“REINVENT is a forward-looking, informative business guide that details the essentials of digital transformations.”
Faisal Hoque’s manager’s guide Reinvent is about helping companies into the hyperdigital modern era. Companies that hope to remain relevant, Hoque says, must eschew the status quo. But with its suggestions for navigating digital transformations to meet the demands of the contemporary marketplace, his book stresses that reinvention is about more than just adopting new technology. It also requires the reevaluation of established procedures and patterns of thought, Hoque says, which can become calcified over time. Thus, Hoque outlines how companies can reimagine their operations to fuel growth.
This orderly, sequential book begins by making a general case; it then names the steps that are necessary when it comes to updating a company’s mindset. In its final section, it breaks down its comprehensive central acronym, LIFTS (learn, investigate, formulate, take off, and study); this process involves the planning and execution of complete operational overhauls, and Hoque strives to take the guesswork out of this daunting ongoing task.
Evidence arises throughout the book to support its recommendations, as with examples of changing consumer behaviors and employee priorities, with the identification of potential obstacles, and with forecasts for the future. The chapters end with summaries of their key points. Frequent graphics make Hoque’s data more digestible, as with a representation of the dimensions of information orientation, and with an illustration of the sense-and-respond cycle.
The book uses accessible terminology to convey its complex ideas. There is some corporate jargon involved, but it is often familiar, as with references to synergy between silos. Indeed, the prose throughout is direct and clear. Its analogies are apt and evocative, as when it compares organizational transformation to navigating the subway system and always having to hop into another stop.
Transformation is a process that never stops, Hoque says. His book uses judicious examples to illustrate this process in action and supports them with citations of news articles, surveys, and academic studies (from weighty sources like Harvard Business Review, the international professional services network Deloitte, and the BBC) that make its takeaways more credible. And its final thoughts have the flavor of a pep talk, reflecting on leaders’ roles within their organizations, work cultures that prioritize technology, and the value that each company provides. Its parting advice is substantive.
Reinvent is a forward-looking, informative business guide that details the essentials of digital transformations.
Reviewed by JOSEPH S. PETE (May 4, 2023)
[Original review can be found here.]
