Woven City: Reimagining mobility at Toyota

Why the market for new year predictions is broken and how executives can better use forecasts to discern the implications for their companies.

Strategic thinking is key to success. Overcome common excuses and develop the skills to navigate change, drive innovation, and prepare for future business challenges.

In June 2024, at the CocoaCrafters Operating Centre, Elena Fever faced a crucial meeting with the board of directors. The discussion surrounded how to integrate Generative AI (GenAI) into the company’s supply chain strategy to enhance forecasting and simulation while maintaining ethical standards. CocoaCrafters (CC), a global confectionery leader, was renowned for its commitment to sustainable cocoa sourcing. Despite the board’s strong business acumen, they lagged on the digital agenda and for them the only success criterion was a convincing ROI. Elena’s challenges were amplified by the unknowns surrounding GenAI. Since ChatGPT’s debut, she had been urging her team to identify use cases that aligned with CC's strategic priorities and met its ethical commitments. CC’s digital transformation had begun in 2010 and was marked by phases of awareness, strategic adoption, advanced technology integration and a digital-first culture by 2020. CC’s unsuccessful blockchain project underscored the need for careful planning and ethical considerations in adopting new technologies. CC aimed to use GenAI to optimize its supply chain by forecasting cocoa yields, predicting market trends and simulating environmental impacts. However, ethical concerns about labor conditions and data manipulation persisted. Elena considered the HITL-HOTL-HOL framework for human involvement in AI decisions, reflecting on input from FMCG executives and consulting experts. Despite a lack of specific GenAI decision-making frameworks, traditional strategic basic frameworks were emphasized. Elena presented the board with strategic choices: waiting, focused phased use cases, full integration, or strategic partnerships.

The increasing pace of disruption and change means leaders need to cultivate behaviors that support their sustained success. From building strategic flexibility to broadening stakeholder connections, here is our expert guide to leading in an age o...

The note aims to equip leaders with the knowledge and tools necessary to negotiate alliances across and among organizations and institutions from differing sectors: business, government, non-profit, international and academic. It emphasizes the importance of understanding each sector's unique characteristics, agendas and mindsets to forge effective partnerships. The note presents strategies for building successful cross-sector collaborations, such as developing cross-sector intelligence, creating a common language, aligning through shared vision and designing agreements that generate joint value. It emphasizes the importance of building trust through transparency, navigating cultural differences and planning for long-term sustainability. The note highlights the critical importance of cross-sector collaboration skills in modern leadership, stressing the need for leaders to balance diverse interests, create shared value and foster mutual understanding across sector boundaries.

Officially, brands executives continue to display confidence that big luxury will shrug off the 2024 downturn as a cyclical one. They see it as the product of the combined collapse of real estate prices in China and a return to normalcy after the ...

Global market shifts and turbulence in 2025 mean Chief Financial Officers must take into account inflation, trade tensions and shifting regulations to ensure long-term growth

What a difference twelve months make. A year ago, there were only faint signals of a potential luxury slowdown. However, since spring, the downturn has sharply intensified across luxury goods sectors, including fashion, accessories, watches, cars ...

China has set a bold objective to become the global leader in AI by 2030. By 2030, AI could potentially add $600 billion to China's economy annually. The country hosted over 4,500 AI companies in 2024, representing 15% of the global total. China i...

Did our predictions for 2024 come true, a turbulent election year, bitcoin and CBDC, COP29 and electric cars, China, EU integration and Euro football