Digital Transformation and Covid-19 : Remote and Flexible Work 
Digital transformation got a significant boost from the Covid-19 pandemic.  As remote working  became an obligation rather than an option, the leveraging of technology platforms and digital services has radically changed how millions of people work around the globe. Assumptions that certain generations could not make the shift have proven short-sighted as new digital tools have been deployed, new skills have been acquired and new behaviours adopted in a matter of weeks.  A top priority remains better enabling and fully securing the rapidly expanding remote working ecosystem. But no one expects to go back to anything like the World of 2019.
Last year we shared our Insights Report on Preparing for the New Digital Economy  outlining 10 things everyone should do for themselves and their businesses to stay on top. 
One of weaknesses had been institutional environments, where government policies and regulations were based on last century's model of work?  In just a few weeks that has changed and governments are now central actors assuring shoulders, and what can be done to ensure people and socieites do not fall behind?
 The Institute of Directors studied flexible work in the UK and  recommended a number of policies ensure the current period of uncertainty and the economic recovery that follows will create the context forremote and flexible work to succeed for all.
>  Read the Iod Recommendations The Future of Flexible Work
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New Publication  How are Robotic Process Automation and Cloud Computing Transforming Shared Services ?
As shared services organisations increasingly adopt the latest technologies to boost performance, improve processes, create new value and better  leverage the enormous volume of data across the organisations, we share a new report edited by one of our Associates for Finance & Gestion magazine. 
Business Performance Management: 
​The CFO Journey to Glocalisation

​>  After 20 years of growth and performance improvement, the outsourcing industry reached peak maturity before a decline, and shared services are  the norm rather than a novelty. With performance plateauing, CFO’s are taking control back with global-local hybrid business services models that integrate new digital technologies, automation and platform services.  In this article co-authored by IAFEI / Lumiu and TMF Group we discuss trends and impact for organizations. 

Insights

"Uber discovered a (customer) job that wasn’t getting done and created a new business model to do it." Prof. Jeanne Liedtka

Growth Strategy, Design Thinking & Business Models that Work ​

​"Applying design thinking techniques to business problems can help executives rethink their product offerings, grow their markets, offer greater value to customers, innovate and stay relevant." according to MIT Professor Eppinger.

​Design thinking approaches and the use of tools, such as murals and canvases get diverse teams of people working quickly together to understand customer problems then to develop, prototype, test and refine solutions. This proven process reduces the risk of going forward and implementing something that looks good on paper but fails in the real world. 

In a two part series, we've pulled together some of our favorite resources, those ideas and tools Lumiu advisors find most helpful for leveraging design thinking for strategy and creating business models that work.

1 / Strategy and Design Thinking

A core part of any successful growth strategy involves identifying and validating new opportunities, along with the business models that can deliver them at scale.  But according to a study by Forrester, while 53% of software and technology companies have design thinking capabilities only 38-40% of business, financial and manufacturing organisations have developed these skills.

​A typical design thinking cycle for identifying and validating opportunities  involves four steps:
     1 Understanding the problem
     2 Developing possible solutions
     3 Prototyping, testing and refining
     4 Implementing the best solution

Design sprints, such as the 5-day Spring developed by Google Ventures, can accelerate team learning through fast, structured iterations of the first two problem solving design steps.  Low tech, low cost prototyping and testing of ideas are essential before settling on the best solution to be implemented. The explosion of both low tech and high tools to support this process makes it possible to focus on the task at hand rather than the techniques.  We've provided links to several of these below.
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"By integrating design practices into strategy development, practitioners can produce both incremental improvement in the performance of today’s business model and open opportunities to completely transform it," according to Prof. Jeanne Liedtka  ​
Coming up with an idea is easy. Coming up with the right one takes work.
"Design thinking, Explained" by Rebecca Linke MIT
One of the original and best resources for design thinking in a start-up context but also useful for internal venture development 
"How design thinking opens new frontiers for strategy development", Strategy & Leadership by Jeanne Liedtka, Saul Kaplan 
​Free resources for iterative cross-functional team problem solving and ideation. And for a deeper dive the book on how succeed with effective design sprints

2 / Strategy and Business Models

​Every strategy, whether for a start-up or existing business, is only as good as the business model that actually works in the real world. How to de-risk the process, use the collective intelligence of diverse teams, and find the right business model that does just that?  Pencil and paper mapping are still favoured by many, but Alexander Osterwalder et Yves Pigneur designed a highly useful tool the Business Model Canvas (offered in application form by Strategyzer). Lumiu consultants have successfully used this tool with client teams to quickly analyse, design and test business models that work for customer segments and validated value propositions. 

​Leadership May be Key to Closing the Digital Gap
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Taboo subject or widely shared view?  
Organizations have been investing significantly in a race to transform and become digitally mature.  Getting close to start-ups, promoting new cultures of  agility, innovation and disruption, and digital up-skilling efforts have become as common as two-day beards, flat-whites, and lobby level co-working spaces.
One of the central beliefs behind these large scale digital transformations is the assumption that internal leaders can continue to lead their organizations by quickly acquiring new digital skills and capabilities that they can combine with their knowledge and experience of the industry and organization.

But in 2018 a surprising survey of 4500 leaders called into question that view and the ultimate success of transformation efforts.  Faced with the speed of technological evolution and today's competitive challenges, 68% of internal leaders thought succeeding in the digital age actually required changing who leads their organization. The traits, experience and skills digital leaders bring are are needed more than ever, especially in organizations at the early and developing stages of digital maturity.  Digitally mature companies that are developing internal talent also face their own challenges, including increased trouble with internal politics blocking the effectiveness of digital initiatives.  By boards have also been playing catch-up, research elsewhere points to the impact of limited up-to-date knowledge at the board level making that makes it difficult for company strategy and governance to match the level of today's challenges. The race for talent is therefore not simply a question of recruiting at mid and entry levels, but at all levels of experience and across diverse profiles of people.  The right leadership at the top is particularly essential to closing the digital gap for most organizations.

*Gerald Kane of Boston College surveyed 4500 leaders of organizations  Common traits of the best digital leaders include ...
​More from MIT Management Review >

Events

​Future of Finance & CFO Summit
​London, UK


How Companies can Thrive in the New Normal
Virtual

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​Best Practices:  The Warm  Introduction is Key for Start-ups Wanting to Attract Investor Attention 
> As the Dublin Tech Summit Kicks-off  we continue our series filled with expert insights and new best practices as well as strategies for starting, building, and growing businesses and brands.  
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Insights:
Why Portugal for Tech industry and Start-ups? 
Portugal has become a leading hub for modern business services, with more than 450 shared service and internal business centres serving clients around the globe. Portugal's success is linked to a multi-lingual, skilled multinational labor pool that attracts global corporations along with an affordable, cosmopolitan quality of life.

Success builds on the back of strong Business Services & Outsourcing Sector
Today, companies are shifting their global footprints. Rapid digital and technological advances bring ready solutions thanks to automation. Combine with a changed regulatory environment, priority to be close to customers, Global Business Services industry is radically transforming.  Offshore people dependent services are moving back, particularly in Europe, the US and UK.  Across Europe, Portugal, Ireland, Poland remain strong providers of business services, along with the UK .
Lumiu's collaboratied with APO, the association of leaders in shared services and outsourcing, TICE, Nova Business School and PowerData PT on a project to understand how the sector could develop further, in in the wake of new business and technology trends.
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One Year On, What Impacts of the EU's GDPR?
> One year after the introduction of the European Union's Data Protection and Privacy legislation, we take a look at the impacts.  

The General Data Protection Regulation entered into force on 25th of May 2018. Not just another reform package, GDPR became the global standard for data privacy with implications for nearly all organizations that collect, process or store information on individuals. Applicable to all EU citizens around the World, not just those resident in Europe, the extra-territorial enforcement has aligned with the direction of people's concerns about their private information. GDPR significantly reinforces individuals' rights and the obligations of organizations. By setting new and ambitious global data protection standards, and ensuring stronger enforcement of rules, the EU is strengthening its internal markets and streamlining international transfers of personal data.
Read more on GDPR >

GDPR in the Boardroom
The European Union's new data protection law came into force on 25 May 2018. 
Contact us for the GDPR Catch-up Now Guide
UK Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham explained the Board's responsibility and the necessity to given
GDPR's application and impacts extend well beyond businesses and EU citizens, touching supply chains, business models, cyber security strategies, and creating new opportunities for GDPR compliant business "by design".  Failure to comply can be costly. Authorities have the power to impose fines for up to EUR 20 million or, in the case of a multi-national company, 4% of the worldwide annual turnover.
GDPR has lead to further data privacy and protection regulation in the United States (California), Canada, and beyond. Many organisations are going beyond compliance to creating and seizing new opportunities to align their products and services with new demands of customers and markets, with a reflex toward 'privacy by design' 
We recommend resources from the ICO's office and EU's guide to GDPR the ICO's 12 step guide and the EU's guide 

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