How organizations can anticipate threats, spot opportunities, and act
faster when the time is right; with rich examples including Adobe,
MasterCard, and Amazon.
When turbulence is the new normal, an organization's survival depends on
vigilant leadership that can anticipate threats, spot opportunities, and
act quickly when the time is right. In See Sooner, Act Faster,
strategy experts George Day and Paul Schoemaker offer tools for thriving
when digital advances intensify turbulence.
Vigilant firms have greater foresight than their rivals, while
vulnerable firms often miss early signals of external threats and
organizational challenges. Charles Schwab, for example, was early to see
and act on the promise of "robo-advisors"; Honeywell, on the other hand,
stumbled when Nest Labs came out first with a "smart" thermostat. Day
and Schoemaker show leaders how to assess their vigilance capabilities
and cultivate insight and foresight throughout their organizations. They
draw on a range of cases, including Adobe and Intuit's move to the
cloud, Shell's investment in clean energy, and MasterCard's early
recognition of digital challenges.
Day and Schoemaker describe how to allocate the scarce resource of
attention, how to detect weak signals and separate them from background
noise, and how to respond strategically before competitors do. The
challenge is not just to act faster but to act wisely, and the authors
suggest ways to create dynamic portfolios of options. Finally, they
offer an action agenda, with tips for fostering vigilance and agility
throughout an organization. The rewards are stronger market positions,
higher profits and growth, more motivated employees, and organization
longevity.
