In this final article in a series of four, the researchers behind the 2023 MIT Sloan Management Review-BCG Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy Big Ideas research project explore how organizations should govern smart KPIs (KPIs augmented by or created with AI). They explain which functions should be involved and what pitfalls to watch for.
In this third article in a series of four, the researchers behind the 2023 MIT Sloan Management Review-BCG Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy Big Ideas research project explore how using AI to refine KPIs leads to smart KPIs that are forward-looking and encourage organizational alignment. They define three types of smart KPIs and provide practical advice to help leaders use AI-enriched KPIs to increase strategic alignment.
In this second article in a series of four, the researchers behind the 2023 MIT Sloan Management Review-BCG Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy Big Ideas research project offer a framework improve-create-establish, or ICE for enhancing strategic measurement with artificial intelligence. Examples from companies such as Wayfair and DBS Bank help illustrate the potential benefits of using AI to improve KPIs.
In this first article in a series of four, the researchers behind the 2023 MIT Sloan Management Review-BCG Artificial Intelligence and Business Strategy Big Ideas research project outline the opportunities AI brings for key performance indicators and strategic measurement. They discuss the business implications of using AI to generate and refine KPIs and explain how enabling strategic measurement systems to learn fundamentally alters how organizations understand and invest in future performance.
Successful digital transformations require leaders to frame performance targets around data-defined business objectives rather than technological capabilities. The authors share a four-component leadership framework they developed for KPI-driven digital transformation that enables a virtuous cycle of improvement. They also discuss how to design effective strategic KPI portfolios.
As the technologies behind recommendation engines become more powerful, the advice and choices they produce could transform the customer and employee experience. Companies are already using recommenders to drive revenue, augment work, and develop human capital. But if the technology is to reach its full potential, companies will need to address sensitive issues around trust and privacy.
Executives in the automotive sector believe that machine learning can help them achieve their marketing goals, but that doesn't necessarily mean they invest in that ambition.
Our 2018 Strategic Measurement research shows that companies using machine learning to optimize business processes and decision-making have distinct advantages over those that aren't investing in ML. By using ML technology to make KPIs more predictive and prescriptive, these data-driven companies are redefining how to create and measure value.
MIT Sloan Management Review and Google's new cross-industry survey about key performance indicators (KPIs) asked senior executives to explain how they and their organizations are using KPIs in the digital era. The results shed light on the tensions and contradictions companies face when using KPIs, demonstrate the many ways advanced use of KPIs can benefit organizations, and offer steps executives can take to make the most of KPIs going forward.
A week before Christmas, Tim O'Connell, a manager at Driscoll Software, gets a call from Hybara Casinos. The former client's system has crashed, and the company wants to be rescued by New Year's Day. The project will generate much-needed revenue, but it involves six weeks' worth of work crammed into two - and over the holidays, no less. Tim's star programmer, Alessandra Sandoval, quit several months earlier, and the rookie Kristen Hammersmith has taken her place. Should Tim contract the project out to Alessandra or trust Kristen to lead the team? Three experts comment in this fictional case study in R0912B and R0912Z. Tim should hire Alessandra immediately, says Michael Schrage, a researcher at Sloan School of Management's Center for Digital Business. Kristen is in over her head. But more important, Tim is a shockingly poor manager. Carol A. Walker, the founder and principal of the consulting firm Prepared to Lead, agrees that Tim isn't doing his job and outlines a scenario whereby he demonstrates his confidence in, and support for, Kristen and prepares her to succeed. Paul Muller, Hewlett-Packard's vice president of strategic marketing for software products, says that in this severely condensed time frame, Driscoll and Hybara need to assess the risks and costs involved in rushing the project. If they decide to go ahead, Tim should empower Kristen to lead.
A week before Christmas, Tim O'Connell, a manager at Driscoll Software, gets a call from Hybara Casinos. The former client's system has crashed, and the company wants to be rescued by New Year's Day. The project will generate much-needed revenue, but it involves six weeks' worth of work crammed into two - and over the holidays, no less. Tim's star programmer, Alessandra Sandoval, quit several months earlier, and the rookie Kristen Hammersmith has taken her place. Should Tim contract the project out to Alessandra or trust Kristen to lead the team? Three experts comment in this fictional case study in R0912B and R0912Z. Tim should hire Alessandra immediately, says Michael Schrage, a researcher at Sloan School of Management's Center for Digital Business. Kristen is in over her head. But more important, Tim is a shockingly poor manager. Carol A. Walker, the founder and principal of the consulting firm Prepared to Lead, agrees that Tim isn't doing his job and outlines a scenario whereby he demonstrates his confidence in, and support for, Kristen and prepares her to succeed. Paul Muller, Hewlett-Packard's vice president of strategic marketing for software products, says that in this severely condensed time frame, Driscoll and Hybara need to assess the risks and costs involved in rushing the project. If they decide to go ahead, Tim should empower Kristen to lead.
This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. Managers and directors alike face tough choices as they decide on the quality and quantity of information that the board receives and uses in its governance and fiduciary roles. As the fallout from recent crises such as the subprime mortgage debacle illustrates, both sides must address the problem of "information asymmetry" -- the gap between the information available to management and to the board. The authors' research suggests that tomorrow's boardroom will be reshaped by three related forces: First, they face a thorough rethinking, brought on by concerned stakeholders, of directors' information needs. In responding to these pressures, boards and management must overcome several impediments: caution about altering the dynamics of the present manager-director relationship; directors' lack of needed skills for interpreting the new information; and the inertia of cultural norms. Second, they face dramatic improvements in the performance assessment approaches used to guide boards' decision making. The core of a healthy information relationship between managers and directors is their agreement on the most useful performance metrics to track and assess. This selection enables the building of trust and an eased and more pertinent workload for the board (having been freed from the need to decode reams of data while also gaining some independence from management's sometimes self-serving evaluations). Finally, boards and managers face the adoption of technologies that support critical board functions. Once access to such information is granted, new technologies can help directors obtain and use it. Board members may apply tools that, for example, enable improved visualizations and helpful alerts. And directors may engage in electronic "what-if" analyses, using company data as well as outside information -- related, say, to competing firms -- which is becoming increasingly available online.
Our annual survey of ideas and trends that will make an impact on business: Duncan J. Watts contends that ordinary people, not "influentials," drive social epidemics. Yoshito Hori predicts that Japan's young entrepreneurs could outshine those in China and India. Frederic Dalsace, Coralie Damay, and David Dubois propose brands that--like Harry Potter--mature with their customers. Michael Schrage reveals the hidden value in long-forgotten equations. Harry Hutson and Barbara Perry put hope back in the executive repertoire. Eric von Hippel spotlights Denmark, where "user-centered innovation" is a national priority. Linda Stone detects a backlash against cell-phone and BlackBerry addiction. Michael C. Mankins suggests where to put all that excess cash. Ap Dijksterhuis reaffirms the value of sleeping on a decision. Robert G. Eccles, Liv Watson, and Mike Willis report on a new software standard that will make business and financial information dramatically easier to generate, aggregate, and analyze. Geoffrey B. West challenges the conventional wisdom that smaller innovation functions are more inventive. Karen Fraser warns of apparently loyal customers who are poised to bolt for ethical reasons. Phillip Longman predicts the return of large patriarchal families and their effects on marketing strategy. Rashi Glazer illustrates the sociocultural and business implications of nanotechnology. Yoko Ishikura urges global firms to "think locally." Klaus Kleinfeld and Erich Reinhardt explore the convergence of imaging technology and biotech and its enormous benefits for medical care. Christopher Meyer advises focusing on what you want from your network before you build the platform. Charles R. Morris asserts that health care costs are falling; it's spending that's on the rise. Clay Shirky shows why open source projects succeed by failing. David Weinberger claims that accountability has morphed into superstitious "accountabalism."
Lots of companies say they use brainstorming, hot teams, and other techniques to foster innovation. But for IDEO, the successful design firm in Silicon Valley, that work is its bread and butter. In The Art of Innovation, IDEO general manager Tom Kelley explains how the firm works. Reviewer Michael Schrage, research associate at MIT's Media Lab, extols the book for its engaging style and comprehensive coverage. But he warns readers that what really drives the company is not fancy methodologies but an underlying "cult" of innovation. As a result, IDEO has come up with many great new products, but it's had much less success in teaching client companies to be innovative themselves. The book may suffer a similar fate. This cult of innovation is what allows IDEO to get beyond the political gamesmanship that stifles many traditional companies. The firm's employees believe passionately in innovation, a focus that enables individuals from diverse backgrounds to argue about alternatives but still unite in generating an effective design. And the company's emphasis on prototyping gives people concrete things to play with, so they don't get bogged down in mere talk. The back-and-forth within these hot teams--and ideally with clients--helps the firm settle on creations that are likely to succeed in the marketplace. IDEO's culture allows it to be very innovative about the process of innovation itself. But the overwhelming majority of organizations can't afford to make faith in innovation the cornerstone of their cultures. IDEO is as much a cultural outlier as Virgin or Southwest, says Schrage. Ignore at your peril, but imitate at your own risk.