5 Harvard Business Review articles that will resonate with CIOs right now

From ChatGPT to innovation and everything in between, these HBR articles cover the critical topics IT leaders care about most.
40 readers like this.
Harvard Business Review Top 5 articles for October 2015

Through our partnership with Harvard Business Review, we regularly refresh our resource library with five new HBR articles that CIOs and IT leaders will value highly. Check out the curated pieces below, available to readers now.

Managing in the age of outrage

HBR_cover_Managing_Age_Outrage

People are outraged! Whether it's climate change, COVID restrictions, taxes, or inflation, there will always be a current event that managers have to manage through. What’s the best way to lead in a polarized and uncertain world? In this report, Oxford University professor Karthik Ramanna considers this perfect storm of three forces: (1) Many people feel unhopeful about the future. (2) Many feel, rightly or wrongly, that the game has been rigged against them. (3) Many are being drawn toward ideologies that legitimize an us–versus–them approach. So how can we comfort and encourage managers in this age of outrage? Download this report to reveal a 5-step framework for dealing with the outrage.

Download: Managing in the age of outrage

How to map out your digital transformation 

HBR_cover_Map_Digital

Uncertainties around digitalization have bounced back after a huge boost during the pandemic. Companies are now on a mission to make sure the digitalization makes a purposeful and sustainable impact on the business—and doesn’t just follow the next tech hype. For digital transformation to be meaningful and lasting, companies must think about changes in products and processes more than changes in technology. However, the promises of shiny new tech cause many organizations to dedicate too many resources and too much attention to the technology side of digital transformation projects. One approach to counter this imbalance is to think of digitalization as a business model innovation rather than technology-related change. The author of this article shows how one simple, popular tool—the business model canvas—can facilitate the necessary shift in perspective. Discover the 4 ways this business model can help your organization sketch out and transform its business models by downloading this report.

Download: How to map out your digital transformation

Stop tinkering with AI 

HBR_cover_Stop_Tinkering_AI

Feeling unsure about your artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives? Many organizations are starting small and staying cautious. The component that will truly add economic value is deployment on a large scale. While putting out feelers may deliver valuable insights, it likely won’t be enough to achieve true transformation. Experimentation can take you only so far. The Deloitte executives who authored this article have identified 30 companies that have gone all-in on AI and achieved success, as well as 10 actions those companies took to become successful AI adopters. Want to learn how to attack these tasks? Download this report to discover how AI—applied strategically and in large doses—will be critical to the success of almost every business in the future.

Download: Stop tinkering with AI

4 techniques for developing strategy insights 

HBR_cover_Techniques_Strategy_Insights

Gathering insight is key to strategic success because it creates a competitive advantage. But first, you must determine what strategic factors are most relevant to your organization’s key stakeholders. Achieving this means you must create the conditions to gather this insight. Consider Darwin’s insights on evolution and adaptation; they changed how we think about life on Earth. Therefore, he is regarded by many as one of the greatest scientists. He achieved this partially through simple, introspective walks. But this takes some time.

Download: 4 techniques for developing strategy insights

ChatGPT and how AI disrupts industries 

HBR_cover_ChatGPT_Disrupts

ChatGPT has shown us the power of generative AI to take on tasks traditionally associated with “knowledge work.” But we won’t solely rely on machines in the future; we’ll always need the human touch. A technology that enables more people to complete a task because of assistance from a machine can produce positive results: entirely new systems with new business models and jobs and workflows. AI will be no different: To unlock ChatGPT’s potential, we must harness the new capabilities to benefit society by asking what new systems and organizations can be built with these new tools.

Download: ChatGPT and how AI disrupts industries

Also read: Pillars of resilient digital transformation 

A cover of the HBR Analytic Services Report: Pillars of resilient digital transformation

With a number of new challenges on the horizon this year—from economic concerns to supply issues to heightened customer and employee expectations—CIOs are being called to build greater resilience and agility into their organization’s DNA. 

New research from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services identifies how and why CIOs are prioritizing adaptability in their digital transformation efforts and the non-negotiable skills they are bringing to the table to meet the elevated expectations that now come with the CIO role.

Download: Pillars of resilient digital transformation

Katie Sanders
Katie Sanders is the Content and Community Manager for The Enterprisers Project, seeking contributors who have expertise that can be shared with an audience of CIOs and IT leaders. She has always been interested in building relationships and connecting people.