Managerial Advice

This chapter summarizes key management takeaways from the book. Companies must recognize that new management meta-principles for the digital age exist and that they enable organizations to be innovative, agile, and fast-moving. Both Haier and GE Appliances (GEA), with their RenDanHeYi-inspired management models, have demonstrated the full set of sub-capabilities required for having dynamic capabilities. Traditional companies that have not yet transformed must do so quickly, as enterprise transformation takes years and involves an extended learning process. Further, there is no single blueprint for successful transformation, as each organization must implement the meta-principles in the best way for itself. Key success factors for GEA include appropriate leadership, cultural change, organizational change, and alignment of employees with the company’s goals and values. Lessons for adopting RenDanHeYi include following the underlying principles and not expecting a single “recipe”; knowing that transformation is an ongoing journey and not a process with a fixed endpoint; combining top-leader commitment with transparency and involvement of employees; challenging the company’s traditions; fighting or defusing “antibodies” to change; and committing to the RenDanHeYi approach as a path of continual evolution into the future.