5. Navigating the Future of Digital Transformation and Leadership

Many people may still believe in such narratives, worrying about the adversarial impact of automation on employment. They envision a world where robots and AIs are taking over, leaving humans jobless—or so the story goes. Nonetheless, as noted in the main text, AIs create, rather than destroy, job opportunities. It can be accomplished by bolstering economic growth through enhanced productivity and establishing new industries and roles that require novel skillsets. On this front, blind subscription to the “machine-versus-human” narrative may be precarious because it could, if inadvertently, result in overlooking these emergent opportunities and potential for growth (Tschang & Almirall, 2021; West, 2018).

Derek Sivers’s (2010) TED talk, “How to start a movement,” elucidates the pivotal role of followers for leadership effectiveness. In this speech, Sivers illustrates how followers’ engagement turns ostensibly irrational if not foolish behaviors of a leader into the manifestation of profound leadership that instigates a significant social movement.

As of writing this book in 2023, schools such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology (https://​mit-online.​getsmarter.​com/​presentations/​lp/​mit-organizational-design-for-digital-transformation-online-short-course), Stanford (https://​online.​stanford.​edu/​programs/​digital-transformation-program), and INSEAD (https://​www.​insead.​edu/​executive-education/​digital-transformation-programmes), as well as Udemy (https://​www.​udemy.​com/​course/​digital-transformation-masterclass), readily offer such programs.

Internal training may be likened to home-cooked meals. It is cost-effective and customizable to taste but the lack of expertise may lead to suboptimal outcomes, just like an amateur chef spoiling the broth.

Here is my personal experience that aligns with this conjecture. When COVID-19 began to impact Japan in early 2020, I was an associate professor at Kyushu University Business School. Among the department faculty, I happened to be more technologically inclined—or, in plain words, outstandingly geekier—than my peers and, perhaps more important, have used Zoom long before it became a global household name. Consequently, I was appointed to the special task force for strategizing online course management. My responsibilities encompassed critical tasks such as negotiating the departmental contract with a Zoom reseller company and formulating a comprehensive manual for the execution of online classes (which is available at: https://​www.​econ.​kyushu-u.​ac.​jp/​wp-content/​uploads/​2020/​04/​zoom_​v1.​3.​pdf). This role led to my recognition as the go-to person regarding online education within the department.

Development of the automated game-recording system for Shogi (i.e., Japanese Chess) by Ricoh Company, Ltd., in partnership with Japan Shogi Federation, serves as a paradigmatic example of the ongoing technological revolution that frees humans for exciting and stimulating work. This innovation represents a notable shift from traditional practices, where young trainees were responsible for manually scribbling down every single move in professional Shogi matches. However, the recent proliferation of Shogi matches, exceeding 3,000 per year as of 2023, has rendered the manual process unsustainable. In response to this challenge, Ricoh has engineered an AI-powered automatic game-recording system named Ricoh Ki-Roku (“Ricoh Shogi Records”), which has enabled trainees to selectively volunteer for matches they want to physically attend, turning the duty into a choice (Business Insider Japan, 2020).

At the same time, strategic application of framing can unlock the opportunities for groundbreaking and socially impactful businesses. To illustrate this point, consider the following case study, which is based on a true story (note: details are modified to secure the intellectual properties of the involved parties). An innovative refrigeration technology was invented in a laboratory at a national university in Japan. Unlike the conventional methods that inflict harm (called “frostbite”) upon the cellular structures of frozen objects, the new invention named the Cell Alive System (CAS) causes little damage, thereby preserving the freshness of the frozen entity. Initially, the professor who invented CAS intended to patent the technology as a refrigeration method applicable to the preservation of food. However, a visionary graduate student intervened, convinced that there must be much greater potential to CAS. Through successful pitch competitions and fundraising efforts with venture capitalists, she co-founded a startup with the professor, venturing into the domain of egg freezing services. The company initially targeted the markets of eggs of milk cows and thoroughbred racehorses, with an aspiration to disrupt the human oocyte cryopreservation market in the near future. Furthermore, it even envisions to expand its business domain beyond egg freezing services and establish a broader cryopreservation market, including organs for transplantation. The co-founder CEO, now also a Ph.D. graduate from the professor’s lab, attributed her company’s success to the art of framing: “They saw a freezer. I saw a time machine. That’s the key. While everyone, including my advisor, only viewed CAS as a method of freezing that maintains the freshness of food, I discerned an alternative perspective; I recognized CAS as a magical instrument capable of suspending time. Through this technology, objects can be preserved for decades without compromising their biomolecular structures and functions. As a young woman driven by ambitious aspirations, I knew immediately what I wanted to do with this superpower. If I can manipulate time, I would use it to enhance my reproductive choice, freezing my egg until the right moment comes to me and my partner in the future!”

See Ron Adner’s (2021) work for more discussions on the impact of framing on innovation creation.

True TSL leaders would also specify who is responsible for the given task. Precise designation enables the identification of the person who deserves rewards, promotions, or penalties. This way, transactional leaders foster accountability and productivity within the organizational structure.

Juxtaposition of musical expertise across genres may serve as an illustrative metaphor for contrasting professional environments. The exceptional first-chair cellist of a distinguished symphonic orchestra, renowned for her unparalleled precision to the musical score, may find her skills incongruent within the improvisational context of a New Orleans jazz club. Conversely, a seasoned trumpeter, ingrained in Chicago’s lively blues scenes, might find himself challenged by the rigid tempo requirements of a classical Gala concert. This analogy extends to the corporate world, where the competencies required in a well-established large company may differ markedly from those needed in a startup, particularly among early members with single-digit employee IDs.

At the same time, certain competencies are evidently transferable across various domains and, in fact, there are individuals who excel in diverse contexts with different uncertainty levels. For example, some Kishi, professional players of Shogi (i.e., Japanese chess)—a finite zero-sum game where luck dare not tread, only the logic of mathematics rules—exhibit remarkable performance in more stochastic games. Notable examples include Toshiyuki Moriuci, the 18^th Eisei Meijin (lifetime grand master), who placed fourth in the backgammon World Championship, and Manao Kagawa, a former Women’s Ōshō title holder, who has won numerous Pokémon Card Battle tournaments. They wear the hats of YouTubers too, with Kagawa’s official channel accoladed with a silver plate for commanding 200K+ subscribers!

This dilemma is frequently encountered in research endeavors that cross the border between academic and practical domains. For example, economists use abstract models to understand general patterns across various markets and economic systems. Through the reduction of intricate realities into abstract constructs, they identify overarching patterns and predict broad behaviors. Such abstraction, however, overlooks specific market dynamics, cultural factors, or regulatory conditions that are crucial for understanding a particular economic context. Imagine a consulting project for a local market, where a general model of supply and demand stumbles over the specific regulations or cultural tastes that define that market. It would be like trying to use a map of the world to navigate a neighborhood; the details matter in such cases.