How to transform your operating model for a changing world

🔥 𝟰𝟱% 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗘𝗢𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 That is not a headline from a futurist. It is data from 𝗣𝘄𝗖’𝘀 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗖𝗘𝗢 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘆. The same research shows that CEOs lose nearly 40% of their time to inefficiencies, such as meetings, administration, and endless complexity. And in 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀’ latest C-Suite survey, 82% of executives ranked digital transformation as a top priority, but only 3% believe their organizations are truly agile. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿: Technology is not the biggest barrier. Complexity and misalignment are. I have seen it firsthand: brilliant tools, massive investments, and motivated teams, yet projects stall because vision, business, and delivery do not speak the same language. 🧠 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘁𝗵: faster tools and more intelligent AI will not fix misalignment. They can actually accelerate failure. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 is clarity, alignment, and collaboration across the ecosystem. This is why I believe frameworks like 𝙋𝙚𝙜𝙖 𝘽𝙡𝙪𝙚𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙩 matter so much. But more on that later this week. 🔚 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗵𝘂𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁, 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆, 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲?

The next big disruption in business won’t be technology. It will be time. For decades, companies competed on price, quality, and innovation. But in 2026, the scarcest resource isn’t capital or talent it’s attention and time. • Employees are drowning in meetings, notifications, and “always‑on” culture. • Customers expect instant responses but also crave meaningful, human experiences. • Leaders are realizing that time design how we structure hours, days, and workflows is becoming a competitive advantage. Forward‑thinking organizations are already experimenting with: • 4‑day workweeks that boost productivity and retention. • Asynchronous decision‑making powered by AI, freeing leaders from endless calls. • “Time equity” policies ensuring junior voices get as much space as senior ones. The companies that master time as strategy will attract the best people, delight customers, and outpace competitors. 👉 Here’s the question: if you audited your organization’s use of time today, would it be an asset or your biggest hidden liability? #FutureOfWork #Leadership #Innovation #Productivity #OrganizationalDesign

For 30+ years, we tried to fix transformation with people and process. Workshops. Org charts. Culture initiatives. New KPIs. None of it moved the needle. The failure rate of transformation has stayed stubbornly high - up to 95%, according to McKinsey, BCG, and Bain. And that stat hasn’t changed since the 1970s. So what does move the needle? 👉🏻 Technology. But not generic tech. Purpose-built transformation platforms that embed best practices into the workflow. That's why we built Conductor by Sensei Labs. When you digitize the process and the mindset, transformation becomes: → Smarter - data replaces gut decisions → Repeatable - playbooks scale across initiatives → Faster - real-time insights surface what’s working → Aligned - teams see the same goals, KPIs, and blockers And most importantly: You don’t rely on heroics to get results. You rely on systems that drive transformation - at scale. The future of transformation isn’t a strategy deck. It’s a system that ships. Are you still trying to change culture without changing the tools?

For decades, operational excellence meant efficiency, faster outputs, lower costs, leaner processes. These principles remain vital, but today’s digital landscape demands something more profound: the ability to reimagine how organizations fundamentally operate. Excellence now means building systems that are resilient under pressure, adaptive to market shifts, and capable of continuous evolution. In an era shaped by AI, intelligent automation, and predictive analytics, operational excellence has evolved from maintaining static procedures to cultivating dynamic ecosystems that seamlessly integrate strategy, technology, and human capability. The most effective leaders today don’t enforce rigid standardization. Instead, they architect adaptive frameworks, providing strategic guardrails while empowering teams to innovate, experiment, and drive change from within. THE NEW PARADIGM Data as the engine of improvement: Real-time analytics have become the modern equivalent of kaizen, enabling organizations to identify opportunities, test hypotheses, and implement improvements with unprecedented speed and precision. Intelligent automation with human oversight: Strategic AI deployment amplifies human judgment rather than replacing it. By automating routine decisions and surfacing critical insights, technology frees teams to focus on complex problem-solving and strategic thinking. Digital-First culture: Every process transformation begins with customer experience and concludes with employee empowerment. This dual focus ensures operational improvements create tangible value both externally and internally. Resilience over rigidity: The most sophisticated processes aren’t the most rigid, they’re the most flexible. Organizations that build adaptive capacity maintain performance under pressure, pivot decisively when circumstances shift, and emerge stronger from disruption. Operations as competitive advantage Leading organizations have repositioned operational capabilities from back-office functions to strategic differentiators. In these companies, operational excellence drives innovation, agility, and sustained market leadership. The critical question has evolved: we must ask not just “Are we executing efficiently?” but “Are we pursuing the right priorities, with speed, insight, and alignment to our core purpose?” How is your organization redefining operational excellence in its digital transformation journey? #OperationalExcellence #DigitalTransformation #ContinuousImprovement #Innovation

We are resource-rich, yet many companies still struggle to 'Get It Right.' Despite having more data, technology, talent, capital, and the capabilities of AI and agents, organizations often find themselves stuck. Why is that? Being resource-rich does not automatically lead to being results-rich. Here are some reasons why many organizations face challenges, even with abundant resources: 1. Information overload, not insight. We are inundated with data but lack clarity. Dashboards abound, yet real decision-making remains elusive. 2. Tech without alignment. Tools are becoming smarter, but they are frequently implemented without purpose, adoption, or connection to the users. 3. Speed without strategy. The push to be “agile” or “AI-first” often replaces thoughtful planning, leading to confusion between motion and progress. 4. Siloed success. Teams may have resources but lack relationships. When insights are confined to departments, innovation stagnates. 5. Change fatigue at the top. Leaders are weary from constant transformations (digital, hybrid, AI), but few have developed the capacity for continuous evolution. 6. Forgetting the human element. The true differentiator is not just more data or better automation; it lies in how we integrate technology with empathy, creativity, and judgment. Ultimately, companies that 'get it right' are not just well-resourced; they are aligned, focused, and human-centered. What do you think separates organizations that truly thrive from those that continue to struggle with transformation?

🚀 Co-Creating Value as an IT Leader In today’s organizations, IT can no longer be seen as “just support.” Technology is deeply woven into every business function, and the role of IT leadership is not only to keep systems running, but to co-create value with business partners. As IT Leaders, we drive impact when we: ✅ Listen first — Understanding business challenges from the stakeholder perspective. ✅ Translate technology into outcomes — Framing solutions in terms of productivity, cost savings, and customer experience. ✅ Foster collaboration — Bringing technical teams and business units together to design workflows that improve how people actually work. ✅ Champion innovation — Encouraging adoption of automation, AI, and new tools to simplify processes. ✅ Measure and communicate results — Using KPIs and success stories to show how IT directly supports strategic goals. When IT and business teams work as partners, technology becomes more than infrastructure — it becomes a growth enabler. I’m proud of the times I’ve seen this collaboration deliver results: from enterprise migrations that boosted efficiency, to automation that saved hours of manual work, to cross-functional initiatives that made the employee experience better. 💡 The question for all of us in IT leadership is this: How are we showing up as value creators, not just service providers? #ITLeadership #BusinessAlignment #ValueCreation #ContinuousImprovement

The term capability multiplier is everywhere these days. But for business leaders, what does it really mean? A capability multiplier is anything that lets you achieve more impact without adding proportional effort, cost, or headcount. It compounds strength, and tilts the odds in your favor when markets are unforgiving. The smartest leaders look for multipliers at two levels: Inside the Business – AI and automation: Taking repetitive work off the table so teams can focus on high-value decisions. – Adaptable teams: Hiring for mindset not just skills. – Data as a decision driver: Moving from static reports to insights that shape choices, risks, and priorities. At the Macro Level: – Blended-shore delivery: Combining scale and cost efficiency with global expertise and resilience, reducing dependence on a single labor market. – Partnerships over vendors: Strategic partnerships extend capability without the overhead of building everything in-house. – Capital efficiency: Strengthening customer experience, building brand equity, or investing in systems that make the next stage of growth faster and safer. The mindset behind capability multiplying is different from cost-saving. Cost-saving is about scarcity – cutting, trimming, surviving. Multiplying capabilities is about abundance – getting more leverage, resilience, and growth from the same foundation.

At SXSW Sydney today, one common theme really grabbed me: Efficiency is rising. Expertise is falling. That simple contrast reframed how I’m thinking about AI, leadership, and operating in uncertainty. The data shared by Sandra Peter and Kai Riemer today said it all - while AI has boosted productivity by 66%, it’s also reduced brain activity by 55% when we offload thinking. No wonder expertise is thinning out. It’s a snapshot of where so many organisations are right now: chasing efficiency gains while quietly eroding expertise. We absolutely need to move fast, but not at the cost of judgment, creativity, or experience. What we need now is adaptive expertise - the kind that tackles hard problems, questions assumptions, and unlearns the old ways. AI is amplifying that divide. For junior staff, it can easily become a detractor by replacing the work that builds true expertise. For senior staff, it’s a force multiplier - sharpening decision quality and strategic focus. That’s why this line (shared by Maggie Jackson) hit me today: “Uncertainty is the brain telling itself there’s something to be learned here.” - Joseph Kable Uncertainty isn’t a threat - it’s a signal to learn, and that’s the balance I’ll be over here trying to get right: driving efficiency while still creating space for adaptive expertise to grow. How are you managing that tension in your teams?

The work-design paradox (the redesign gap). We’re living in an era of exponential capability - AI, automation, global connectivity, yet we continue to run our organisations on an operating model built for predictability, control, and uniformity. This is the paradox: The more complex and fast-moving the world becomes, the more organisations cling to structures that were designed for stability. So instead of increasing adaptability, every layer of new technology, process, or restructuring often reinforces the old control logic. Modern organisations are brilliant at adding tools, but terrible at redesigning the work itself. The result? Layers of control masquerading as efficiency, and endless “transformation” projects that tweak the surface while leaving the system intact. This paradox is what the third piece in my Rethinking Work Design series explores. I call it the redesign gap, and challenge leaders to shift from the economics of control to the economics of enablement. 👉 Read The Redesign Gap: Why We Still Work Like It’s 1955 (and How to Stop) here: https://lnkd.in/g87jpn8C #Strategy #Leadership #FutureOfWork #Complexity #WorkDesign

It's important to stay aware of benefits and limitations of AI, as its power is a building block from historical data. #AIinBusiness