The term unicorn is now well- known, meaning start-ups with a valuation in excess of a billion dollars. China now has about two- hundred such unicorns. Nearly a third of these have either already set up shop abroad, or are on the verge of doing so. These unicorns are spread over thirteen industrial sectors. The four largest of those industries have been shaped by substantial inputs of technology. These have been transportation, media, fintech and enterprise service. The geography has also been an interesting finding. More than a third of these companies are form the capital, Beijing. Shanghai of course has the next highest lot with a fourth of the total. Shenzhen and Hangzhou are the next two important cities, while surprisingly a mere two percent originate from Hong Kong. The size of the Chinese market has been a major reason for the rise of these unicorns. The entrepreneurial spirit of the people to tap in to such business innovations needs to be acknowledged. The rest of the world now knows that it has to live with the existence of these powerful Chinese unicorns and somehow battle them to preserve their own turfs.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Chinas-herd-of-unicorns?gko=5a81d

Uploaded Date:16 August 2019

With so many companies now worldwide attempting their digital transformation, it is time, that a proper playbook emerged on how it ought to be led. A few steps have been identified to effect this change. The first step is the moment to Aspire. Here, a compelling, long- term corporate strategy is designed. One needs to guard against any inherent biases at this stage. The next is the stage to Assess, where a thorough analysis is conducted to forecast the skill demand. One also needs to now understand the dynamics between the skills and their supply dynamics. The level of Architect is now reached at the third stage. Here, a portfolio of initiatives is defined, while the existing resources are reallocated. The fourth stage is where one gets to Act. A strong governance structure has then to be established. Social contracts are leveraged. For digital marketing purposes, influencers are mobilized. This ensures two- way communication between the brand and its audience. The last stage is to Advance. Now, knowledge sharing is institutionalized. The existing talent is now matched with the roles in demand.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/a-better-way-to-lead-large-scale-change

Uploaded Date:16 August 2019

There are some major forces that are impacting the ongoing rise of the platform economy. One of them is talk of increased regulation. This is happening because, the digital giants have monopolized the entire ecosystem. A vast majority of global spending on digital marketing, except in China, is in control of Google and Facebook alone. Amazon meanwhile has a similar grip on e- commerce purchases. New taxes, market restrictions, compensation to users whose data has been used and data- sharing agreements have been proposed. Newer modes of technology are also impacting. There is passive potential of a further upgrade once the 5- G networks become more widespread. Even greater forms of disruption plus inversion can be seen already. A substantial proportion of the revenue is now being generated from the data being captured by the giant tech firms. Precise business intelligence is now being generated, with Twitter, Uber and Airbnb being the top beneficiaries of this. Some industries that have historically valued physical products have remained resistant to such new age domination. The list of industries includes aviation, health care, perishables and construction.

Source:https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/3-forces-pushing-platform-economy

Uploaded Date:14 August 2019

The MIT Sloan Management Review has been among the top opinion makers among during the ongoing digital age. This publication has now curated an online database in collaboration with the talent recruitment firm Glassdoor on five- hundred large companies. This is to measure culture in leading companies. Another challenge is to build digital- ready culture for legacy organizations. Customer- centricity is essential in this digital age. Digital platforms have also become double- edged swords. On the one hand they enable scores of brands to advertise through digital marketing. On the other, they have also become all too powerful, thus dictating terms to individual brands, even the industry leaders. A new profile that has now emerged is that of an AI ethicist. They help with all relevant digital policies.

Source:https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/6-ideas-reframing-digital-age-mit-sloan-management-review

Uploaded Date:30 July 2019

During any M & A (Merger and Acquisition) process, a lot of organizational changes are observed. To ensure that such deal- making transition remains smooth, some steps need to be followed. First of all, the corporate strategy has to be prioritized over the near- term opportunistic gains. Value creation too needs to be accorded top status right from the beginning. For this value creation, a broad and detailed plan needs to be put in place. Next up, there needs to be a clear focus on the team members, the talent management processes and the intangibles. Due investment must be geared towards integration spending, as it pays dividends in the future. Both sides must learn how to think like their counterparts. Value- destroying biases must be eliminated during this process. Finally, the new entity must be clear about what may be termed as success for the team. This definition may vary.

Source:https://www.strategy-business.com/article/Seven-steps-for-highly-effective-deal-making?gko=54d01

Uploaded Date:29 July 2019

The mobility ecosystem is one that is bracing up for a complete shake- up. These trends may easily be conjured up by the acronym ACES. This stands for autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification of vehicles and shared mobility. As per a study conducted by business consulting firm McKinsey, the autonomous vehicles market in the USA alone could exceed the eight- hundred billion dollar mark by the year 20130, if the concept got widespread adoption. The right infrastructure will need to get built to support this scale of connectivity. Renewable energy is also high on the adoption plans for electric and hybrid vehicles. Another such initiative is to have hydrogen- run cars. One area where work has already prospered is in ridesharing, which is now so prevalent in urban areas.

Source:https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/the-trends-transforming-mobilitys-future?cid=other-eml-alt-mip-mck&hlkid=e360697569a548298da5c16019d5f88f&hctky=9953462&hdpid=96002b3c-7ad0-49bf-8d94-a4c1d8514f81

Uploaded Date:29 July 2019 

Building an innovative culture within any existing organization is always a challenge. This is further heightened in case, the said organization, is a traditional, operations- focused one. The best way to tackle this is right from the top, by mending the corporate strategy accordingly. This will have the greatest impact on the functions, which for many exist merely because they are needed. Now business innovation will be a part of everyday operations. A term now adopted is called servile strategy. This is where the strategy honors what the individual business units want, and not the other way round. It thrives because of its constant battle against redundancy. An even better ploy will be the imperial strategy. Under this, the functions attain paramount significance. Four Seasons is one such organization that has deployed strategy in a manner to benefit all its functional areas.

Source:https://hbr.org/2019/07/the-one-thing-you-need-to-know-about-managing-functions?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=hbr

Uploaded Date:23 July 2019