Discover the key traits of a future-ready organization, from agile strategy to tech integration and customer-centricity.

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Tom

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January 2024

Future ready organization

What are the characteristics of a “future ready organziation”? In this post, we take a look into the future. In which direction will successful organizations develop and which characteristics will distinguish them. We define the key aspects of a future ready organization based on our transformation action areas. Each aspect of readiness thus relates to an important part of the company and can thus be assigned structurally.

Strategy & business models

  • Future directions
    • Strategy cycles are getting shorter and shorter – companies are forced to question their strategy process and business model more regularly and to become more dynamic and agile. This leads to constant change in order to meet the new needs of their environment. To meet this demand, “strategy” will no longer be a pure top management responsibility, but the entire organization must be involved in an appropriate way. Furthermore, it will become elementary to differentiate oneself as a company where it brings a market advantage. In this context, new cooperation models within the framework of ecosystems will also gain in importance and thus significantly influence the sourcing strategy.
  • The characteristics – The company(‘s)
    • knows its own strengths or “own core” and continuously develops them further
    • has a transparent purpose that is comprehensible to everyone employees known his or her contribution to the implementation of the strategy, as well as his or her personal purpose
    • has a transparent and concrete strategic roadmap, which is continuously questioned/challenged. has a standardized and transparent innovation process.
    • products and services are developed according to the motto “try early, fail fast”
    • cooperates with selected strategic partners in ecosystems. … observes, examines and recognizes trends for itself and its products beyond the current market boundaries (“strategic foresight”)
    • current situation is assessed in terms of its future potential, not the status quo.
    • mindset is that everything we do today is aimed at being in a better position tomorrow to react quickly to changes

Technology & data

  • Future directions
    • Technology and data will not be a pure “IT issue” in the future but become relevant for all employees in the company. Furthermore the development and retention of in-house IT competencies will increase in importance, i.e., full outsourcing models will decrease with a focus on selected and strategic sourcing partners. This is supplemented by an agile IT architecture will become a critical success factor for the timely implementation of digital innovations. For systems and processes, it is more important than ever to find the ideal mix between perfection and implementation speed (with a clear tendency toward speed). In addition to this the collection, knowledge and use/interpretation of data is becoming a central success factor and an important basis for decision-making. The developments around “new work” will require the use of adequate tools and cyber security has done a paradigm shift towards “zero trust.
  • The characteristics
    • High level of in-house IT expertise and selective outsourcing with strategic partners as well as targeted use of cloud technologies
    • Applications & services: Streamlining of monolithic core systems to granular architectures (“one-service-one-function”)
    • Where possible, the delivery process is characterized by automated continuous software delivery and integration (DevSecOps)
    • The IT architecture thus enables flexibility and simple connection/integration of new functionalities
    • The company knows its data (inventory, classification, etc.) and uses it actively (data-driven business) – data is available to everyone at all times and in all places
    • Collaboration tools are proactively evaluated and used on an ongoing basis for collaboration within and outside the company
    • Working and collaborating is possible from anywhere without a loss of security and quality
    • The company proactively manages cyber security

strategy & business models / technology & data process automation / human transformation / marketing & communication / customer orientation

Process automation

  • Our theses on future directions
    • Relevant efficiency increases will be achieved with process automation and digitization. For this a holistic approach is needed (human transformation, customer orientation, rethinking processes, etc.) – merely automating or digitizing existing processes is not enough. Standard processes and recurring tasks are handled by virtual assistants to free up space for value-adding activities. Automation is no longer purely an IT issue, but the business is driving this direction as it needs to in order to be successful with a clear customer focus.
  • The characteristics
    • Virtual assistants are implemented and help to use humans for intelligent work
    • Intelligent process automation: processes are standardized as far as possible and digitized where it makes sense
    • Existing data is integrated as far as possible to increase the degree of automation
    • The “IT” competence for digitalization and optimization has shifted to the business
    • Modern tools (“low code”) are provided by IT
    • Processes are clear, transparent and measurable and can be continuously adapted to changes.

Human transformation

  • Future directions
    • Collaboration changes fundamentally and new values take center stage – existing vessels and forms of work lose relevance. Performance (ability to perform) becomes central. People no longer talk about work-life balance, but about personal performance. The human being becomes even more central and important. The composition of teams is elementary, therefore hierarchies in their current form are no longer relevant. The place of performance will become less important for most occupational groups and the need of employees for support in health and regeneration will increase.
  • The characteristics
    • Strength through collaboration – there is no longer room for silos and divisional thinking – interdisciplinary teams dominate
    • Proactive and open competence management – the right resources are deployed in the right place
    • Clear definition of leadership. Possibly in combination with new role models –> pure leadership vs. business relevant functions
    • Self-responsibility (ownership) and consistent delegation of decision-making authority
    • Flat hierarchies and short decision paths – self-learning organization (“organizational learning”)
    • Employees have a personal purpose in line with the company
    • The culture is characterized by clarity, hunger for innovation, fault tolerance, delegated responsibility, curiosity, etc.
    • Governance: buy-in up to and including the board of directors
    • Employees are defined as individuals and the competence profiles include all performance values – everyone knows how “performant” he/she is
    • The management exemplifies an open mindset

Adaptability, collaboration, and customer-centricity redefine success in tomorrow’s organizations.

Marketing & communication

  • Future directions
    • Collaboration becomes a central aspect. New communication models are becoming standard and information is being sourced individually. Futhermore, the marketing and communication will become more and more important for the purpose as well as (Marketing) communication in its way will continue to change and interaction between both sides will become more and more important. The question is no longer which communication channel should be used, but only the question of “how (used)” – both internally and externally. Centrally controlled communication and the distinction between internal and external communication will become increasingly blurred.
  • The characteristics
    • Reflection on the company’s own strengths, its own “core” (DNA)
    • The company has a clearly defined communication strategy (what, when, which channels, etc.) and has state of the art collaboration tools that are used for this purpose
    • Information no longer has to be disseminated, but rather a “debt to be collected” culture prevails (applies primarily to general company-related information)
    • Marketing and communication are not purely externally (outside the company) focused topic

Customer orientation

  • Future directions
    • Without a consistent customer focus, a company cannot be successful in the longer term. This fundamental mindset must be “implanted” into the DNA of the company Customer requirements are not only manifold, but they also change more quickly. In a “transition phase” to this new mindset it is necessary to strategically define which needs one wants to cover and then focus on them. Not a little of everything, but strategically relevant. It is no longer enough to “throw” a product onto the market, the company must “know” the customer (keyword: data & trends) and recognize his needs.
  • The characteristics
    • The company has an organization that is oriented towards customer benefits
    • There is a consistent customer focus in every department and the decision-making authority is set up accordingly
    • Defined customer strategies are constantly scrutinized and improved, and the focus is communicated and implemented
    • Decisions are also made that are not comprehensible from the outside at first glance and are thus focused on defined customer segments
    • The customer is consistently involved in the (further) development of the company’s products.

Conclusion

In today’s dynamic business environment, organizations must adapt to change by embodying key characteristics. A future-ready organization excels in:

This roadmap towards a future-ready organization emphasizes adaptability, collaboration, and customer-centricity. Explore our solutions to redefine success in this transformative landscape.