The relentless pursuit of industrial efficiency no longer yields the profits it once did because it requires a level of business predictability that no longer exists. Instead, the Internet and global video and telecom systems provide a massive and continuous flow of data that causes the whole world to behave like a giant stock market, with all the volatility and uncertainty that goes along with such markets. Responsiveness now trumps efficiency . By being responsive to the evolving needs and desires of specific groups of customers, companies can wrap their products and services in a tailored blanket of value-added services to consistently earn an additional four percent or more gross margin than they would otherwise earn for the product or service alone. This customer and market specialization is the most promising and the most sustainable source of profits in our fluid, real-time economy. Part of the Microsoft Executive Leadership Series, Sustainable Prosperity discusses the three fundamental process loops that drive an agile enterprise and how they work together to deliver the responsiveness that generates profits in a high-change economy. Providing strategies for innovative and pragmatic use of people, process, and technology to drive operations in an agile enterprise, this book reveals the principles of the agile enterprise, backed by real-world case studies from the author's own experience. Michael Hugos is a speaker, writer, and practitioner in IT and business agility, and agile system development methods. He writes a column for Computerworld and a blog titled "Doing Business in Real Time" for CIO magazine.

From the Inside Flap Business Agility Business agility determines whether your organi-zation will become a victim of our difficult economic times or if it will learn to reap new profits by continually responding to changing market conditions and evolving customer desires. Author and business agility practitioner Michael Hugos explains that for everything from blue jeans to fuel oil and hotel rooms to accounting services, customers are willing to pay slightly higher prices for products and services if they are responsive to their needs. This breakthrough guide is your company's how-to manual for putting this profit transformation to work. Part of the Microsoft Executive Leadership Series, Business Agility: Sustainable Prosperity in a Relentlessly Competitive World outlines world-class approaches every "C-level" executive can employ to achieve competitive advantages and greater profitability. This book discusses: Powerful trends shaping business and our lives in this century Challenges we must confront and master Practical principles, strategies, and technologies available to address these challenges Three underlying feedback loops that drive all responsive organizations Best ways to use technology to empower your people Two central themes for making a responsive organization happen: desire and innovation Case study examples from the author's own experience to illustrate concepts of responsiveness and techniques of agility Business Agility: Sustainable Prosperity in a Relentlessly Competitive World is a succinct guide and road map for becoming more responsive, agile, and better positioned to deal with ongoing and constant change. Mykolas Rambus of Forbes Media observed, "Michael delivers a host of actionable new ideas for organizations who 'get' business agility, and an unflattering view of the future for those who don't. His fresh insights on how to win in today's turbulent marketplace are more relevant than ever."