article thumbnail

First Mover or Fast Follower?

Harvard Business Review

Yet, here are some of the questions that audience members asked me at a talk I gave at a recent banking conference (courtesy of Pigeonhole , one of my favorite Singaporean startups): "There are often education costs and risks of losing business among the technology laggards. Are the majority of our banking customers ready for change?".

article thumbnail

Samsung Pay’s Older Technology Could Be an Advantage

Harvard Business Review

Its foray into this industry comes on the heels of product entries by Google and Apple. But Samsung’s new mobile wallet strategy may be a sign that they are finally becoming a true leader and shedding their image as a fast follower.

Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

The Building Blocks of Successful Corporate IT

Harvard Business Review

But massive disruptions in business models, technology, and the work force have been throwing up massive new challenges for CIOs and other technology leaders. If they work for a product company, it may be looking to services revenue for growth. The job of Chief Information Officer has never exactly been easy. Organizational DNA.

CIO 8
article thumbnail

5 Leadership Lessons: The Velocity Manifesto

Leading Blog

In today’s high-velocity environment, Scott Klososky believes you need to understand how to guide your organization in the implementation and usage of technology—in short, how your organization “does” technology. [As The thing you want to be these days is a “fast follower.” Speed is our friend in almost every case.

article thumbnail

Why Companies That Wait to Adopt AI May Never Catch Up

Harvard Business Review

Instead they are waiting for the technology to mature and for expertise in AI to become more widely available. They are planning to be “fast followers” — a strategy that has worked with most information technologies. We think this is a bad idea. System Development Time. System Development Time.

article thumbnail

The Buzz on Green Business in China

Harvard Business Review

Of these 5 articles, some were self-explanatory: " Nation spurs development of new, green technologies ". " Two articles didn't scream sustainability until you read them: " Chemical company paints rosy picture for the future ," which opens with the question, "How can a chemical company earn more money through eco-friendly products?"

NGO 14
article thumbnail

Xbox Live: How an Old Tech Company Built a Social Media Juggernaut

Harvard Business Review

I discovered Xbox Live first via my brother-in-law Joel, a technology executive and gaming enthusiast from Seattle, and my junior high buddies, Emmett and Reid, from Hawaii. Fair or not, Microsoft has long had a reputation for being a fast follower. Not bad for the old guy.

Media 15