How Strategy Works in an Interconnected, Automated World
Leaders already know that the classic approach to strategy--analyze, plan, execute--is losing relevance. But they don't yet know what replaces it. As everyone and everything becomes more interconnected and digitized, how do you operate, compete, and win?
Ming Zeng, the former Chief of Staff and strategy adviser to Alibaba Group's founder Jack Ma, explains how the latest technological developments, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the mobile internet, and cloud computing are redefining how value is created. Written especially for those outside the technology industry or the startup arena, this book introduces a simple, overarching framework to guide strategy formulation and execution in this data-rich and highly interactive environment.
Revealing the revolutionary practices that he and his team have developed at Alibaba, Zeng shows how to:
- Automate decisions through machine learning
- Create products informed by real-time data from customers
- Determine the right strategic positioning to maximize value from platforms and suppliers
- Repurpose your organization to further human insight and enable creativity
- Lead your company's transformation into a smart business
With insights into the strategies and tools used by leaders at Alibaba and other companies such as Ruhan and Red Collar, in a variety of industries from furniture making to banking to custom tailoring, Smart Business outlines a radically new approach to strategy that can be applied everywhere.
Smart Business: What Alibaba's Success Reveals about the Future of Strategy| Ming Zeng (Author)| Harvard Business Review Press
Table of Contents
Foreword, by Jack Ma
Introduction: Why You Need to Know about Alibaba
PART ONE: ALIBABA: The Emergence of a Smart Business
Chapter 1. The New Forces of Value Creation
Chapter 2. Network Coordination: How Interconnected Players Change the Game
Chapter 3. Data Intelligence: How Machine Learning Uses Data to Make Business Smart
PART TWO: HOW SMART BUSINESSES COMPETE: Strategic Principles
Chapter 4. Automating Decisions: How to Strategically Leverage Machine Learning
Chapter 5. The Customer-to-Business Model: How to Build a Feedback Loop
Chapter 6. Positioning: How to Create Value in a Network
PART THREE: HOW SMART BUSINESSES RUN: Organizational Implications
Chapter 7. Self-Tuning: How to Make Strategic Processes Smart
Chapter 8. From Managing to Enabling: How to Retool the Organization
Chapter 9. The Future of Smart Business: What It Means for You
Appendix A: Alibaba and Its Affiliated Businesses
Appendix B: The Evolution of Taobao as a Smart Ecosystem
Appendix C: Conceptual Foundations
Notes
LINK FOR THE BOOK
