Press release

“Pivot to the Future,” New Book from Accenture, Provides Roadmap to Help Business Leaders Navigate Continuous Disruption

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Traditional responses to business disruption, such as one-off business
transformation and fast-follower approaches, are outdated and won’t be
enough to help companies achieve sustainable growth and weather the
challenges that lie ahead, according to a new book by Accenture (NYSE:
ACN).

Pivot
to the Future: Discovering Value and Creating Growth in a Disrupted World

argues that the emergence of a new wave of technologies — including
artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality, 5G and quantum
computing — requires businesses to continuously reinvent themselves
using new management and capital-allocation strategies.

Built on Accenture’s rigorous multiyear study of thousands of businesses
across 30 industries, a candid account of its own reinvention, and
insights from its extensive work with its global clients, “Pivot to the
Future” provides new practical approaches to help business leaders make
bold, sometimes contrarian, strategic decisions that can unlock millions
of dollars trapped in today’s core businesses — value that can be used
for the disruptive innovation that drives future prosperity.

Published by PublicAffairs, a division of Hachette Book Group, “Pivot to
the Future” is written by Accenture executives Omar
Abbosh
, group chief executive of the company’s Communications, Media
& Technology business and former chief strategy officer; Paul
Nunes
, global managing director of thought leadership; and Larry
Downes
, senior fellow with Accenture Research and a best-selling
business book author.

“Rapid recent advances in technology are forcing leaders in every
business to rethink long-held beliefs about how to adapt to emerging
technologies and new markets,” Abbosh said. “We’re offering a proven
strategy for perpetual innovation that has worked not just for
Accenture, but for many of our most successful clients. It is applicable
to any company that seeks to thrive in a world changed by
technology-fueled disruption.”

“Pivot to the Future” has received early acclaim from leading business
executives, including Best Buy Chairman Hubert Joly, who said: “Every
company is seeking to reinvent itself. ‘Pivot to the Future’ provides
powerful and stimulating concepts, ideas and examples that can help
guide these efforts. It is a must read for anyone who is looking for
help on the journey.”

Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, said: “In ‘Pivot to
the Future,’ Omar Abbosh and his co-authors make a powerful case that
successful innovation is a long-term game that requires constant pivots
to evolve and change. ‘Pivot to the Future’ will excite, energize and
empower leaders, helping them innovate intelligently, keep moving
forward and always be future-ready.”

Wise Pivot

“Pivot to the Future” includes more than 100 case studies showing how
some of the world’s most prestigious companies are reinventing
themselves through what the book refers to as the “wise pivot” —repeated
renewal and reinvention through a series of strategic shifts, where
innovation is applied equally in old, current and emerging businesses.
The book’s pragmatic frameworks show organizations how to get the most
from their core businesses through strategic investments in new
technologies and “fueling up” to make continuous wise pivots at
precisely the right times.

The book calls on executives to fight the urge to prematurely abandon
legacy businesses and to nurture rather than simply exploit today’s
“cash cows.” With the additional value they uncover, companies can fuel
their future by embracing the start-up mentality of scaling rapidly as
new technologies and markets appear, often suddenly.

Speaking from Experience

The book also includes the story of Accenture’s own wise pivot, in which
the company nearly doubled its market capitalization in five years to
more than US$100 billion. Recognizing that professional services and
outsourcing were on course to commoditization, in the early 2010s
Accenture invested heavily in five then-up-and-coming digital
capabilities — interactive, mobile, analytics, cloud and cybersecurity —
with the potential to deliver major benefits to clients and high growth
to the company.

“It has become abundantly clear that, in the digital age, conventional
wisdom about business transformation no longer works,” said Nunes, one
of the book’s co-authors. “Business leaders don’t need more theories on
how to innovate — they need new wisdom and a modern playbook that will
help their organizations find their most profitable futures.”

Co-author Larry Downes said, “The positive feedback from the global
business community is really exciting. Our book shares a proven approach
for finding and releasing trapped value — unlocked by bridging the gap
between what is technologically possible and how
technologies are actually being used today. It provides a blueprint for
leaders who are courageous enough to turn the threats of today and
tomorrow into sustainable growth — and who understand that a wise pivot
is not a one-time event, but a commitment to constant reinvention.”

The book includes a preface written by Pierre Nanterme, Accenture’s
former chairman & CEO, who died earlier this year. “This is really a
tribute to Pierre’s legacy,” Abbosh said. “We are honored to contribute
net royalties to the Hôpital Européen Georges-Pompidou, where Pierre
received care.”

“Pivot to the Future: Discovering Value and Creating Growth in a
Disrupted World” is available in hardcover, e-book, and
audio through all major retailers.”

About Accenture

Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a
broad range of services and solutions in strategy, consulting, digital,
technology and operations. Combining unmatched experience and
specialized skills across more than 40 industries and all business
functions — underpinned by the world’s largest delivery network —
Accenture works at the intersection of business and technology to help
clients improve their performance and create sustainable value for their
stakeholders. With 477,000 people serving clients in more than 120
countries, Accenture drives innovation to improve the way the world
works and lives. Visit us at www.accenture.com.