You would think that established companies with their histories, their workforces, their brands, their products and services, their capabilities of all kinds, must surely be able to co-exist with the new digital age corporations after the 4th Industrial Revolution. But there is no divine right that they will do so. Many, perhaps most, will not make the transition to sustainable survival. In this important book, David Guillebaud explores the forces of disruption - digital technologies, Big Data, algorithms, millennial customers, new business and organizational models - showing where they will affect traditional businesses. He demonstrates that the inertia of many companies in the face of fundamental disruptive forces is explained by managerial denial and he explores why this is so. But all is not necessarily lost. He shows what it takes to move beyond denial to acceptance of reality, the things that must be done for there to be a prospect for survival in the disruptive age, and alternative strategies for success. And what leaders for this new world look like!
About the Author: DAVID GUILLEBAUD, advises CEOs and top management teams on strategy and transformation issues, especially on digital disruption. He challenges executive teams to seriously address the scope, scale, reach and pace of disruptive change, particularly from digital technologies.After starting his career in the oil industry, David gained his MBA from INSEAD, and then joined Arthur D. Little where he became leader of its worldwide travel, tourism and hospitality practice. From the early 1990s, he was already providing digital transformation and strategic advice to top teams from airlines, hotel groups, cruise lines and travel companies. He remains a well-known figure in these industries.David was director of a niche investment bank in London in the late 1980s. He has also experienced the ups and downs of being an entrepreneur: he was a leader in three start-ups - a consulting firm later sold to a large American group, a travel softwarecompany successfully sold to a cable TVcompany, and a dot-com travel business thatran out of money! He continues to invest ininteresting companies as a business angel.These days, David works part time as anassociate partner at Elixirr, a fast-growing, London-based consulting firm with a strongdigital technology and IT heritage.With a strong interest in Africa andeconomic development, David is chairmanof Great Lakes Outreach, which works withChristian leaders in the Great Lakes regionof Central Africa. He lives in France.