As a business leader today, what should you prioritize for the next decade?
Nearly 10 years ago, leaders would have most likely said: digital cloud and security. But now in a landscape transformed by the pandemic, leaders must focus on “five key forces of change,” said Accenture Chair and CEO Julie Sweet during an in-depth conversation with Fortune Media CEO Alan Murray. The discussion was part of the “Changemaker Keynote: Customer Perspectives on Embracing Change” at Workday Rising, our marquee customer event.
Sweet’s forces of change include total enterprise reinvention, talent, sustainability, operating on the metaverse continuum, and ongoing technology revolution.
And as Murray put it: “Given all of that, you can’t lead in the ways you led 20 years ago. There’s just too much going on.”
For example, regarding total enterprise reinvention, Sweet cited an upcoming Accenture research finding that 68% of companies have at least three transformation programs, a huge shift from the pre-pandemic days.
“So we’ve shifted from having digital strategies to, basically, take the wheel of your company, put every function on it, and say, ‘Every function will have to be transformed by technology, data, and AI [artificial intelligence], and we’ll have to have new ways of working and engaging employees, customers, partners, and our communities,’” Sweet said. “That is a shift. That isn’t about digital strategy. It’s not about a piece of it; it’s about the entire enterprise, no questions asked, and doing so in a compressed fashion.”
Sweet spent a good portion of the conversation providing a more in-depth perspective on the talent force of change, citing three must-do’s: First, companies need to be able to access great talent, which means having a broad, diverse talent pool.