McKinsey senior partners discuss the importance of not overlooking digital imperatives beyond Gen AI. Topics include integration of technologies for business success, rise of neural businesses, leveraging multiple technologies for innovation, practical applications of quantum computing, and maximizing benefits of AI in the workplace.
Organizational shift to neural business model by fostering autonomy in teams for enhanced productivity.
Focus on integrating diverse technologies for continual advancements and transformative business models, not fixating on singular trends.
Deep dives
Transforming into Neural Businesses
Companies are encouraged to embrace a new organizational model to become neural businesses, inspired by recent brain connectome studies. This entails shifting from rigid hierarchical structures to intricate network architectures facilitating efficient intra-organization connections. By fostering autonomy in teams aligned to specific business objectives and drawing from central platform services, companies enhance productivity. Successful examples like DBS Bank and Freeport showcase the benefits of this agile, neural network approach.
Leaders are advised to focus on integrating various technologies rather than fixating on singular trends, unlocking new business models or disruptions. The concept of forever transformers highlights how companies that continually invest in digital and AI advancements outpace competitors. Embracing transformative technologies like quantum computing can yield significant benefits across industries like financial services, pharmaceuticals, and automotive, revolutionizing complex problem-solving capabilities.
Building Gen AI Superpowers
The evolution towards Gen AI necessitates organizations to prioritize enhancing human capabilities in tandem with AI integration. To achieve optimal productivity gains, companies must redefine workflows, upskill employees, and realign roles to leverage AI effectively. Encouraging a shift from mundane task automation to empowering employees with AI tools for comprehensive job transformation drives productivity and innovation. Upskilling programs focusing on using AI effectively and developing non-tech skills are essential for ensuring successful AI-human collaboration in the workplace.
Gen AI has rightly seized leaders’ attention. But is it also eclipsing lower-profile digital imperatives? On this episode of The McKinsey Podcast, McKinsey senior partners Rodney Zemmel and Kate Smaje, with global editorial director Lucia Rahilly, talk about ideas leaders risk overlooking with gen AI in the spotlight, and how to ensure your digital initiatives—including gen AI—work in tandem to drive meaningful value.