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May 17, 2020 0 comments Organizing for Business Ecosystem Leadership: Insights from Expert Conversations and a Global Survey

To compete successfully in the digital age, companies must be able to shape and leverage an increasingly complex network of internal and external stakeholders, which constitutes their “business ecosystem”. Ecosystems help organizations access critical capabilities that would have otherwise been unavailable or difficult to obtain. At the same time, they create opportunities to enter new markets, and to develop products and services that result from different combinations of capabilities, assets, and organizations.

Leading and managing the complex networks that constitute a company’s business ecosystem has become a critical capability to compete successfully in the context of digital transformation dynamics, which are disrupting industries and redefining the way business works in the 21st century. Effective business ecosystem engagement requires a different type of strategic and organizational acumen; one that is based on a dynamic system view that overcomes traditional linear thinking and transcends the egocentric perspectives most companies tend to harbor.

To gain insights into how large organizations deal with this leadership challenge, the Drucker School’s Center for the Future of Organization (CFFO) conducted a global survey among senior executives that focused on understanding the strategic and organizational capabilities it takes to perform successfully within ecosystem networks. The study also explored existing capability gaps to learn what could be done and what is currently being done to close such gaps.

To get input for the design of the survey — and to discuss and interpret the findings — the CFFO convened an executive advisory board and engaged in a series of in-depth conversations with a cross-functional group of academic thought leaders, business leaders, and consultants.

The survey results reported in this paper are complemented by summary descriptions of twelve key issues related to business ecosystem leadership. The twelve summaries map the agenda for business ecosystem leadership and serve as a qualitative context for the quantitative data.


Researcher

Roland Deiser, PhD
Roland is a Senior Drucker Fellow and the Founder of the Center for the Future of Organization (CFFO), an independent think tank at the Drucker School of Management, Claremont University. The CFFO serves as a global hub for applied research and practical discourse on new paradigms of leadership and organization with a special focus on the role of digital technologies as drivers of competitive advantage.

Prior to his engagement with the Drucker School, Roland served for ten years as a Senior Fellow with the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California (USC). He is also the founder and chairman of the Executive Corporate Learning Forum (ECLF), a global network of more than sixty major multinational organizations from fourteen countries that jointly explore how to develop and sustain strategic capabilities in fast-changing environments.

In addition to the CFFO and the ECLF, you can learn more about Roland and his research and publications at his website, https://rolanddeiser.com/.


IRC4HR® Project Publications and Learning Materials

White Paper

Organizing for Business Ecosystem Leadership
Insights from Expert Conversations and a Global Survey
(40 pages)

IRC4HR® Upcoming Activities

Roland Deiser and the CFFO are planning to develop a detailed capability framework, an assessment tool, and an ongoing dialogue platform for companies interesting in learning more about the results and insights from this study and to measure and further develop their own business ecosystem leadership capabilities. Sign up using the form at right to be notified of next steps and more from IRC4HR.

 

July 16, 2019 0 comments The Digital Organization Design STAR Lab

About this Project

Socio-Technical Action Research is an interactive inquiry process that balances design thinking and problem-solving actions. The action research is conducted in a collaborative environment with data-driven analysis to inform future predictions about organizational design and change.

The Digital Organization Design STAR (Socio-Technical Action Research) Lab is a highly structured year-long learning and co-creation experience that allows participants and subject matter experts to collectively explore and prototype practical and innovative responses to digital challenges.  In this project, small teams of high-level representatives from leading organizations came together — with expert practitioners and academics in technology and organization design — to create prototypes of future organization and leadership models that could be tested in practice.

The work design of the lab is based on principles of tacit knowledge, and the tools and processes used for problem solving and sense making in the lab are from design thinking approaches. What makes the lab design unique and powerful is the integration of these two areas of practice. Even the lab space — which includes a theater where participants hear report-outs from “cottages” (small groups of colleagues) on their work product — is physically designed to enable high levels of collaborative problem solving and sense making.

The lab is designed as an information processing engine and supports a highly collaborative, iterative, learning, and solution-generating experience. For more about the lab methodology, please see the attached paper, Socio-Technical Action Research Lab: Design Lab Description and Process.

The outputs from this project include a wide array of materials, from methodology and insights to prototypes and tools for addressing the organization and leadership challenges of digital in your own organization. IRC4HR® is proud to have supported this work and excited to help make these innovative and practical materials available to all practitioners and organizations that can benefit from them.


Researchers and Lab Leaders

The STARLab Alliance is an educational not-for-profit dedicated to advancing our collective knowledge and understanding of the impact of digital technology on organization design. It was born from a desire to help organizations cope with the resulting challenges using an action research approach. STARLab Alliance sponsoring partners and leaders include:

  • Sue Mohrman, Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, USC
  • Bill Pasmore, Center for Creative Leadership
  • Rick Vanasse, Spring Network
  • Stu Winby, Spring Network
  • Chris Worley, Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, USC

You can find more information about the STAR Lab Alliance, the project, and opportunities to participate in future STAR Labs here.


IRC4HR® Project Publications and Tools

Please take time to explore, download, and make use of the materials that emerged from the collaborative STAR Lab experience and that were authored by the Lab researchers/leaders and participating company co-creators.

White Papers

Digital Organization Design Challenges: Prototype Solutions and IntegrationFast Scaling: A Practitioner’s Guide
Stu Winby (Spring Network); Chris Worley (USC); Sue Mohrman (USC); and Bill Pasmore (CCL)
(14 pages)

Digital Organization Design Challenges: Prototype Solutions and IntegrationSocio-Technical Action Research Lab Description
Stu Winby (Spring Network); Chris Worley (USC); Sue Mohrman (USC); and Bill Pasmore (CCL)
(8 pages)

Digital Socio-Technical DesignDigital Socio-Technical Design — STARLab Action Research Workshop
Bill Pasmore (CCL) and Stu Winby (Spring Network)
(53 pages)

Research Papers

Digital Organization Design Challenges: Prototype Solutions and IntegrationDigital Organization Design Challenges: Prototype Solutions and Integration
Chris Worley (USC), Sue Mohrman (USC), Bill Pasmore (CCL), and Stu Winby (Spring Network); and the members of the STARLab Consortium
(19 pages)

Designing from the Future - Building Prototypes for Digitalized OrganizationsDesigning from the Future – Building Prototypes for Digitalized Organizations
Sue Mohrman and Chris Worley (University of Southern California); Bill Pasmore (Center for Creative Leadership); and Stu Winby (Spring Network)
(27 pages)

Designing a Digitally Enabled Prototype— a Customer-Centric DesignDesigning a Digitally Enabled Prototype— a Customer-Centric Design
Sharon Butler (Magellan Health); Caroline Missen (Shell); and Chris Worley (USC)
(9 pages)

Design a Prototype of Digitally Enabled Ecosystem Organization DesignDesign a Prototype of Digitally Enabled Ecosystem Organization Design
Stacy Conti (Magellan Health); Pankaj Madan (Interglobe); Prateek Sinha (Shell); Kathryn Zarr (BASF); Michael Leckie (Bloomberg); and Sue Mohrman (USC)
(10 pages)

Designing a Digitally Enabled Prototype— Jointly-optimized Social and Technical Work SystemDesigning a Digitally Enabled Prototype— Jointly-optimized Social and Technical Work System
Rob de Wit (Shell); Carl Watson (Microsoft); Scott Stussi (BASF); Nitin Sethi (Interglobe); and Bill Pasmore (CCL)
(11 pages)

Designing a Digitally Enabled Prototype—The “Changing Face” of Innovation DesignDesigning a Digitally Enabled Prototype—The “Changing Face” of Innovation Design
Will Harper (Free Radicals); Erin Kirchardt (Magellan Health); and Stu Winby (Spring Network)
(9 pages)

Tools

Download the Tools
Introduction to the STARLabs Tool Kit
Efficiency-Innovation Tools
Front-Back Tools
Hieararchy and Networks Tools
Integration and Coordination Tools
Digital Leadership Tools
Scaling Tools
Digital Talent Tools
Digital Change Tools
November 5, 2018 0 comments Digital Transformation Challenges for Leaders and Organizations

About this Project

As digital technology makes its way into every aspect of business and society, organizations are challenged to transform their operating and business models to stay competitive – or just to survive. Despite the exploding literature on the subject, and the mushrooming of advisory services that promise solutions, questions remain on how to best define digital transformation, how to navigate the digital transformation process, and who should spearhead the transformational efforts. There is broad consensus, however, that successful digital transformation requires a multifaceted systemic effort that fundamentally challenges the managerial routines of the 21st century organization.

This study explores, through deep-dive interviews, how senior executives from functions that are relevant in the digital transformation process perceive the related leadership and organizational challenges (with special emphasis on cross-boundary collaboration).


Researcher

Roland Deiser, PhD
Roland is a Senior Drucker Fellow and the Founder of the Center for the Future of Organization (CFFO), an independent think tank at the Drucker School of Management, Claremont University. The CFFO serves as a global hub for applied research and practical discourse on new paradigms of leadership and organization with a special focus on the role of digital technologies as drivers of competitive advantage.

Prior to his engagement with the Drucker School, Roland served for ten years as a Senior Fellow with the Center for the Digital Future at the University of Southern California (USC). He is also the founder and chairman of the Executive Corporate Learning Forum (ECLF), a global network of more than sixty major multinational organizations from fourteen countries that jointly explore how to develop and sustain strategic capabilities in fast-changing environments.

In addition to the CFFO and the ECLF, you can learn more about Roland and his research and publications at his website, https://rolanddeiser.com/.

IRC4HR® Project Publication

Digital Transformation Challenges in Large and Complex Organizations
This report outlines nine major, interdependent areas leaders must pay attention to, and provides insights on key elements of the complex transformational journey towards digital maturity.
(28 pages)

IRC4HR® Upcoming Webinars

We’re planning a future webinar series to share the results and insights from this study; dates to be announced. Sign up using the form at right to be notified of upcoming webinars and more from IRC4HR.

November 1, 2018 0 comments Personal Network Strategies of Successful People

About this Project

As the collaborative intensity of work has exploded and the pace of change has accelerated over the past decade, personal networks have become critical to performance and well-being. More than 20 years of mapping networks and individual (and collective) performance in 300+ organizations has yielded some surprising truths regarding the network strategies of high performers. These strategies — captured in a white paper and a series of personal case studies and learning modules — can be shared and adopted by individuals and organizations interested in building and nurturing successful, high-performing, and personally fulfilling networks at work and beyond.

This IRC4HR-sponsored research is focused on understanding the behaviors of successful people — those in their organizations’ high performance category and scoring higher on measures of career satisfaction, well-being, and engagement. How do these people build, maintain, and leverage personal networks in ways that help them produce innovative solutions, execute work, and thrive in their careers?


Researcher

Rob Cross

For almost twenty years, Rob’s research, teaching, and consulting have focused on applying social network analysis to critical business issues for actionable insights and bottom-line results. He has worked with more than 300 leading organizations (companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations) on a variety of solutions including innovation, organizational change and alignment, talent optimization, and leadership effectiveness.

Below are the white paper and related learning modules that present the findings and insights from the research funded by IRC4HR. To learn more about Rob’s research and his network of practitioners that are co-creating new applications of his methods and tools, please visit his website at https://www.robcross.org/ or the website of the Connected Commons at https://connectedcommons.com/.


IRC4HR® Project Publications and Learning Materials

White Paper

The Invisible Network Strategies of Successful PeopleThe Invisible Network Strategies of Successful People
Counterintuitive Ways to Innovate, Execute and Thrive at Work
(23 pages)

Learning Modules

Produce Innovative Solutions Execute Work Efficiently Thrive at Work
Tap Into a Broad Network Early in Problem Solving
Scale Accomplishments Through Networks Reduce Collaborative Overload to Regain Time and Space
Create Emergent Innovation Through Open Interactions in the Network
Build Personal Agility Through Networks Use Your Network to Draw You to What Matters Most
Build Purpose, Energy and Trust to Earn Interest, Effort and Creativity
Cultivate Influence Without Authority Through Network Roles Make Network Investments that Create a Sense of Purpose in Your Work
Adapt the Work and the Network Simultaneously
Drive Results Through Agile Team and Unit Networks Buffer from Work and Anchor in Non-Work Networks to Gain Perspective and Foster Well-Being

 

IRC4HR® Upcoming Webinars

Innovate, Execute, Thrive: Research-Based Network Habits to Transform Your Work and Life

Please join us for a series of three webinars that will further explore how you and your organization can cultivate personal networks that ignite innovation, enhance execution, and help you to thrive at work and beyond.

Thrive At Work
“Reduce Collaborative Overload and Invest in Networks to Clarify Priorities, Improve Productivity, and Enhance Well-Being”
June 29, 2018
11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET/16:00 pm – 17:00 pm BST

Produce Innovative Solutions
“Build Purpose, Energy, and Trust to See Opportunities, Solve Problems, and Create Emergent Innovation”
September 11, 2018
11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET/16:00 pm – 17:00 pm BST

Execute Work Efficiently
“Design a Network That Builds Agility, Cultivates Influence, and Drives Results”
December 6, 2018
11:00 am – 12:00 pm ET/16:00 pm – 17:00 pm GMT

November 1, 2018 0 comments Work for Humanity

About this Project

This initiative was launched with a two-day brainstorming event sponsored by IRC4HR® and the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). The meeting brought together eighteen experts from across disciplines to explore how to better leverage technology to help people perform more valuable and meaningful work in a dynamic and unpredictable future.

The goals of the meeting were two-fold: craft a comprehensive vision for the future of work and chart a path for a new organization dedicated to putting the ideas into practice and proving their viability.

Led by Jen Gresham – a scientist, retired military officer, and coach – this “Blue Sky” meeting produced provocative discussion, inspired thinking, and a creative set of potential solutions for developing a human-centered future of work and life.

We invite you to learn more about this initiative by reading the report from the meeting (Work for Humanity – Blue Sky Meeting Results) and to contribute your own ideas and feedback by contacting Jen (jen@workforhumanity.com) or IRC4HR (info@irc4hr.org).

You can also be updated about this and other research and initiatives funded and supported by IRC4HR by sharing your contact information in the “Stay in the Loop” form on this page.


Initiative Leader

Jen Gresham, Scientist, Coach, and Optimist

Jen Gresham has helped hundreds of people around the world find greater fulfillment and financial success as a high performance coach and business strategist.

Prior to her coaching, Jen spent 16 years in the US Air Force as a scientist and an officer. She is the former Assistant Chief Scientist of the Human Performance Wing for the Air Force Research Laboratory. With a mission to expand ordinary human performance into the extraordinary, she helped lead a $100M research portfolio spanning the fields of biology, psychology, and technology. Prior to that, she served in a number of other roles across various Air Force programs.

Jen is a graduate of the US Air Force Academy and received her PhD in biochemistry from the University of Maryland. She was awarded the Air Force Research and Development Scientist of the Year in 2008 and is the author of several publications on human performance augmentation.


IRC4HR® Project Publications


Work for Humanity - Blue Sky Meeting Results
Work for Humanity – Blue Sky Meeting Results
Developing a Common Vision for the Future of Work
(31 pages)

If you are interested in playing a role in Work for Humanity or would like to make us aware of your current efforts in this space as part of our systems approach, please reach out to the author, Jen Gresham (jen@workforhumanity.com), or to info@irc4hr.org.

October 20, 2018 0 comments Inclusion by Design:
A Conference for Building the Inclusive Workplace of the Future

About this Project

Inclusion by Design is a conference (October 28-29, 2019 in NYC) hosted and curated by amazing.community, a non-profit organization whose mission is to expand the work horizon for women over fifty. Inclusion by Design will provide a platform for women 50+, business leaders, and anyone else who is passionate about inclusive workplaces to meet, learn new skills, form relationships, and brainstorm strategies and solutions for collaboratively building an inclusive future of work.

Day 1 of the conference includes capability-building sessions to increase your confidence, develop your brand, and learn how to design and build tools to inspire an inclusive and accessible workplace. Day 2 features thought-leaders and experts in technology, longevity, media, and education who will be exploring how women 50+ can claim their place in the future of work. Both days also include opportunities for networking and experiential learning in a space generously provided by PwC at 300 Madison Avenue, NYC.

  • Raise Awareness – Understand the urgency of taking actions to support women 50+ in returning and staying in the workforce
  • Co-Create – Learn about practical steps you can take in your organization, community, and personal life
  • Build Capabilities – Develop new skills via hands-on experience

IRC4HR® is pleased to be a sponsor of this important program.


Conference Leadership

Stela Lupushor, Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Directors of amazing.community
Stela founded amazing.community to address a growing barrier that older women are facing in joining or rejoining the workforce; their experience and wisdom are not as valued as others in the job market. Stela’s mission in establishing amazing.community is to prepare older women for the modern workplace and expand their work horizon.

Stela is also the founder of Reframe.Work Inc., a consulting firm advising organizations on workplace inclusion in order to bring resiliency and access to talent in an environment disrupted by demographic shifts, technology, value chain disintermediation, and human behavior evolution. Previously she led the analytics function and worked in a variety of management consulting roles at several Fortune 100 companies. She is a sought-after speaker on the topics of People Analytics and the Future of Work and holds a diploma in Mathematics and Computer Science from Universitatea de Stat din Moldova.

Leslie Faerstein, Executive Director of amazing.community
Leslie has a long history in nonprofit administration in mental health, arts, and healthcare and voluntarism for urban high school students. She has a small private psychotherapy practice and has recently been lecturing and writing on Women, Aging and Body Image.
October 10, 2018 0 comments Understanding the Impact of Job Language on Workforce Participation of Underrepresented Minorities

About this Project

This research will measure the impact of job description language on respondents’ interests in a job with a goal of helping hiring organizations and recruiting software vendors to improve the underrepresentation of minorities in applicant pools. For example, previous research has stated that language emphasizing stereotypically ‘masculine’ attributes reduces women’s interest in internships and jobs. The magnitude and nature of the impact of job description language on the interest of people of color in professional opportunities remains an open question and will be explored.

Results are expected early in 2020. Please come back to see them or add your contact information to the “Stay in the Loop” form on this page and we will let you know when they are available.


Researcher

Maryam Jahanshahi, PhD, Scientist

Maryam is a Research Scientist at TapRecruit. Maryam has more than 10 years’ experience in experimental design and statistical analysis and has developed expertise in applied social and organizational psychology as well as data science, computational linguistics, and machine learning. Her research program integrates these different approaches to generate a holistic view of how language and behaviors affect decision-making at multiple stages of the hiring process. Maryam has been invited to speak about the impact of heuristics in recruiting at various conferences on data science and business.

Maryam received her Ph.D. from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai (NYC) and her B.A. and B.Sc. degrees from the University of Melbourne in Australia. She is a member of academic bodies that advance behavioral research (American Psychological Association, Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues). She is also active in organizations that promote women in technology (Women in Machine Learning and Data Science, Women who Code, Women in Analytics, R-Ladies, Py-Ladies).

October 10, 2017 0 comments The State of Employment Relations: A Multinational Study of Employer and Employee Perspectives

About this Project

The subject of this research is the health of the employer-employee relationship. The goals of the study were to assess what determines the effectiveness of the relationship and the impact of the relationship on organization performance and employee wellbeing. The study is based on a multi-national survey of employers and employees (in the US, UK, Australia, and Canada), and examines a broad range of HR and other workplace practices.


Researchers

Bruce Kaufman
Bruce is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Georgia State University. His main area of research covers cross-disciplinary dimensions of the employment relationship, including labor economics, human resources management, industrial relations, labor and employment law, and business and labor history, with an emphasis on the institutional economics perspective. Professor Kaufman has written or edited eighteen books and more than one hundred journal articles and chapters.
Michael Barry
Michael is Professor of Employment Relations in the Griffith University School of Business in Brisbane, Australia. Besides being a long-time chair of the department, he has published research on a variety of human resource and employment subjects, such as employee voice, employer associates, and international and comparative employment relations. His latest edited book is The Research Handbook of Employment Relations in Sports.
Adrian Wilkinson
Adrian is Professor and Director of the Centre for Work, Organization, and Wellbeing in the Griffith University School of Business in Brisbane, Australia. Professor Wilkinson has authored, coauthored, or edited thirty books and more than 150 articles. He has been included in HR Magazine’s list of most influential thinkers in international HR. His latest co-edited book is the Oxford Handbook of Management.
Rafael Gomez
Rafael is Professor of Employment Relations at the University of Toronto and since 2015 has been the Director of the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources.

IRC4HRTM Project Publications and Learning Materials

Employee Engagement – What You Might Be Missing
Employee Total Productive Contribution: A Powerful Source of Competitive Advantage
(13 pages)

The Invisible Network Strategies of Successful PeopleTaking the Pulse at Work (Australia vs U.S.)
Employer-Employee Relations and Workplace Problems in Australia Compared to the United States
(45 pages)

The Invisible Network Strategies of Successful PeopleTaking the Pulse at Work (Australia)
An Employment Relations Scorecard for Australia
(31 pages)

June 9, 2015 0 comments Reimagining HR

Innovation Resource Center for Human Resources (IRC4HR®) is a major funder and core team member of The Global Consortium to Reimagine HR, Employment Alternatives, Talent, and the Enterprise (CHREATE). Formerly known as the Future of HR project, this open-source initiative is the collaborative effort of a group of CHROs from leading organizations, along with a small group of academics and other thought leaders, focused on defining – and working to enable and accelerate – the future of the HR profession.

HR [is] part of an ecosystem that demands that we rework both our perspective and our operational roles. —James Papiano, Executive Coach

The work of CHREATE began in 2013 by identifying the forces that are predicted to (and are already) emerging and producing disruptive change in society, business, and work. Building from this foundation, the group of highly motivated and engaged volunteers that are driving the CHREATE program focused on defining how these disruptive changes would impact the nature of work, workers, and organizations. Multiple teams conducted research and spent time translating that impact into implications for the future of HR in terms of the roles, skills, knowledge, etc., that will be needed for HR (and its practitioners) to make a valuable business contribution to the organizations in which it serves.

In May 2015, the group came together to review the findings of each team and to develop an approach for moving forward. IRC4HR® is proud to be a supporter and participant in the projects that will produce tools and other practical materials for accelerating the HR profession in its efforts to prepare, and be ready, for the future. To learn more about the CHREATE program and view some of its deliverables, please visit the website.

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