In their latest study of more than a thousand CEOs, IBM finds that high-performing companies are hungry for change, wildly imaginative, wired globally, disruptive in nature, and socially aware. Here is how they describe the ‘enterprise of the future’:

Hungry for Change

The enterprise of the future is capable of changing quickly and successfully. Instead of merely responding to trends, it shapes and  leads them. Market and industry shifts are a chance to move ahead of the competition.

Innovative beyond Customer Imagination

The enterprise of the future surpasses the expectations of increasingly demanding customers. Deep collaborative relationships allow it to surprise customers with innovations that make both its customers and its own business more successful.

Globally Integrated

The enterprise of the future is integrating to take advantage of today’s global economy. Its business is strategically designed to access the best capabilities, knowledge and assets from wherever they reside in the world and apply them wherever required in the world.

Disruptive by Nature

The enterprise of the future radically challenges its business model, disrupting the basis of competition. It shifts the value proposition, overturns traditional delivery approaches and, as soon as opportunities arise, reinvents itself and its entire industry.

Genuine, not just Generous

The enterprise of the future goes beyond philanthropy and compliance and reflects genuine concern for society in all actions and decisions.

I think the full study is definitely worth checking out. Looking at these trends optimistically I read that ‘doing well and doing good’ is only going to get easier as companies are required to work more intimately with social and global complexity, and make bigger, bolder plays in the marketplace.