, full-time employees, gig workers and automation is much like in nature where you have an ecosystem that's evolving and is symbiotic. The key is the work and the job to be done, and then the resources can be fluid to support that.

What important lessons has the COVID-19 pandemic imparted on business?

Although there are many things the pandemic has shown us, three lessons stand out in particular.

First, that resilience is important, not just efficiency.
Second, that it shouldn't take a pandemic for bold, good decisions to happen. Businesses should be able to make those bold decisions, even in the absence of a crisis.
And third, that employees really are your best asset, and it shouldn't take a pandemic to realize this.

What’s the first step anyone could take to start applying your advice tomorrow?

Anyone can adopt Live Enterprise model principles.

First, get connected. Connect what you're doing, your devices, everything.
Second, observe. Get information from all these connections.
Third, make decisions based upon what you observe and do it boldly. Connect, observe, decide.

Kavanaugh is the Vice President and Global Head of the Infosys Knowledge Institute, the research and thought leadership arm of Infosys.

Tarafdar is Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of the Strategic Technology Group at Infosys.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

Comments

A Playbook For Authentic Human Leadership

Julie Averill , the CIO behind lululemon’s rapid growth from $2 billion to $10 billion shares in her new book, Chief Impact Officer , a roadmap for executives and technology leaders navigating today's AI revolution and reveals why authentic human leadership is your competitive advantage. Prior to lululemon, she led omni-channel and digital transformations at Nordstrom and REI, navigating system failures, crises, and the complicated work of integrating technology with business strategy at scale. “Technology doesn’t transform companies. People do,” says Averill. “AI will amplify whatever leadership exists, strong or weak. The goal isn’t to build better workers. It’s to develop better humans who happen to do extraordinary work because you helped them become more capable, more confident, more fully themselves. That’s what this book is about.” In the highly personal Chief Impact Officer , Averill pulls back the curtain on what happens when you try to transform a compan...

How To Work With Difficult Coworkers

Nearly everyone I know has shared a story about a difficult person they’ve encountered in their workplace. Experiencing difficult individuals in the workplace is common. So common that author Amy Gallo identifies eight archetypes , each representing a common type of “difficult” person likely found in most workplaces. “We might lie awake at night worrying, withdraw from work, or react in ways we later regret—rolling our eyes in a meeting, snapping at colleagues, or staying silent when we should speak up,” says Gallo. "Too often we grin and bear it as if we have no choice. Or throw up our hands because one-size-fits-all solutions haven't worked. But you can only endure so much thoughtless, irrational, or malicious behavior—there's your sanity to consider, and your career,” adds Gallo. Fortunately, Gallo shares in her book, Getting Along , practical insights, tools, and techniques for how to get along with each type of difficult co-worker you’ll likely encounter....

Business And Life Lessons My Father Taught Me

I post this every year on or near Father's Day because the business and life lessons my father taught me stay with me forever. What he taught me has served me well--even lessons I learned when I didn't at the time necessarily realize I was learning from him. So, I thank my dad for teaching me the following business and life lessons : Listen - Growing up, I thought my Dad was perhaps shy or quiet. Really, he was just a great listener. I believe that's what made him so wise. He would listen to anyone. Young or old. New acquaintance or friend. Provide - My Dad provided for me. Music lessons. Vacations. Summer camp. Boy Scouts. He gave. He put others' needs first. Today, I find in volunteering likely the same satisfaction he felt when he provided for his family. Educate - My Dad's passion was education. He loved to learn. He loved even more to teach. He lived to help other people learn. In the workplace, providing learning opportunities is one of the most powerful ...

How To Harness Your Experiential Intelligence

“Experiential Intelligence provides a new lens from which to view what makes you, you—and what makes your team and organization unique,” says Soren Kaplan , author of the book, Experiential Intelligence . Kaplan explains that over 100 years ago, we established IQ (Intelligence Quotient) to predict success. Then we explored Emotional Intelligence (EQ), the theory of multiple intelligences, and mindsets that broaden the definition of smarts. “Today, Experiential Intelligence ( XQ ) expands our understanding of what's needed to thrive in a disruptive world. While you can't change the past, your unique experiences and stories contain hidden strengths and untapped potential for the future,” explains Kaplan. Experiential Intelligence is the combination of mindsets, abilities, and know-how gained from your unique life experiences that empowers you to achieve your goals. It allows you to get in touch with the accumulated wisdom and talents you have gained over time through your ...

How To Do Great Work In A Fast-Changing World

Today brings the new book, Effective: How To Do Great Work In A Fast-Changing World , by Melissa Swift . “Effectiveness is where employer and employee interests come together—you want to be great at accomplishing the goals of your job, and your employer wants that too,” explains Swift. “It’s also a place where we can bring together different organizational and developmental thinking to help move people to action.” In the book, Swift, founder of Anthrome Insight , draws on current research and provocative interviews with business and academic leaders to help readers understand how to be amazing in a working world seemingly designed to make us feel incompetent. Each chapter in Effective delivers actionable approaches, enabling readers to improve their daily work life immediately with a paradigm-shifting framework for thriving rather than merely coping in modern professional environments. The book serves professionals at every level of seniority, from e...

The Fundamentals Of Market Engineering

“Most companies don’t fail because their product is substandard. They fail because the market doesn’t understand, care, or believe in what they’re selling,” explains Bruce Cleveland , author of the new book, Market Engineering . He adds that this dilemma is “because somewhere between the product development and the customer, the story got lost, the positioning drifted, or their category was defined by somebody else and the market went to another company.” That means, every year, startups and enterprises pour millions into building world-class products--only to watch them disappear into obscurity. In the book, Silicon Valley veteran Cleveland reveals the discipline behind market-dominating companies like Salesforce, Marketo, and C3 AI. Drawing on decades of experience as an operator, investor, and board member, Cleveland demonstrates how leaders can apply the same rigor to markets that they bring to products. You'll discover how to: Compel markets to come to you instead of c...

Critical Questions To Ask New Hires

In Paul Falcone ’s book, 75 Ways For Managers To Hire, Develop And Keep Great Employees , he recommends asking new employees the following questions 30, 60 and 90 days after they were hired: 30-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Why do you think we selected you as an employee? What do you like about the job and the organization so far? What’s been going well? What are the highlights of your experiences so far? Why? Tell me what you don’t understand about your job and about our organization now that you’ve had a month to roll up your sleeves and get your hands dirty. Have you faced any unforeseen surprises since joining us that you weren’t expecting? 60-Day One-on-One Follow-Up Questions Do you have enough, too much or too little time to do your work? Do you have access to the appropriate tools and resources? Do you feel you have been sufficiently trained in all aspects of your job to perform at a high level? How do you see your job relating to the organization’...

How to Be a Leader – 9 Principles from Dale Carnegie

Today, I welcome thought-leader Nathan Magnuson as guest blogger... Nathan writes : This is it, your first day in a formal leadership role. You’ve worked hard as an individual contributor at one or possibly several organizations. Now management has finally seen fit to promote you into a position as one of their own: a supervisor. You don’t care if your new team is only one person or ten, you’re just excited that now – finally – you will be in charge! Unfortunately the euphoria is short-lived. Almost immediately, you are not only overwhelmed with the responsibilities of a team, but you quickly find that your team members are not as experienced or adroit as you. Some aren’t even as committed. You find yourself having to repeat yourself, send their work back for corrections, and staying late to fill the gap. If something doesn’t change soon, you might just run yourself into the ground. How did something that looked so easy ...

How To Uncover Your Blindspots To Become A Better Leader

What you don't see about yourself can hold you back as a leader. That's typical for many leaders. What we don't see is what we can't see: we have blindspots . Your blindspots prevent you from achieving your greatest success. “It turns out that we're often not great judges of ourselves, even when we think we are. Sometimes we're simply unaware of a behavior or trait that's causing problems,” explains Martin Dubin , author of the new book, Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader . “Bottom line: until we uncover these blindspots, we can't move forward. The good news is that you can learn to do your own blindspotting .” “Most of us understand the idea of blindspots in a general sense—areas we can’t see, to take the term most literally, or places we have gaps that we may not even realize, to be a little more abstract,” says Dubin. “But in the context of this book, I’m defining blindspots quite specifically: They are...

Effective Listening: Do's And Don'ts

Here are some great tips from Michelle Tillis Lederman's book, The 11 Laws of Likability . They are all about: what to do and what not to do to be a leader who's an effective listener : Do : Maintain eye contact Limit your talking Focus on the speaker Ask questions Manage your emotions Listen with your eyes and ears Listen for ideas and opportunities Remain open to the conversation Confirm understanding, paraphrase Give nonverbal messages that you are listening (nod, smile) Ignore distractions Don't : Interrupt Show signs of impatience Judge or argue mentally Multitask during a conversation Project your ideas Think about what to say next Have expectations or preconceived ideas Become defensive or assume you are being attacked Use condescending, aggressive, or closed body language Listen with biases or closed to new ideas Jump to conclusions or finish someone's sentences

Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Search This Blog