Leading Blog

MARCH 18, 2011

[As a leader], you—not the IT department, nor the VP of IT, nor the chief information officer (CIO)—must understand, drive and be accountable for how technology is structured in order to reach the strategic goals of the operation….Technology The thing you want to be these days is a “fast follower.”

Chief Information Officer 281

Chief Information Officer CIO ROI Technology 281

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 23, 2014

Rather it’s an on-going nipping and tucking of organizational resources to achieve both growth and efficiency at multiple levels: the company overall, the operating group level, and even within functional groups like human resources and information technology. Operations Organizational culture'

Ulrich 8

Ulrich Cost Efficiency Consultative 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 12, 2013

Only 37% of respondents to The Bridgespan Group's Leadership Diagnostic Survey said they have "a clear understanding" of the leadership skills, roles, and number of individuals needed over the next three to five years to achieve their strategic goals. But it's critically important if yours is a fast-growing organization.

Banking 8

Banking Fast Follower Tools Survey 8

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 6, 2018

They are planning to be “fast followers” — a strategy that has worked with most information technologies. Even if the goal for an AI system is to be fully autonomous, it is likely that some period of time in augmentation mode will be necessary. We think this is a bad idea.

Company 8

Company Maturity System Engineering 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 4, 2014

In my experience, most companies are risk-averse and like to fashion themselves as great “fast followers.” But Kruschwitz makes an important point: “Being a fast follower on climate change…may be more complex and require longer lead times than most companies are anticipating.” That’s exactly right.

Supply Chain 8

Supply Chain Company Short-term Fast Follower 8

Harvard Business Review

SEPTEMBER 6, 2012

It's a model that works when you're competing to provide a safer car, a faster computer, or a cheaper airline ticket, but it's of little use when the goal is a better user experience. Samsung has built its name over the past two decades on being the world's greatest Fast Follower. It creates love.

Innovation 15

Innovation Supply Chain Short-term Long-term 15