Knowledge that Transforms

New research suggests that digital workforces expect digital transformation to better reflect and respect their concerns and values, not just boost business capabilities and opportunities. In the current environment, leaders must pay close attention to how their leadership is experienced, and consider whether digital tools, techniques, and technologies are making their companies’ key stakeholders — including employees, consumers, and investors — feel more valued.

The latest MIT SMR-Deloitte survey on the future of the workforce finds that most managers consider employees and external workers — including contractors, service providers, app developers, and gig workers — to be part of their workforce. This calls for an integrated approach to workforce management and has led some executives to the idea of a workforce ecosystem. This report discusses benefits and challenges associated with creating and managing a workforce ecosystem.

Front-line employees are often the first to sense change yet the last to be heard. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Pisan focuses on how COVID-19 will change the geography of competition. Three trends are reshaping global strategy and operations for the world's largest companies. For any business leader, decisions about their company's geographic footprint are crucial. Entering a foreign market requires major resources and a strong commitment to succeed. Similarly, deciding to locate a manufacturing plant overseas entails the careful selection of an offshore destination. A multinational footprint also has fundamental implications for the overall structure of a company. Leaders are exposed to two significant errors of judgment when they misunderstand the geography of competition. First, they escalate commitment to geographic markets they should be retreating from;and second, they miss out on novel opportunities to create value across borders in different areas of the world.