C.K. Prahalad's new book "The New Age of Innovation: Driving Cocreated Value Through Global Networks" is must read for companies envisioning leadership with sustainable business advantage in twenty first century. With worldwide fundamental transformations underway with YouTube, Facebook generation of consumers, it is expected to radically alter the very nature of an enterprise and how it creates value.
N=1 and R= G will be two basic pillars for this transformation:
1. Value is based on unique, personalized experiences of consumers. The focus is on the centrality of the individual. i.e. Sample size of 1(N=1), with one consumer at a time
2. No firm is big enough in scope and size to satisfy the experiences of one consumer at a time. The focus is on access to resources, not ownership of resources. i.e. Access to global resources for meeting demands of N=1
For achieving N=1 and R=G goals, organizations need to invest in micro business process innovations by leveraging technology. They suggest component based IT architectures utilizing next generation open-platform technologies for achieving this. N=1 and R=G world will require technology and management infrastructure which can help in
- Redesigning systems to co-create value with customers and connect all parts of a firm to this process
- Measuring individual behavior through smart analytics
- Ceaselessly improving the flexibility and efficiency in all customer-facing and back-end processes
- Treating all involved individuals--customers, employees, investors, suppliers--as unique
- Working across cultures and time-zones in a seamless global network
- Building teams that are capable of providing high-quality, low-cost solutions rapidly
