Authored by Subbu Iyer & Siddharth Patel
What kind of existence offers nothing to look forward to? For the last 150 years, we’ve been trapped in a cycle of monotony, occasionally interrupted by disasters. Now, we find ourselves on the brink of an existential crisis across all aspects of life, yet life goes on as if nothing is amiss. Even the discussions surrounding the new normal post-Covid have diminished. The prioritization of commerce over human life has shaped and influenced every individual in every society. We are charging ahead with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Agentic Frameworks without addressing the fundamental causes of intelligence. We are not prioritizing learning as a key driver of intelligence, nor are we leveraging the advancements of digital technologies to forge something new. Is this really the future we can embrace?
We need to ensure that technological advancements are effectively utilized, stemming from the data continuum — ranging from its creation to consumption. It’s crucial to recognize that this process does not occur in isolation with the barriers of functions, departments, and business units. The primary requirement for intelligence is that data must be accessible to life operating within an ecosystem. This dynamic process fosters intelligence through the roles created by its activities. Without this visualization, a gap remains between the computing capabilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Generative Intelligence (GI), which is intended to connect potential with performance.
Value Creation is not in whipping a dead horse but rather raising a great race horse.
Value Creation is a process of Inquiry, Exploration and Discovery that humans who have the sixth sense need to master to interpret outcomes fusing the five elements of Data, Talent, Resources / Materials / Energy, Financial Capital and Intelligent Infrastructure that intuitively ushers in the New. The Creation of Value is not through the Optimization of Operations for Performance but rather through Innovation that radically unfolds the potential of the new.
Global Capability Centers
Worldwide spending on digital transformation reached 1.85 trillion U.S. dollars in 2022, up over 16 percent on the previous year. Enterprises have made these investments in the pursuit of efficiencies but it is now time to pursue efficacy. There is now clarity that outsourcing to insourcing is not enough. There is a fundamental need for shifting mindsets from sourcing to collaboration which is a mutually inclusive Structural (Relationships), Synergy (Culture) and Systems (Technology) shift. Unfortunately, despite a two decade lead time, this is yet to manifest itself in most of the incumbent Competency Centers and Enterprises who have been early adopters. The underlying labor / cost arbitrage continues with newer buzzwords and metaphors being invented and wasted upon truly life changing technologies that present the opportunity to harness potential for a completely different set of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) to perform to.
Digital leaders have widened their competitive distance by 60% in the past three years, according to senior partner Eric Lamarre and colleagues at McKinsey. But tortoises have a way of catching up: to stay ahead, leaders will have to accelerate their transformations.
The five elements of Data, Talent, Resources / Materials / Energy, Financial Capital and Intelligent Infrastructure have to be curated anew. For long, humans have tried to master technology. It is time to reverse the trend as the new systems will not work purely with software and hardware created in isolation. It will also combine firmware, embedded Ware and Virtual Ware. The journey of NVidia is a sterling example that Industry Leaders including and AMD have missed and need to emulate.
The Operating System (OS) for the new Systems is not the one we have been used to so far, limited by computing power of the machines we use. It is the ability of humans being able to design and overcome the limitations. Where computing devices are not just the conventional computers but also IOT, Sensors, Scanners, Wearables and Devices all connected to a Master User and used interchangeably.
Digital Maturity
Both established companies and startups need a strong digital core to thrive and stay relevant in the future. Although startups are often assumed as naturally innovative, established businesses must also adopt innovation to confront the emerging challenges presented by startups offering new products and services. Achieving innovation requires Digital Maturity, which involves Simplifying existing processes, Modernizing Technology, and Embracing Disruption. This journey can be represented by three key stripes:
✅ Systemic Innovation:
A groundbreaking model that sets a new standard, this approach fosters innovative products and services by embracing the new. In today’s world, it is essential to transform lives for improved quality of life while integrating sustainability and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) into its processes. You can picture this as the front wheel of a bicycle, enhancing the rhythm of progressive growth as it drives forward. For example, the C4 Platform, envisioned by Giggr Technologies, exemplifies this category of innovation. It accelerates the pursuit of excellence for individuals, industries, and institutions, making systemic innovation a regular practice that catalyzes the rapid cycles of growth demanded by the market. The need would be to disrupt Life / Industry with Sustainable Solutions.
✅ Systems’ Innovation:
This approach involves utilizing out-of-the-box thinking to expand and enhance markets for existing products and services tailored for in-depth segmentation. You can visualize this as the rear wheel of a bicycle, where you apply brakes when necessary to navigate the road ahead. For instance, several significant systemic innovations from previous decades are now candidates for contemporary systems’ innovation, such as electric cars, smartphones, wearables, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, scanners, sensors, and the adoption of multimodal technology that integrates voice, video, audio, and graphics, along with augmented reality, virtual reality, and cloud computing. The goal would be to modernize operations by incorporating technological advancements.
✅ Systematic Improvement:
This approach refers to the Continuous Improvement of Products and Services that an enterprise’s Operations address, driven by feedback from Customers and Consumers in the marketplace. It encompasses all the Products and Services we currently utilize, aiming for a more engaging Distribution and Reach.
When an enterprise or business pledges allegiance to Innovation, it is necessary that all the the three variants are embraced by an incumbent business whereas a startup must necessarily adapt the first two. And there can be no doubt that this demands a Digital Maturity way beyond what is currently prevalent.
Digital leaders are creating much more shareholder value than laggards. Between 2018 and 2022, digital leaders achieved average annual total shareholder returns of 8.1% vs. 4.9% for laggards. Leaders also had significantly better return on pre-tax tangible equity (ROTE), growing it from 15.5% in 2018 to 19.3% in 2022, vs. a more modest growth from 13.6% to 15.3% for laggards.
Source: McKinsey Research
Giggr Technologies has crafted a digital maturity tool aimed at diagnosing enterprises across five critical dimensions for maintaining digital maturity, which range from Innocence (0) to Excellence (5). This tool acts as a reflective device, assessing the five essential dimensions that are vital for future success and relevance. It assists organizations in understanding their current position and their aspirations while intelligently mapping out their transformative journey. Unlike previous methods, this approach centers on First Principles Thinking and Design Learning, which guides both recommendations and decision-making.
1️⃣ Strategic Enterprise Operations (SEO)
This outlines the enterprise intent (Work) in relation to time and space across the nine sub-dimensions: 1.1 Impact, 1.2 Distribution & Reach, 1.3 New Products & Services, 1.4 Customer & Consumer, 1.5 Value Chain & Ecosystem, 1.6 Human Capital, 1.7 Technology, 1.8 Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC), and 1.9 Digital (Multi Modal & Device, Channel & Medium Independent).
This is the highest priority for transitioning from an Information Technology to a digital core capability. While 89% of large companies globally have a digital and AI transformation underway, they have only captured 31% of the expected revenue lift and 25% of expected cost savings from the effort.
Source: Harvard Business Review
2️⃣ Leadership
This outlines how the enterprise understands the connections that link Intent to the Impact envisioned by Strategic Enterprise Operations (SEO). There are five essential sub-dimensions of Leadership that every enterprise must recognize:
2.1 Aspiration for optimal design,
2.2 Agility to be ready for any eventuality,
2.3 Anticipation to align priorities,
2.4 Authenticity to inspire a thriving ecosystem, and
2.5 Ability to execute for efficacy.
Clearly, for digital and AI to deliver on their business transformation potential, the top team needs to be ready and willing to undertake the organizational “surgery” required to become a digitally capable enterprise. There are no quick fixes. You can’t simply implement a system or a technology and be done. Instead, success means having hundreds of technology-driven solutions (proprietary and off the shelf) working together that you continually improve to create great customer and employee experiences, lower unit costs, and generate value. But creating, managing, and evolving these solutions at enterprise scale requires a fundamental rewiring of how a company operates. That means getting thousands of people across different units of the organization working together and working differently to digitally innovate, constantly.
Source: McKinsey Research
3️⃣ Culture
This outlines the Values, Convictions, and Assumptions that the enterprise, as a Unified Force, employs to drive its growth agenda.
👉 In an era where AI and GI dominate the focus of every enterprise, the Values must encompass the six sub-dimensions: 3.1.1 Integrity, 3.1.2 Ethics, 3.1.3 Inspiration, 3.1.4 Innovation, 3.1.5 Competition, and 3.1.6 Customer Focus.
👉 Likewise, the five sub-dimensions of Convictions should present a cohesive definition of 3.2.1 Market Positioning, 3.2.2 Branding, 3.2.3 Compliance, 3.2.4 Profitability, and 3.2.5 Productivity.
👉 Lastly, the shared assumptions should cover the five sub-dimensions of 3.3.1 Honesty, 3.3.2 Freedom of Expression, 3.3.3 Meritocracy, 3.3.4 Trust, and 3.3.5 Unified Organization.
It should be clear how these three dimensions are interlinked in shaping the Synergy (Culture) of an enterprise that now faces the challenge of operating as a Glocal (Globally Local) organization.
Recognizing the vast chasm between simply managing data and using data as a strategic asset to drive organizational success is one of the most important first steps towards better digital transformation outcomes. Simply stated, a data-driven culture is the manner in which a business demonstrates the importance it places on the value of data in all aspects of its operations. Data becomes a central instrument of organizational success. Rather than just a consequence of running the business, data is considered core to how things get done, including in critical areas such as decision-making, innovation, risk management, and growth.
Source: McKinsey Research
4️⃣ Resilience
This refers to a business’s capacity to manage the uncertainties we encounter today, such as geopolitical issues, financial risks and regulations, the lack of industry-ready talent, climate challenges, and sustainability concerns. To navigate these complexities, it’s essential to focus on the Seven Sub-Dimensions of Resilience, which include:
4.1 Recognizing the Consequences of Actions early on
4.2 Emphasizing Learning as a crucial step for progress
4.3 Valuing Inquiry as an organizational asset to challenge conventional thinking
4.4 Practicing Empathy to engage with emerging interactive real-time computing
4.5 Prioritizing Relationships over Transactions to create meaningful connections
4.6 Reframing Risk Assurance to shift the perspective from the Risk of Doing to the Risk of Not Doing
4.7 Intelligence (Perception), which serves as the ultimate goal of technology, both on a personal level and collectively at the ecosystem level.
Resilient businesses view moments of crisis or uncertainty as a time to transform themselves, generating more value in both growth and recovery cycles. As Ayrton Senna, the Brazilian car racing champion, once said, “You cannot overtake 15 cars in sunny weather, but you can when it’s raining.” By targeting holistic performance and business reinvention equally, companies greatly improve the odds that their transformations will create sustainable and disproportionate value. That’s a formula for ensuring that an organization thrives in the future, rain or shine.
Source: Harvard Business Review
5️⃣ Digital Capabilities (Strategy)
This outlines the five essentials not only for transformation but also for sustaining growth while staying keeping up with the current technological advancements, which are still in their early stages but will develop further as they are curated and applied. The five sub-dimensions include:
5.1 Designing learning that conceptualizes and brings valuable solutions to life,
5.2 Creating more sustainable products and solutions tailored to individual needs,
5.3 Developing architecture that transitions from conventional IT frameworks to digital ones,
5.4 Building ecosystems and industries that thrive on trustworthy real-time collaboration, and
5.5 Mastering advanced technology to achieve a greater return on deployed assets.
In today’s landscape, every business must understand the strategic transition from valuing an enterprise based on its Pipeline of Intellectual Property (IP) to focusing on a Pipeline of Customers, which was once the traditional approach. Companies need to design for Potential, taking into account the five elements: Functional, Lifetime, Emotional, Brand, and Economic Value. These will help shape the Structures, Synergies, and Systems, which ultimately cascade into the five dimensions of Quality, Cost, Delivery, Service, and Flexibility at an operational or transactional level. The capability to harness the full economic potential of digital innovations is what sets digital leaders apart from those who lag behind. Cultivating this ability is a key initiative for leaders in business units and functions.
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