Shaping the Future in an Age of Accelerating Change: A Collection

128 Pages·2012·2.47 MB·English

Shaping the Future in an
Age of Accelerating Change
A Collection of Groundbreaking Perspectives
on Business and Society
THE GAMECHANGING SERIES
The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global
management consulting fi rm and the world’s
leading advisor on business strategy. We partner
with clients from the private, public, and not-for-
profi t sectors in all regions to identify their highest-
value opportunities, address their most critical
challenges, and transform their enterprises. Our
customized approach combines deep in sight into
the dynamics of companies and markets with close
collaboration at all levels of the client organization.
This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable
compet itive advantage, build more capable
organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded
in 1963, BCG is a private company with 77 offi ces
in 42 countries. For more information, please visit
bcg.com.
THE GAMECHANGING SERIES
Shaping the Future in an
Age of Accelerating Change
A Collection of Groundbreaking Perspectives
on Business and Societyy
Published by The Boston Consulting Group, Inc.
© The Boston Consulting Group, Inc. 2009–2012.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or
otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright
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permission should be sent by e-mail to [email protected]; by fax to [phone],
attention BCG/Permissions; or by mail to BCG/Permissions, The Boston Consulting Group,
Inc., One Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108, USA.
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Contents
Foreword v
Leadership in a Two-Speed Economy 1
The Internet Economy in the G-20 11
Thinking in New Boxes 23
Resource Management as a Competitive Edge 31
U.S. Manufacturing Nears the Tipping Point 43
Improving Health Care Value 55
The Most Adaptive Companies 2012 65
The Accelerator Mindset 77
The CEO as Investor 87
How Companies Can Rise Above Faustian
Economics 95
Strategic Optimism 107
About the Authors 113
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Foreword
W
e are living in an age of accelerating change.
It is a convulsive time. Everywhere you look,
things are shi ing, transforming.
This creates uncertainty—but with uncertainty comes
opportunity.
It is all too easy to take a dark view of the decade
ahead—with countries and companies struggling to
shrug off the a ereff ects of the Great Recession. But it
is our view that the fundamental drivers of growth are
stronger than they have been at any point in human
history. We believe that, given this platform, leaders
should move forward—with what we call strategic
optimism—to create sustainable growth, value, and
opportunity for their countries and companies.
Ever since 1963, when The Boston Consulting Group was
founded, we have been advising leaders and their organ-
izations to be proactive, to take decisive action, to seize
the day. This is what we mean by “shaping the future”:
the future does not just happen—we make it happen.
In his seminal 1968 article, “Why Change Is So Diffi -
cult,” Bruce Henderson, BCG’s founder, noted that “all
organizations, like all organisms, must adapt to changes
in their environment, or die.... [But] to change by
evolution rather than revolution, the change must not
only be tolerated but actively guided and directed in
very explicit terms by the leadership of the fi rm.”
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Today, this advice still applies. But the pressure on
leaders to make signifi cant change is greater than ever.
In the years before the Great Recession, companies
were able to tinker with reform, knowing that the rising
tide of the global economy would help them in their
eff ort to thrive. But today, these companies can no
longer simply modify their business model or their cost
base.
Future growth depends on our willingness to transform
the way we do things. This will not be easy. It will call
for vision, courage, determination, and a fi rm belief that
we—each of us—can shape our destiny.
In short, it will call for our readiness and resolve to
change the game.
Throughout 2013, as we celebrate BCG’s fi  ieth anni-
versary, we will be giving much attention to the “game
changing” theme: it lies at the heart of every eff ort to
shape the future with strategic optimism.
To mark the start of our celebration, and to help CEOs
and other leaders navigate their way through some
troubled waters, we have assembled some recent BCG
publications that highlight how leaders can transform
their businesses, stay one step ahead of their competi-
tors, and change the game. The articles include links to
related reports, videos, podcasts, and interactive graph-
ics—all of which can be found on bcgperspectives.com.
We hope you enjoy the collection.
Hans-Paul Bürkner
Rich Lesser
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