Bridge over troubled water
Welcome to the first issue of Prism 2023!
Readers of the daily news could be forgiven for getting depressed and anxious. We are constantly bombarded with issues we should be worried about, from inflation and recession to war and climate catastrophe, and the business media are equally prone to pessimism.
Yet, back in the real world, something quite different is happening. Businesses and their leaders are quietly getting on with things and shaping up for the future with a new, cautious confidence. A joint report just issued under the leadership of Nicholas Stern and Mattia Romani talks about “a new growth and development story driven by investment and innovation in green technology, boosted by artificial intelligence.” Technology and business, working together with governments and communities, have huge potential to help the world bridge over today’s troubled waters.
This is the message in our lead article, which highlights that CEOs are overwhelmingly optimistic about the future. Based on unique research with CEOs leading USD1 billion+ companies, the article shows they are focused on growth, innovation, and prioritizing sustainability as a lever to deliver competitive advantage. It looks in-depth at the research, exploring what CEOs are really thinking and feeling as they proactively engage with today’s pressing challenges.
One of the biggest challenges for businesses looking at the green transition in an uncertain future is knowing where to prioritize investment, especially working out what is “urgent,” as well as “important.” Our second article offers a valuable new angle on how to adapt traditional scenario-based strategic planning to help leaders make the right decisions in this difficult space.
Next, we focus on one of the most important levers for transformation to meet the twin goals of sustainability and customer-centricity in a digitalized world: data sharing. Data sharing across ecosystems is increasingly essential for the future, and the energy industry is starting to provide valuable lessons on how to overcome obstacles.
Start-ups are the cradle of innovation, and the recent investment winter has been a concern for many. However, it also provides an opportunity – some would say long overdue – for start-ups and investors to focus better on creating world-class businesses, rather than just chasing topline growth. Our fourth article looks at lessons on how to create a unicorn in the current, more sober, investment climate.
In our final two articles, we go back to our innovation roots. First, we offer new thinking on the latest techniques to improve technology forecasting in today’s accelerating world, and second, we show what it really takes to do breakthrough innovation in large companies that manufacture complex, high-value products and systems – and it’s not as simple as just setting up a separate breakthrough team…
Finally, we are delighted to bring you another personal CEO interview. In this edition, Andreas Matthä, the CEO of the Austrian Railways (ÖBB), shares his valuable insights on leading the organization and the future of European mobility.
We hope you enjoy the issue. Feel free to let us know what you think!
Rick Eagar
Chief Editor, Prism
Arthur D. Little
DATE
Welcome to the first issue of Prism 2023!
Readers of the daily news could be forgiven for getting depressed and anxious. We are constantly bombarded with issues we should be worried about, from inflation and recession to war and climate catastrophe, and the business media are equally prone to pessimism.
Yet, back in the real world, something quite different is happening. Businesses and their leaders are quietly getting on with things and shaping up for the future with a new, cautious confidence. A joint report just issued under the leadership of Nicholas Stern and Mattia Romani talks about “a new growth and development story driven by investment and innovation in green technology, boosted by artificial intelligence.” Technology and business, working together with governments and communities, have huge potential to help the world bridge over today’s troubled waters.
This is the message in our lead article, which highlights that CEOs are overwhelmingly optimistic about the future. Based on unique research with CEOs leading USD1 billion+ companies, the article shows they are focused on growth, innovation, and prioritizing sustainability as a lever to deliver competitive advantage. It looks in-depth at the research, exploring what CEOs are really thinking and feeling as they proactively engage with today’s pressing challenges.
One of the biggest challenges for businesses looking at the green transition in an uncertain future is knowing where to prioritize investment, especially working out what is “urgent,” as well as “important.” Our second article offers a valuable new angle on how to adapt traditional scenario-based strategic planning to help leaders make the right decisions in this difficult space.
Next, we focus on one of the most important levers for transformation to meet the twin goals of sustainability and customer-centricity in a digitalized world: data sharing. Data sharing across ecosystems is increasingly essential for the future, and the energy industry is starting to provide valuable lessons on how to overcome obstacles.
Start-ups are the cradle of innovation, and the recent investment winter has been a concern for many. However, it also provides an opportunity – some would say long overdue – for start-ups and investors to focus better on creating world-class businesses, rather than just chasing topline growth. Our fourth article looks at lessons on how to create a unicorn in the current, more sober, investment climate.
In our final two articles, we go back to our innovation roots. First, we offer new thinking on the latest techniques to improve technology forecasting in today’s accelerating world, and second, we show what it really takes to do breakthrough innovation in large companies that manufacture complex, high-value products and systems – and it’s not as simple as just setting up a separate breakthrough team…
Finally, we are delighted to bring you another personal CEO interview. In this edition, Andreas Matthä, the CEO of the Austrian Railways (ÖBB), shares his valuable insights on leading the organization and the future of European mobility.
We hope you enjoy the issue. Feel free to let us know what you think!
Rick Eagar
Chief Editor, Prism
Arthur D. Little
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Embracing uncertainty, driving growth
A crisis is an opportunity riding a dangerous wind, according to a Chinese proverb – and the world is currently beset with crises. The global pandemic, climate change, and unprecedented geopolitical volatility have provided a wake-up call to all organizations, bringing a long-lasting era of worldwide economic growth to a close.
Navigating the sustainability journey
Sustainability is one of the few topics that is high on the agenda across all companies, sectors, and countries. Eighty percent of companies in a recent global ADL study[1] had a sustainability strategy in place, and a further 12 percent were developing one.
How to build a unicorn in the post-pandemic inflationary world
The global boom in start-up valuations has abruptly stopped. What felt like never-ending growth in venture capital and private equity investments that created a conveyor belt of new tech disruptors has been replaced by a landscape of failed initial public offerings (IPOs), dramatically lower valuations, and job cuts. Q3 2022 saw 37 new USD1bn+ valued tech unicorns created – a year earlier, the figure had been 165. Venture funding dropped by over 50 percent year-on-year.
How data sharing is essential to deliver industry-wide transformation
Industries from energy to healthcare are facing up to transformational change. This is driven by several factors: a need for greater sustainability, reinforced by regulation; changes in consumer needs and behaviors requiring greater flexibility and customer-centricity; and technological development, especially digital and automation. Current geopolitical and economic trends affecting energy prices, supply chains and inflation are acting as a further driver.
Take off or trough?
Combining strength and agility
The need for companies to be able to deliver breakthrough and incremental innovation is well established by now. Much has been written about how to do this effectively, including ADL’s contributions.[1] However, one less-often- discussed aspect is how to tackle breakthrough innovation in the complex product and system manufacturing industry, such as aerospace & defense (A&D) or energy.
An interview with Andreas Mattha
ÖBB – or Österreichische Bundesbahnen – is an Austrian railway mobility and logistics service provider that was first formed in 1923. Today, ÖBB has over 40,000 employees, and it transported over 320 million passengers and 94 million tons of goods during 2021. ÖBB had a national monopoly on the railway in Austria, but since 2011 this monopoly has been broken up, and ÖBB now needs to prove its worth to its customers every day. One vital part of staying at the top of their customers’ minds is having a clearly defined purpose to guide strategic decision-making.