The Five Pillars for Winning the ’20s

Throughout the year, we will be releasing new thought leadership content exploring these five pillars. Please visit this webpage for the latest content, follow us on @BCG, BCG LinkedIn, and @BCGHenderson to join the conversation, and sign up for our Ideas & Inspiration newsletter to receive the latest thinking on what it will take to win the ’20s.

Master the New Logic of Competition

Traditional strategy isn’t much help in a world of blurring industry boundaries, shrinking product and company lifespans, and disruptive technologies. The game of business is moving to a new arena, where companies compete on learning, on resilience, on imagination, and on their ability to leverage ecosystems and build bridges between the physical and the digital world.

Design the Company of the Future

Most organizations move slowly. To compete in the coming years, they’ll need to move fast—in order to learn and act on new insights before their rivals do. Yes, technology will help, but unlocking its potential, and figuring out the most potent combination of artificial and human intelligence, requires a new kind of enterprise.

Apply the Science of Organizational Change

Large transformation efforts often fail, so why even try? Because standing still is not an option. In fact, companies need to change even when things are going well, and they need transformation tools they can use over and over again. Fortunately, there’s mounting evidence of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to organizational change.

Embrace the Business Imperative of Diversity

Diversity is not just a moral imperative. Companies that increase the diversity of their workforce on multiple dimensions, and create an environment that welcomes new perspectives, boost their capacity for innovation and their ability to withstand the unexpected.

Optimize for Both Social and Business Value

No business is an island—organizations can thrive in the long run only if they have sustainable relationships with the social, political, and environmental systems they participate in. As trust in business wavers, political uncertainty intensifies, and climate change becomes more pressing, companies must be part of the solution by creating social as well as economic value.