New leadership strategies for the enterprise of the future
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine new leadership approaches for competing in a flat world. Among the many demands placed on twenty‐first century leaders is the need to develop entirely new business strategies. Decision making must take into account many complex interactions and multiple scenarios. Yet strategic time horizons are becoming more compressed, requiring shorter planning cycles. Even if the right strategy is formulated, execution is often difficult. In addition, in today's dynamic market environment, both strategy and execution need to be quickly adjusted as conditions change.
Design/methodology/approach
The nine‐tiered framework presented has been successfully applied by the authors in a variety of settings. The approach integrates top‐down strategic planning with bottom‐up execution, all within the context of a knowledge‐based organization.
Findings
The paper finds that the ability of an organization to compete in a flat world is enhanced when all elements of the enterprise are in close alignment. A key role of the leader of the enterprise of the future is to create and maintain this alignment.
Originality/value
Through the application of this framework, organizations can improve in several ways that are critical to competing in a flat world. The main benefit is the improved speed and agility that comes from close organizational alignment. Tight coupling of organizational elements allows an enterprise to move closer to the goal of learning, innovating, and executing at the speed of change in the marketplace. In addition, forward‐looking organizations will benefit from: gaining the ability to identify critical knowledge gaps, opportunities, and risks; maximizing efficient and effective use of available resources; overcoming cultural barriers which inhibit execution and resist change; improving organizational performance through better measurement and tracking; and more effective leadership.
Keywords
Citation
Murray, A.J. and Greenes, K.A. (2006), "New leadership strategies for the enterprise of the future", VINE, Vol. 36 No. 4, pp. 358-370. https://doi.org/10.1108/03055720610716629
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited