Riding Through Current Challenges
You want to grow? You’ve got to go for it. All of it.
In this issue, I focus on:
- Facing Fundamentals - what we can’t avoid, what we have to deal with, one step at a time.
- Digital DNA - how AI-generated digital twins increase options for employers AND employees.
- Distributed Works - what to learn from Hollywood’s remote/hybrid/onsite production models.
Responding to Reality
If you are striving to grow your business or division, it can be a wild ride as you move fast over uneven ground. The road forward is not easy or obvious or avoidable.
There’s no achievable ‘destination’. You are on an ongoing journey with interdependent elements evolving simultaneously which requires attention, effort and energy from you and the entire workforce.
In fits and starts, we are moving towards technology-enabled, individually improved situations. Everyone ultimately benefits – customers, consumers, and creators – whatever executive, employee or non-employee role someone has.
Take these three fundamental steps to keep advancing and growing:
#1: Whatever your business needs – take care of your people first.
New technologies benefit your business when talent uses them effectively. You need people to rally—develop new concepts, test and launch upgrades, and adopt new tools rapidly. Active engagement by managers working with their teams accelerates AI adoption four-fold [BCG].
#2: Modern work is digitalized – adapt for networked, project-based teamwork.
Everyone must lean forward to learn and adjust, often blazing new trails, not following familiar tracks. Digitally advanced companies studied enjoyed much higher net revenue growth (45%) and net profit margins (43%) than the least digitally mature companies (15%,15%) [Deloitte].
If your company has a solid tech base and approach—leaders with mindsets open to pivot with AI-driven change—you have a foundation to build upon. Digital champion companies researched had people and culture at the core of their strategies [PwC].
“With environments constantly changing, companies need to be able to continuously adapt and improve. That means focusing on people above all, for example, by upskilling the supply chain workforce or attracting digital talent and managing them in cross-functional teams.” - Digital Champions in 2025, PwC.
Generational Intelligence
Digital DNA
Comprehensive digital transformation is now urgent as AI is reengineering processes, redesigning work, augmenting capabilities, and adding AI agents to teams to help meet customers’ demands.
Your business and workforce need to operate ‘digital first’.
AI-enabled ‘digital twins’—virtual representations of objects or systems designed to accurately reflect the physical objects—offer powerful possibilities including some that impact workplace dynamics.
Prithwiraj Choudhury, Lumry Family Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, Scholar of Geography of Work, Talent and Innovation, explains the benefits of digital twins:
Source: Clip from upcoming podcast interview with Prithwiraj Choudhury.
To attract and retain the best talent, employers can use digital twin applications to give many employees with fixed onsite work more workplace flexibility and autonomy.
Raj covers digital twins in more detail in Part 3 of his new book, The World is Your Office: How Work from Anywhere Boosts Talent, Productivity and Innovation, which is hot off the press - just released on April 22nd!
How can digital twins be utilized as your business grows? Consider how to integrate digital twins into your scaling and talent strategies so you can plan location-agnostically.
Do you know someone who might also benefit?
Distributed Works
Whatever the media clickbait and political swells, workplace flexibility in its many forms has been around for decades.
‘Telecommuting’ increased significantly—mostly informally—between 2009 and 2019 as smartphones’ new apps untethered us from onsite machines and enabled more work efficiencies.
Hollywood movies, however, have proven the efficacy of sophisticated working models for multi-million-dollar productions over many decades.
Hollywood producer (including Transformers, The Wolverine) and Academy-Award CGI effects winner (Independence Day), Steven Puri, explains Hollywood’s phased remote:hybrid:onsite/on-set model.
Source: From my upcoming podcast episode with Steven Puri discussing Hollywood production and focused productivity, the emphasis of his new venture, the Sukha company.
Onsite or online location choices are one dimension of business operations which factor into achieving better results. These options allow adjustments for employees’ preferences to enhance performance and or optimize strategic projects or phases of growth.
Phased Hollywood production dynamics may already be reflected in how your company explores new markets, test products at pop-up locations and gathers for regular team-building activities.
How else can these work arrangement phases be purposefully deployed to benefit future project outcomes and generate scheduled community connectivity?
There’s no riding off into the sunset (for a while). However, when you pay attention to the terrain, embrace the journey, and bond with the team along with you, everyone’s efforts are more aligned, cohesive and effective to achieve the necessary transformation as you scale.
If you’ve been riding the storm lately, let me know what’s causing you issues.
See you next week!
Leadership in 4D
Scaling Skills-first
News & Muse
Scalable strategies. Tactical talk. Workforce transformation.