A common theme running through Strategy in the Digital Age is that digital technology is changing — sometimes totally disrupting — the underlying basis of competition for a wide swath of businesses and industries…Most important, this book is about how to lead a digital transformation in your organization –not only paying attention to the technical details but also thinking through the human dimension and being sophisticated about the numerous social and policy changes raised by digital technology.”

Here are the six frameworks that Michael Lenox recommends and explains in his seminal work:

1. Setting a baseline: “To begin your digital transformation, it is useful to establish a baseline map of the current competitive government. We begin with an articulation of trends in the first column of Figure 1.5. This is in essence the environmental analysis or PESTEL Analysis) referenced in the chapter.  (Pages 15 and 18-20)

2. Analyzing the Digital Environment: “With our baseline snapshot of the current competitive environment established using our first framework, we can now pivot to the dynamics of competition and understanding where we are in the Competitive Life Cycle (See Figure 2.4).”(43-45)

3. Formulating a Digital Position: “We begin with our baseline snapshot of the current competitive environment from our first framework and our mapping of the dynamics of competition and the Competitive Life Cycle from our second framework…Begin with column one: What is your ‘Why?’ and for ‘Whom’?…Next, Turn your attention to your proposed business model (column two). Last, in column three, How you plan to secure your desired position.” (67-69)

4. Specifying How to Capture Value: “In our previous framework from Chapter 3, we articulated an aspired competitive position by identifying our Why for Whom, by doing What and Hows. This framework builds on the previous one, providing a template to identify your specific approach to developing your offerings (see Figure 4.2). Begin with your core offerings: those products, services, and innovations that you plan to deliver to establish your competitive position.”(85-87)

5. Planning Your Digital Transformation: At this point, you have articulated a desired competitive position in a digitally transforming world specifying your underlying business model, and the basis for your competitive advantage (See Framework 3). You have identified a list of offerings and capabilities required to establish this position and have mapped out a strategy for developing these offerings and capabilities (see Framework 4). Next we get more granular…To begin, you need to identify a proposed suite of digital applications required to support our overall digital strategy…Next develop the ‘napkin pitch’ for each application by explicitly identifying the assumptions undergirding the concept in the boxes in columns two through five. Consider four broad categories of assumptions.” (107-109)

6. Preparing for Digital in Society: (126-127) Once again, your nonmarket strategy should be aligned with your overall strategy. To begin,  list the specific issues or challenges potentially created by your digital efforts in column one (see Figure 6.4)…For each issue identified, reflect on which organization stakeholders may feel an impact…In column three, describe your strategic approach to the issue. Consider fight, flight, accommodate, partnering, and dual-purpose strategies…Last, and most important, hows does your strategic approach align with your organization values?”

With meticulous precision, Michael Lenox explains HOW each of these frameworks can help leaders in almost any organization — whatever its size and nature may be — to plan and implement, then manage a digital transformation that is most appropriate for their organization.

His book is a brilliant achievement. Bravo!

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Strategy in the Digital Age was published by Stanford Business Books in June (2023). Michael is also the co-author of  The Decarbonization Imperative and Can Business Save the Earth? He is the Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean and Chief Strategy Officer at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. His work has been cited by numerous outlets including The New York Times, the Financial Times, and The Economist. He has been recognized as a Faculty Pioneer by the Aspen Institute, as the top strategy professor under 40 by the Strategic Management Society, and one of the top 40 business professors under 40 by Poets & Quants.