HOW TO CHOOSE A DIGITAL STRATEGY
DO EMPLOYEES ‘LIKE’ YOUR COMPANY?
UNDERSTANDING TODAY’S CYBERTHREATS
WHY BIG DATA ISN’T ENOUGH
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sloanreview.mit.edu WINTER 2017 • VOL. 58 • NO. 2
0DQDJHPHQW5HYLHZ KEEPING UP WITH
EMERGING MARKETS If your company isn’t staying abreast of the latest strategies from developing economies, you’re falling behind. PAGE 25
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FROM THE EDITOR
Please Go Away HAVING SPENT MOST of the spring and summer
months head down in the office, I’ve been on the road more recently. And I’ve been reminded of how powerful an experience it is simply to be “elsewhere,” especially in times of uncertainty. We find ourselves in an unsettled and unsettling era. Our politics are in turmoil; our economies heave and sigh; technological change occurs at a speed that makes even our robots’ heads spin. As humans and as organizational leaders, our world may often seem distressingly unpredictable. There is so much beyond our control and so much with which we need to keep pace. If you’ve been following MIT Sloan Management Review during the past several months, you know that we — and perhaps I most of all — believe we are on the crest of the next management revolution, one that is driven by emerging technologies like artificial intelligence, big data, and analytics that will fundamentally and permanently tip many of the most sacred of the organization’s sacred cows. People hired based on algorithms; machines making strategy; marketers literally reading our minds — one moment it all seems far-fetched; the next shockingly near. And it’s all happening within a global environment that shifts beneath our feet. So what is a mere mortal to do? You can begin by going outside. Get out of your office and into the parking lot. Jump in a car and take a former colleague to lunch. Hop on a plane and go to a conference. Find a lecture to attend. Pack up your laptop and head for a coworking space. Cross state lines. Put yourself someplace where something unexpected is more likely to happen. Give yourself an opportunity to learn. But whatever you do, do something that is not a part of your routine — and SLOANREVIEW.MIT.EDU
then commit to doing so routinely. If your job doesn’t have you out of the office at least a few days every month, start blocking time on your calendar and force yourself to be somewhere else once a fortnight. Just as important, make it a top priority for those you manage to do the same. That means giving people the direction and the time to follow your lead. The world is evolving in twists and turns, following patterns we do not recognize. Even if the environment directly within your sights seems relatively stable, the forces of change will find you soon enough. The only question is how soon. Whether fomented