This week, we look at how “lighthouse” factories are pushing advanced manufacturing and AI-driven technology forward. Plus, new rules for retail banking, and reading picks from Robert I. Sutton, a Stanford professor and expert on workplace dynamics. |
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During the first industrial revolution, innovations in steam power drove work from hand to machine. Electrification largely powered the second revolution, with telephone lines and light bulbs connecting and illuminating people across the globe. A century later, the third began the process of digitizing the world, with the spread of PCs, the internet, and sophisticated IT. |
Now, the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is here, and it’s tough to tag it to one predominant tech breakthrough. Try artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), autonomous vehicles, 3-D printing, nanotechnology, biotechnology, materials science, energy storage, and quantum computing. All of them promise to completely upend traditional manufacturing, blurring the lines among physical, digital, and biological spheres. |
So how do manufacturers make their way through the fog? Lighthouses, of course. In the 21st century that doesn’t mean picturesque seaside towers with sweeping search beams, but rather cutting-edge factories that light the way forward. In Fourth industrial revolution: Beacons of technology and innovation in manufacturing, a report from the World Economic Forum in collaboration with McKinsey, the authors have identified 16 “lighthouses”—selected from a survey of more than 1,000 manufacturing sites—that are forging ahead, implementing advanced manufacturing and AI-driven technology at scale, and seeing significant gains. |
These factories of the future have adapted the connectivity, intelligence, and flexible automation potential of their operations. They’ve also incorporated many of the lessons of Operations 4.0, including defining value by the needs of the customer and avoiding “pilot purgatory,” where businesses launch pilot after pilot without real productivity gains. |
4IR is very different from the first industrial revolution, where mechanical equipment replaced individual looms. Lighthouses have emerged not through wholesale replacement but by transforming existing structures. Easier said than done. But these companies prove it’s possible. They’re making advances across many sectors—pharma, automotive, consumer goods, transport, chemicals—and they prove that there’s more than one way to embrace 4IR. Can the rest of the manufacturing world keep up? |
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OFF THE CHARTS |
Rewriting retail banking rules |
Until the 2007 financial crisis, a retail bank’s total share of deposits was tightly linked to how many branches it had. But that relationship has weakened over the past decade, as customer willingness to purchase banking products online has grown. |
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INTERVIEW |
What ten years at the top of a telco taught me |
Vittorio Colao may have stepped down as Vodafone’s CEO last September, but he’s still bullish on how telcos can play a central role in the transition to a digital society. Policy makers should push “the best networks, the best mobile coverage, and the most extensive fiber footprint,” he told McKinsey. |
“Think of the increased security for women traveling at night, or the reduced stress for commuters trying to rearrange an appointment. With hyperconnectivity and IoT potentially set to reshape the way we live—transforming health, our security, and our mobility—telcos can be the best partners to any government, city, or local administration.” |
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MORE ON MCKINSEY.COM |
Why innovation is a team sport | For projects to succeed, they must be staffed with the right talent. Here’s how to ensure your initiatives have the players they need to win. |
How to fight synthetic identity fraud | Following digital crumbs along data trails can help banks detect fraud and stem losses from this fast-growing financial crime. |
Singapore quenches a thirst | Singapore’s success with managing a shortage of freshwater sources demonstrates how effective an integrated-urban-systems approach can be. |
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I started a list of “Books that every leader should read” on my old Work Matters blog in 2011. These books taught me much about people, teams, and organizations—while also providing useful guidance about what it takes to lead well versus badly. Here are just a few picks from my December 2018 update: |
The Progress Principle, by Teresa Amabile and Steven Kramer. A masterpiece of evidence-based management—the strongest argument I know that “the big things are the little things.” |
The Fearless Organization, by Amy C. Edmondson. Edmondson weaves together studies, stories, and insights to show why psychological safety is the key ingredient for creating high-performing, humane, and resilient workplaces. As her research shows, people and organizations suffer mightily when leaders make it unsafe for employees and other stakeholders to speak up. The book is full of steps that leaders can take so people will feel compelled to share mistakes and concerns—and be confident they won’t be humiliated, ignored, or blamed. |
Quiet, by Susan Cain. This book’s influence seems to grow each year; every leader I know now talks about the difference between leading introverts and extroverts. Cain also does a magnificent job of taking down open-office designs. The lack of privacy and constant distractions are especially tough for introverts but undermine productivity, satisfaction, and healthy social interaction for everyone. |
Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace, by Gordon MacKenzie. One of the two best creativity books ever written, and one of the best business books of any kind—even though it is nearly an antibusiness book. Gordon’s voice and love of creativity and self-expression—and how to make it happen despite the obstacles that unwittingly heartless organizations put in the way—make this book a joy. |
Creativity, Inc., by Ed Catmull. This and Hairball are a great pair. I wrote a more detailed review of Ed’s wonderful book here. As I wrote in my blurb, and this is no BS, “This is the best book ever written on what it takes to build a creative organization. It is the best because Catmull’s wisdom, modesty, and self-awareness fill every page. He shows how Pixar’s greatness results from connecting the specific little things they do (mostly things that anyone can do in any organization) to the big goal that drives everyone in the company: making films that make them feel proud of one another.” |
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BACKTALK |
Have feedback or other ideas? We’d love to hear from you. |
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