The Technology Fallacy: How People Are the Real Key to Digital Transformation

Gerald C. Kane · Anh Nguyen Phillips · Jonathan R. Copulsky · Garth R. Andrus

Jul 2019 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Jack de Golia

About this audiobook

Digital technologies are disrupting organizations of every size and shape, leaving managers scrambling to find a technology fix that will help their organizations compete. This book offers managers and business leaders a guide for surviving digital disruptions-but it is not a book about technology. It is about the organizational changes required to harness the power of technology. The authors argue that digital disruption is primarily about people and that effective digital transformation involves changes to organizational dynamics and how work gets done. A focus only on selecting and implementing the right digital technologies is not likely to lead to success. The best way to respond to digital disruption is by changing the company culture to be more agile, risk tolerant, and experimental. The authors draw on four years of research, conducted in partnership with MIT Sloan Management Review and Deloitte, surveying more than 16,000 people and conducting interviews with managers at such companies as Walmart, Google, and Salesforce. They introduce the concept of digital maturity-the ability to take advantage of opportunities offered by the new technology-and address the specifics of digital transformation, including cultivating a digital environment, enabling intentional collaboration, and fostering an experimental mindset.

About the author

Gerald C. Kane is Professor of Information Systems at Boston College.

Anh Phillips, a senior leader at Deloitte Consulting, is coauthor of The Technology Fallacy, The Transformation Myth, and Work Better Together. Her work has been cited in leading publications such as the Wall Street Journal, MIT Sloan Management Review, Forbes, Fortune, and CIO Magazine.

Jonathan R. Copulsky teaches marketing, branding, and marketing technology at Northwestern University.

Garth R. Andrus is a principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP. He has been a member of the Board of Directors at Deloitte and has held other leadership roles with the company. He leads Digital DNA services, which helps companies make the shift to organizing work, operating, and behaving effectively in a digital age.

Jack de Golia won AudioFile magazine's Earphones Award in 2018. He was also a 2018 nominee for best mystery narration by the Society of Voice Arts & Sciences. In 2015, he earned the special designation of "Audible Approved Producer" for the quality of his audiobook work.