If the world is indeed moving to the requirements of N = 1, where each customer must be treated as a distinct individual, and R = G, where companies must tap the right resources across the globe to be able to compete, how do we get started in overhauling what we do and how we do it? Following on the two earlier posts ( Part 1 and Part 2) that contained ideas 1-6, here is the third set of three insights from authors C.K Prahalad and M.S. Krishnan:

7. The authors say this mandatory transformation is manifested in five ways: (a) value is shifting from products to solutions to experiences; (b) all companies will have to access resources from around the globe; (c) flexible systems are indispensable; (d) resources must be reconfigured continually; and (e) models and processes must be shifted from a focus on millions of customers to the individual. (Chapter 1, pgs 24-25)

8. The second transformation listed above in #7 -- “all companies will have to access resources from around the globe” -- can be seen in five evolutionary steps. Many companies, however, still believe that this evolutionary process is stuck in phase one or phase two, and that dangerous failure to see the world as it truly is puts those companies at risk because they will miss opportunities and continue to believe they have no practical alternatives to business as usual. Here are the five steps:
-- From what is available within the division
-- From what is available within the corporation
-- From what is available within the supply chain
-- From what is available within the consumer community
-- To what is available anywhere in the world (Chapter 1, p. 31)

9. Scalability: Global firms do not like to hire a large number of people and let them go after six months when the project is done. In contrast, the [outsourcing] vendors, as they work for a large number of firms, can afford to focus a large number of talented people for short periods of time. Infosys can move 300 to 500 software engineers from one location to another or one project to another in a week. They also recruit 15,000 to 20,000 per year out of a candidate pool of a million-plus. The selective outsourcing of work to others is a necessity for building scale in a short period of time. (Chapter 1, p. 32) Staggering numbers, aren’t they? But the key point might be “in a short period of time” -- can your company afford to take its time, when competitors might be leveraging some of these vast sets of global resources to accelerate customer engagement, product development, and all-around decision making?