Updated April 11, 2022
When we originally published this report in December 2019, we couldn’t have predicted a pandemic that would change the face of not only American business, but the global economy as well. However, the insights and strategies we laid out then are just as true today.
We’ve all read the headlines about digital disruption of traditional industries. Amazon disrupts brick-and-mortar retail, Apple Wallet disrupts credit cards, Uber disrupts transportation, Tesla disrupts manufacturing, and so on. Any CEO who hasn’t internalized that digital transformation eventually will disrupt and revolutionize nearly every industry sector has their head firmly stuck in the sand.
The COVID-19 pandemic has only reinforced and accelerated a growing trend from the past few years, where we have seen intense efforts to define and execute the right digital strategy — whether that’s delivering a compelling online experience for customers by adding online payment options or developing intuitive chatbots, creating mobile applications or expanding delivery channels for more convenient customer service, or many other initiatives aimed at establishing or regaining competitive advantage, operational efficiency or profitability.
Downstream effects such as the political uncertainty and social unrest driven by events like COVID-19 can serve as inflection points that spearhead business leaders to transform their organizations. While these grab headlines, they only power change at an incremental level. It is technological and digital innovation (though often as a response to external factors) that powers change exponentially.
