The MIT Center for Information Systems Research (MIT CISR), led by Peter Weill and Stephanie Woerner, recently released a major update to its renowned digital business model framework. Based on an analysis of 2,378 companies studied between 2013 and 2025, this new framework is no longer “digital”: it is AI-native. It is based on two simple axes: action along the value chain (assisting vs. representing the customer) and business execution (structured vs. adaptive), which defin

The role of the leader has never been more paradoxal. On the one hand, generative artificial intelligence, autonomous agents, and real-time data platforms are automating entire areas of cognitive work. On the other, McKinsey noted in January 2026 that aspiration, judgment, and creativity remain “only human” traits, and that an organization’s sustainable competitive advantage will depend less on its algorithms than on the quality, authenticity, and accountability of its leader

For several years now, our transformation projects have brought us face to face with a recurring question from our clients: how can we integrate innovation, regulatory compliance, and transformation management into a single system? When it comes to agent-based AI, meetings vary depending on the context, whether with the risk director of a regional bank, the CIO of an insurance group, or the head of ethical AI at a research lab, but they often highlight the same blind spot: ag

Wondering how to model a transformation? This article is for you. It presents a structural framework designed to organize an organization’s strategic and operational data. It defines a series of key entities, such as ambitions, challenges, and initiatives, while specifying their specific attributes and performance indicators. It emphasizes logical interconnections, illustrating how projects mobilize resources and transform business processes. This modeling makes it possible t

Look at any organization in the midst of a digital transformation: the CIO is pushing for IT modernization, the CDAIO is building a data platform, the CDO is launching a new omnichannel customer experience program, the COO is deploying RPA robots, and the CISO is putting the brakes on half of these initiatives. Everyone is working. No one is working together. This is precisely where the Chief Transformation Officer (CTrO) comes in: as the architect of alignment among all the

A few weeks ago, I asked Claude a question: “Give me a sector benchmark analysis on the digital maturity of asset management firms in Hong Kong.” Within four minutes, I had forty pages of well-structured, properly cited content, complete with recommendations. This work would have kept a junior consultant busy for a week. And honestly? The result was usable and actionable. I run a consulting firm specializing in AI transformation. I could have found this threatening. Instead,

Today, the average large enterprise runs 2,191 applications and has no idea what half of them do (Torii, 2026). Forty-eight percent of enterprise applications are unmanaged (Productiv, 2024). Shadow IT accounts for between 30% and 40% of IT spending (Gartner). This is not a governance crisis. It is a strategic opportunity that few CIOs have yet seized. The application portfolio: the blind spot of IT performance For years, the priority was delivery. Delivering projects, deploy

88% of business transformations fail to meet their initial goals (Bain, 2024). Organizations invest millions, mobilize teams, hire consulting firms… and end up back where they started. What if the problem isn’t the transformation itself, but the way it’s designed? Transformation is no longer an option Any company that waits for ideal conditions to transform is waiting for its own obsolescence. Markets no longer give advance warning. AI is reshuffling the deck in a matter of q

Let’s not build AI applications. Let’s build applications designed for the journey toward AI. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither is the deployment of AI in business. We are paralyzed by a sense of awe that promises us the next big wave, and we run around like headless chickens waiting for the ultimate disaster: the takeover of the workforce by AI-driven automation. In this way, we think in terms of disruption, when there is frankly no reason not to think in terms of tran

Not everything is AI. And that’s precisely what makes AI so powerful. AI doesn’t replace your applications. It enhances them. For the past two years, there has been a persistent misconception among senior management and CIOs: the idea that artificial intelligence is a replacement technology. That applications need to be rebuilt, systems reimagined, and everything started over from scratch to “make the switch to AI.” That’s not what we’re seeing. That’s not what we’re building

There is a ceiling built into every self-improving AI system ever designed. A philosophical one. The mechanism that drives the improvement is written by humans. It is fixed, does not evolve, and no matter how far the system climbs, it climbs within a cage designed by its own architects. A research team from Meta FAIR, the University of British Columbia, NYU, the University of Edinburgh, and the Vector Institute just published a paper that tries to break that cage. They call t

Transformation methodologies are everywhere. McKinsey has its own, BCG has its own, and every major consulting firm offers its own framework. Yet transformation failure rates remain stubbornly high - between 60% and 70% according to studies. The problem isn't a lack of ideas. It's a lack of comprehensive operational systems - ones capable of translating a strategic vision into concrete actions, coordinating efforts without relying on hierarchical authority, and demonstrating

At a time when every organization wants to “get into AI”, the question is no longer about having access to the right tools. It’s about having the structure in place to turn that access into lasting value. A simple observation Most organizations embarking on AI transformation share the same starting point: a patchwork of initiatives with no common direction. An LLM project here, an RPA initiative there, experiments underway in several different directions at once. Each team mo

In their approach to transformation, a Chief Transformation Officer (CTrO) must be able to address certain structural tensions. Any organization undertaking a serious transformation will encounter friction. This friction is inherent to the process. The problem is that most companies treat it as an obstacle to be eliminated, when in reality it is a signal that must be interpreted and managed. At Gabriel Greenfield, we have identified four fundamental tensions that every CTrO m

Enterprise Architecture is a common language that enables an organization to see itself as it is, decide what it wants to become, and measure every step of its transformation. At Gabriel Greenfield, we have built the Meridian method around enterprise architecture. Our partnerships with Ardoq and Boldo are the practical embodiment of this approach. Background: Why enterprise architecture is becoming strategic again Too many transformation programs still operate in a state of p

Transformation is no longer a project; it is an ongoing process Leading consulting firms are unanimous: organizational transformation is no longer a one-off project that you start and then wrap up. It is a constant requirement of the modern business. PwC puts it plainly: when people, processes, and infrastructure are aligned, growth, ROI, and agility follow naturally. But when this triad is out of sync, the cost of a failed transformation is measured in lost market share, ero

The National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed a framework to identify the four major waves of transformation and gain a clear understanding of technological evolution in businesses. It follows a logical progression: from tools to processes, then to raw data, and finally to autonomous intelligence. Here is an explanation of these waves and an analysis of why certain critical concepts, such as sovereignty or cybersecurity, are not classified as “waves” of transformat

What economist and Nobel laureate Philippe Aghion teaches us about creative destruction in the age of artificial intelligence explains why organizations need to appoint a Chief Transformation Officer. Philippe Aghion is one of the most influential economists of our time. A professor at the Collège de France, the London School of Economics, and INSERM, he has devoted thirty years of research to an idea as simple as it is unsettling: prosperity arises from destruction. His work

ADEME, the French Agency for Ecological Transition, tells us that the concept of eco-design emerged internationally in 2002 with the publication of a prestigious standard, ISO/TR 14062, which stated its objective was to integrate environmental considerations into product design and development. There you have it, the foundations were laid! But let's provide some historical context before discussing eco-design: in 2002, the dot-com bubble had just burst, and Amazon, for the fi

Popularized in the 2010s, gamification, which introduces game elements into certain aspects of work, is gaining ground and beginning to be used in various fields. Combating boredom at work, remotivating employees, and giving meaning back to one's work are just a few examples of the benefits of gamification. And if this concept works so well, it's because it appeals to needs inherent in human nature. Discover now the principles of gamification and how you can use these needs t