-: If you look at the history of how companies
have grown over the last century,
the primary driver has been to create sustained shareholder
returns in a world with predictable rules to the game.
That world no longer exists.
-: Today, social tension, economic nationalism,
and technological revolutions are reshaping business,
and the bar that once defined top performance
has not only risen, but it has transformed.
It's becoming clear that being great
is no longer good enough.
-: To lead in this new reality,
you'll need a new playbook of strategies
that delivers value, not only for your shareholders,
but to all stakeholders.
To thrive, you'll need to go beyond great.
(lively music concludes)
-: In an increasingly fragmented
but digitally-connected world, leading-edge companies
are redefining what great growth looks like.
These companies are integrating doing good
into the business and operating model.
They're unlocking profitable growth by smartly focusing
on countries and growing deeply local,
rather than depending on their scale to win globally.
And they are pioneering new propositions
for connected customers by layering digital solutions
onto their physical products.
Take the example of agriculture.
Humanity's oldest, and perhaps
one of its most complex industry.
Fortunately, data and smart algorithms can help.
John Deere recognized this.
In 2012, the world's number one tractor manufacturer
launched a digital platform, combining data
from IOT-connected farm equipment with globally collected
data on variables like weather,
crop prices, and soil conditions.
The platform gave farmers the ability to make
data-driven decisions down to the individual acre,
helping them boost crop yield and reduce costs.
John Deere's strategy of delivering digital solutions
through their physical products has been
an overwhelming success.
It's unlocked new growth opportunities
and reinforced the company's position
as the world's number one farm equipment manufacturer.
-: What happens when a global pandemic shuts down
your global supply chain?
It's a question that left many leaders scrambling
when COVID-19 hit.
To succeed in an era defined by shocks,
companies are fundamentally rethinking their operations.
They're moving past low-cost delivery models
to embrace flexible delivery networks.
They see data not as an exhaust,
but a fuel to drive new value propositions,
and they're complimenting their intra-industry supply chains
with digital ecosystems of cross-industry partners.
For example, when Volkswagen
set out to create its digital mobility platform,
it understood it needed a diverse set
of digital capabilities to bring the offering to life.
Going beyond the conventional strategies
of trying to build the platform itself,
Volkswagen orchestrated a complex ecosystem of 58 partners
across six different industries.
By breaking down the borders of traditional closed systems,
Volkswagen was able to deliver a new, cutting-edge
digital experience to its customers.
Great companies once perfected the art and science
of efficient supply chains.
Companies that go beyond will master
the art and science of ecosystems.
Those that do will unlock growth in ways
they could never achieve on their own.
-: In a time of revolutionary change,
it's not enough for companies to transform themselves
once every few years.
To thrive, companies must reinvent
their organizations constantly.
They'll need to liquefy themselves into focused,
fast, flat organizations.
They'll have to reimagine how they find and inspire
top talent, and they'll need to change
the very cadence of change.
A company that stands out to me as a remarkable example
of this is Microsoft.
(mellow music)
In 2014, Microsoft's
historically great performance had stalled.
The company needed to change,
and no one understood this better
than the new CEO, Satya Nadella.
Over the next six years,
Nadella led the company through a fundamental transformation
that included a new organization,
culture, and approach to leadership and talent.
The results were remarkable.
Since 2014, Microsoft's market cap has grown
to over $1.5 trillion, but even more importantly,
they have fully embraced their purpose.
But as remarkable as it was, Microsoft's transformation
wasn't a single break from the past.
It was the culmination of a number of change efforts
taken over time.
Like Microsoft, you must move beyond
one-and-done change efforts to embrace an always-on
approach to transformation.
Companies that make change a constant preoccupation
will dramatically hasten their ability to compete,
grow, and thrive in the years ahead.
-: In "Beyond Great," you'll discover the rules of success
in the 21st century
-: that any firm, local or global,
can deploy to not just survive,
-: but to thrive, not just to please,
but inspire, and not just to profit,
but to heal and grow.