The Seven Steps to Nirvana: Strategic Insights into eBusiness Transformation - Hardcover

Tapscott, Don; Zabin, Jeff

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0071375228 ISBN 13: 9780071375221

Publisher: McGraw-Hill, 2001

Synopsis

Today¿s most successful companies never sit still. Even as they introduce their newest e-business initiatives, their next generation of improvements is already near completion. Traditional organizations¿especially larger, low-tech businesses¿must reinvent themselves if they are to hold their positions against these new business competitors. The Seven Steps to Nirvana leads managers through the systematic stages needed to transform traditional businesses¿regardless of their industries¿into fierce competitors. Combining hard-hitting analyses with case studies of businesses that made the transition, this concrete, practical tour de force opens readers¿ minds to: Essential differences between e-commerce and e-business The evolutionary stages of e-business intervention Strategies to overcome inertia and organize for speed Written by one of BusinessWeek's 25 most influential e-business innovators, The Seven Steps to Nirvana is a trove of innovative techniques for brick-and-mortar businesses to meet--and overcome--the challenges of today's faster, nimbler e-upstarts.

About this title

About the Author

Mohan Sawhney is the McCormick Tribune Professor of Electronic Commerce and Technology­­and director of the Center for Research on Technology, Innovation, and E-Commerce­­at Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management. Named by BusinessWeek as one of the 25 most influential people in e-business, Sawhney is an internationally renowned consultant, writer, teacher, adviser, and speaker.

Jeff Zabin is an independent writer and speaker, and a research fellow with DiamondCluster International, a premier business strategy and technology solutions firm. He is a co-founder of an e-business thought leadership network, called nMinds, and a strategic advisor to several technology and e-commerce companies.

From the Back Cover

Insights and Frameworks for Transforming Traditional Bricks-and-Mortar Operations into Fast-Responding, Customer-Centered Companies

"This book provides the best roadmap I have seen for harnessing the power of e-business to leverage your company's advantages. Sawhney and Zabin present customer-centered business models for an e-enabled world, a refreshing change from technology-centered books."

­­Philip Kotler

S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing

Kellogg Graduate School of Management

"In a clear and compelling style, Sawhney and Zabin provide a cogent roadmap to navigate the challenging world of e-business without losing sight of the timeless elements of management."

­­Ravi Kalakota, Ph.D.

CEO, E-Business Strategies

Author, E-Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success

"The Seven Steps to Nirvana is an invaluable compass for enterprises as they chart their course on digital strategy. It stands tall above the hype and confusion surrounding e-business."

­­Melvyn E. Bergstein

Chairman and CEO

DiamondCluster International

"When I took a look at Boeing's interaction costs and discovered that e-enabling the business could save as much as 50 percent, I became an instant believer. Anyone still sitting on the fence ought to read this book."

­­Phil Condit

Chairman and CEO

The Boeing Company

"Mohan Sawhney has provided inspiration to me and my colleagues. This book is written for real managers in real business."

­­Jack M. Greenberg

Chairman and CEO

McDonald's Corporation

"To date, the incursion of e-business skirmishes has been perpetuated for the most part by startups, technology companies, and the so-called early adopters among the Global 2000. But soon­­just as all disruptive innovations tend to experience a lag time to mainstream acceptance­­the real revolution will begin, with the lion's share of low-tech, smokestack businesses finally getting religion! Rather than preach to the converted, this book is targeted to senior managers and leaders of these latter companies. To borrow a phrase from Apple Computer, this book is e-business for the 'rest of us.' There are no Ciscos and Dells here. ... In this book, we focus on real people and real businesses in mundane sectors of the economy. ... For them, this book lays out a systematic approach for exploiting the new possibilities of e-business."

­­From the Introduction

In the world of e-business, "e" is just the means. "Business" is the end. The fundamentals of business have not changed. Firms still win by creating superior value for their customers and by building superior business architectures. Executives who lose sight of this fact­­whether due to technology, bureaucracy, or the gold-rush mentality­­risk becoming disoriented and even lost.

The Seven Steps to Nirvana is a compass for senior executives as they embark on the journey of e-business transformation. Tested before thousands of executives, whose collective insights helped shape its content, this visionary book provides a systematic roadmap for the steps needed to convert large, established companies into fierce, twenty-first-century competitors.

Steeped in ancient wisdom, grounded in a powerful array of sense-making frameworks, and brought to life through dozens of real-world examples, The Seven Steps to Nirvana brings clarity and insight to a wide range of strategic issues, including:

• Understanding the true scope of e-business
• Defining the evolutionary path for your e-business initiatives
• Formulating a winning e-business strategy
• Finding opportunities for leveraging the core business
• Synchronizing customer touch points and resolving channel conflict

The Seven Steps to Nirvana is more than just another "e-business book." It is, in fact, a strategy book for the new world of business. It shows how to weave technology, strategy, processes, infrastructure, and organizational issues into a rich tapestry to create the businesses of the future. And it reminds us that e-business is ultimately business, by putting customers at the front and center of e-business initiatives.

"This book provides the best roadmap I have seen for harnessing the power of e-business to leverage your company's advantages. Sawhney and Zabin present customer-centered business models for an e-enabled world, a refreshing change from technology-centered books."

­­Philip Kotler

S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing

Kellogg Graduate School of Management

"In a clear and compelling style, Sawhney and Zabin provide a cogent roadmap to navigate the challenging world of e-business without losing sight of the timeless elements of management."

­­Ravi Kalakota, Ph.D.

CEO, E- Business Strategies

Author, E-Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success

"The Seven Steps to Nirvana is an invaluable compass for enterprises as they chart their course on digital strategy. It stands tall above the hype and confusion surrounding e-business."

­­Melvyn E. Bergstein

Chairman and CEO

DiamondCluster International

"When I took a look at Boeing's interaction costs and discovered that e-enabling the business could save as much as 50 percent, I became an instant believer. Anyone still sitting on the fence ought to read this book."

­­Phil Condit

Chairman and CEO

The Boeing Company

"Mohan Sawhney has provided inspiration to me and my colleagues. This book is written for real managers in real business."

­­Jack M. Greenberg

Chairman and CEO

McDonald's Corporation

"Sawhney and Zabin present an excellent, customer-focused framework for guiding every company's inevitable foray into the world of e-business. The book could become the premier strategic guidebook for planning and managing e-business initiatives within traditional companies."

­­Patrick G. Ryan

Chairman and CEO

Aon Corporation

"Mohan Sawhney has emerged as a true e-business visionary. He and Jeff Zabin have written a must-have book for anyone intent on winning in the changing business environment.... It's clear, comprehensive, and compelling."

­­Paula Sneed

Group Vice President and President of E-Commerce and Marketing Services

Kraft Foods

"Sawhney and Zabin illuminate the pathway with the bright and steady light of a customer-centered business model, rather than the flash of the tech revolution."

­­Michael A. Volkema

Chairman, President, and CEO

Herman Miller, Inc.

"After reading The Seven Steps to Nirvana, I now know this is much more than an eBusiness book­­it is an innovative blueprint for all managers confronting the new challenges of the Internet economy from the reality of their existing company."

­­James J. O'Connor

Retired Chairman and CEO

Unicom Corporation

"Using rich metaphors and an engaging style, this book gives wise counsel to established companies on thinking strategically about e-business. The authors shatter many popular misconceptions and myths about e-business, and show how to place customers at the front and center of your e-business strategy."

­­Earnest W. Davenport, Jr.

Chairman and CEO

Eastman Chemical Company

"Seven Steps is at once deeply insightful and immensely practical. It beautifully illustrates, with many real-life examples and lasting images, how to seamlessly blend the 'hard' business issues with the 'soft' people and leadership issues. The wisdom in this book hit me like a ton of clicks!"

­­Deepak Sethi

Vice President, Executive & Leadership Development

The Thomson Corporation

From the Inside Flap

Insights and Frameworks for Transforming Traditional Bricks-and-Mortar Operations into Fast-Responding, Customer-Centered Companies

"This book provides the best roadmap I have seen for harnessing the power of e-business to leverage your company's advantages. Sawhney and Zabin present customer-centered business models for an e-enabled world, a refreshing change from technology-centered books."

­­Philip Kotler

S. C. Johnson & Son Distinguished Professor of International Marketing

Kellogg Graduate School of Management

"In a clear and compelling style, Sawhney and Zabin provide a cogent roadmap to navigate the challenging world of e-business without losing sight of the timeless elements of management."

­­Ravi Kalakota, Ph.D.

CEO, E-Business Strategies

Author, E-Business 2.0: Roadmap for Success

"The Seven Steps to Nirvana is an invaluable compass for enterprises as they chart their course on digital strategy. It stands tall above the hype and confusion surrounding e-business."

­­Melvyn E. Bergstein

Chairman and CEO

DiamondCluster International

"When I took a look at Boeing's interaction costs and discovered that e-enabling the business could save as much as 50 percent, I became an instant believer. Anyone still sitting on the fence ought to read this book."

­­Phil Condit

Chairman and CEO

The Boeing Company

"Mohan Sawhney has provided inspiration to me and my colleagues. This book is written for real managers in real business."

­­Jack M. Greenberg

Chairman and CEO

McDonald's Corporation

"To date, the incursion of e-business skirmishes has been perpetuated for the most part by startups, technology companies, and the so-called early adopters among the Global 2000. But soon­­just as all disruptive innovations tend to experience a lag time to mainstream acceptance­­the real revolution will begin, with the lion's share of low-tech, smokestack businesses finally getting religion! Rather than preach to the converted, this book is targeted to senior managers and leaders of these latter companies. To borrow a phrase from Apple Computer, this book is e-business for the 'rest of us.' There are no Ciscos and Dells here. ... In this book, we focus on real people and real businesses in mundane sectors of the economy. ... For them, this book lays out a systematic approach for exploiting the new possibilities of e-business."

­­From the Introduction

In the world of e-business, "e" is just the means. "Business" is the end. The fundamentals of business have not changed. Firms still win by creating superior value for their customers and by building superior business architectures. Executives who lose sight of this fact­­whether due to technology, bureaucracy, or the gold-rush mentality­­risk becoming disoriented and even lost.

The Seven Steps to Nirvana is a compass for senior executives as they embark on the journey of e-business transformation. Tested before thousands of executives, whose collective insights helped shape its content, this visionary book provides a systematic roadmap for the steps needed to convert large, established companies into fierce, twenty-first-century competitors.

Steeped in ancient wisdom, grounded in a powerful array of sense-making frameworks, and brought to life through dozens of real-world examples, The Seven Steps to Nirvana brings clarity and insight to a wide range of strategic issues, including:

Understanding the true scope of e-business
Defining the evolutionary path for your e-business initiatives
Formulating a winning e-business strategy
Finding opportunities for leveraging the core business
Synchronizing customer touch points and resolving channel conflict

The Seven Steps to Nirvana is more than just another "e-business book." It is, in fact, a strategy book for the new world of business. It shows how to weave technology, strategy, processes, infrastructure, and organizational issues into a rich tapestry to create the businesses of the future. And it reminds us that e-business is ultimately business, by putting customers at the front and center of e-business initiatives.

Reviews

Although sometimes hyperbolic, Sawhney, an influential professor at Northwestern's business school, and co-writer Zabin provide a comprehensive conceptual framework for conducting e-business that sets their effort apart from the summer's many similar books. Targeting senior management, the authors outline their seven steps (vision, evolution, strategy, synchronization, infrastructure, capitalization and organization) for leveraging a company's advantages.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Sawhney is a professor at Northwestern University. Speaking at the World Economic Forum, he said that "the pure-play online company is being exposed as a myth."

Sawhney has made waves in academic circles by favoring industry publications like Business 2.0 and Red Herring over academic journals. Business Week named Sawhney one of its "e-biz 25" last May, calling him a "John Maynard Keynes for the Net age: A theorist ready to bet on his ideas." In Seven Steps , he admits to "paint[ing] many topics with broad brushstrokes," but he makes it clear that e-business and e-commerce are not synonymous. E-business is the "use of the Net, in combination with other network technologies and forms of electronic communication, to enable any type of business activity," and Sawhney offers a panoply of ideas for transforming existing businesses into e-businesses. David Rouse
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: McGraw-Hill
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0071375228
• ISBN 13: 9780071375221
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 323