Neil Perkin - Building the Agile Business through Digital Transformation: How to Lead Digital Transformation in Your Workplace

Whatever your business, the prospect of staying ahead in digital transformation is daunting. Neil Perkin and Peter Abraham have created an outstandingly researched guide that anyone can use to lead their own transformation. Bruce Daisley, VP EMEA, Twitter

Packed full of insights, actionable ideas and other peoples experiences, a toolkit to build on no matter where you sit in an organization or the stage of change youre at. Sean Cornwell, Chief Digital Officer, Travelex

This is the handbook that I wish I had written. A must-read for organizations going through digital transformation... It cuts through the hype and buzzwords into simple, practical insights that all of us can learn from and apply. Marco Ryan, Chief Digital Officer, Wrtsil Corporation

A fantastic guide to conquering the challenges of continuous and accelerating change in todays digital world. Neil Perkin and Peter Abraham are masters of agile business transformation, and theyve bottled their experience and wisdom into a highly actionable book. A must-read for modern leadership. Scott Brinker, Author, Hacking Marketing

An essential and comprehensive guide for those leading digital transformation in their business or wanting to truly understand the impact of digital on modern leadership practice. Louise Howells, Global Head of Leadership Development, TUI

Neil Perkin and Peter Abraham are one of the best choices to help anyone respond to the challenges of digital transformation and their book is a veritable gold mine as they share dozens of bottom lines and powerful stories with the reader. Read this book to not just innovate but to transform your business! Gerd Leonhard, Futurist, and Author, Technology vs Humanity

Reads like a field guide for digital transformation. Full of actionable insights, frameworks and practical advice for any organization preparing for a digital-empowered world. Ben Malbon, Senior Director, Google

Building the Agile Business through Digital Transformation is the definitive guide for every executive and intrapreneur looking to navigate the exponential changes that every company must deal with or succumb to... A practical how-to you will refer to again and again, it is expansive but not exhausting. With meticulously researched ideas and insights that provide frameworks for understanding why change is both necessary and hard, its the handbook you need to help you create the company you always wished you worked at. Faris Yakob, Founder, Genius Steals, and Author, Paid Attention

This is an important book. A lot has been written about various aspects of agile, but nowhere else have I seen the thinking and practice brought to light so intelligently and comprehensively as here. Ashley Friedlein, Founder, Econsultancy

In times of rapid change, evolving with the new rules of consumer engagement and leveraging digital channels is now a must for every business in every sector. This book clearly distils key insights, strategies, examples and advice providing the tools for anyone wanting to grow, advance and transform their business. Jeremy Willmott, Director, Group Consumer Engagement

Pragmatic, yet ruthlessly visionary, this fast-paced book is a wide-ranging and generously referenced handbook. Ideal both as a c-suite primer and as a ready-reference for practitioners, this is a triumph of distillation by two of our sectors pioneers. Ian Jindal, Leadership and Transformation in Multichannel Retail and Ecommerce

Disruption is all about mindset. Dealing with uncertainty is a challenge leaders need to integrate into their modus operandi. Building the Agile Business through Digital Transformation will help you unlock a treasure. Arjen van Berkum, Chief Disruption Officer and Entrepreneur

Building the Agile Business through Digital Transformation

Neil Perkin

Peter Abraham

Publishers note

Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publisher and authors cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting, or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by the editor, the publisher or the authors.

First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2017 by Kogan Page Limited

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned addresses:

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www.koganpage.com

Neil Perkin and Peter Abraham, 2017

The right of Neil Perkin and Peter Abraham to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

ISBN 978 0 7494 8039 4

E-ISBN 978 0 7494 8040 0

Typeset by Integra Software Services, Pondicherry

Print production managed by Jellyfish

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY

This book would not have been possible without the support, understanding and patience of our contributors, interviewees, co-conspirators, and publishers. We are particularly grateful to Russell Davies, Faris Yakob, Gareth Kay, Marco Ryan, Duncan Hammond, Eva Appelbaum, Gerd Leonhard, John Coleman for contributing insight from their personal experience directly to the book. We owe a big thanks to all those who provided inspiration and insight through sharing their thinking in interviews or via their writing, blogs and social media, most notably: John Willshire, Tim Kastelle, Kevin Kelly, Mark Raheja, Tracey Follows, Bud Caddell, Mel Exon, Ben Malbon, Tim Malbon, Simon Wardley, Aaron Dignan, David Carr, Adam Morgan, Tom Goodwin, Antony Mayfield, Toby Barnes, Scott Brinker, Anjali Ramachandran, Mike Bracken, Dave Snowden, Victor Newman, Matt Edgar, Paul Graham, Brian Solis, Martin Bailie, John Battelle, Emily Webber, Tom Loosemore, Noah Brier, Scott Gallacher, Gemma Greaves, Charles Leadbetter, Michael Sahota, Jason Fried, Ben Thompson, Steven Anderson, Jonathan Lovatt-Young, James Haycock, John Kotter, Stewart Brand, Charles Duhigg, Rita Gunther MacGrath, Marc Andreesen, Clay Christensen, Ray Kurzweil, Charles Handy, Robert Coram, Steven Johnson, Atul Gawande, Eric Ries, Jim Collins, Carol Dweck, Steve Blank, Dave McClure, Roger Martin, Richard Rumelt, Sir Laurence Freedman, Amy Edmonson, Dan Pink, Ben Horowitz, Simon Sinek, Laszlo Bock, Caroline Webb, Ashley Friedlein, Tim Harford, Ben Salmon, Seth Godin, BJ Gallagher Hateley, Warren H Schmidt, Michael Crowe, David Armano, Mirage Islam, Chip Heath, Dan Heath, Ben Pask, Nir Eyal, Frederic Lloux. We thank Kogan Page for providing the opportunity to publish what weve learnt in the hope others will gain some additional insight. We thank our families for allowing us the time and providing their patience. We know we have missed a few people out along the way and we hope they accept our apology for that here.