Every year, professional services firms and other businesses produce an astonishing amount of thought leadership content. Given the deluge, it is increasingly hard to be heard in the marketplace.
But some work does stand out. Leff recently started the monthly Gold Standard blog to recognize superior thought leadership. Today, we take the opportunity to highlight some of 2019’s best thought leadership with the debut of “The Goldies” awards (blush). As you’ll see, I identified standout pieces that address some of the hottest themes of the year. I also included a category for innovative formats.
To assemble this post, I adopted the same
criteria I use to make our monthly selections: freshness and provocativeness of insights
and timeliness, analytical rigor, depth of prescriptions, and overall readability.
Apologies in advance for overlooking some
of the many worthy pieces that were published on these topics.
Innovation for
sustainability:
Solving the plastics and
packaging challenge
PA Consulting
Tracking the trends 2019:
The top 10 issues
transforming the future
of mining
Deloitte
“
Insurtechs on the rise”
Bain
Securing software as a
service”
McKinsey
“
Paying for value in
health care
BCG
Winners by topic
“
“
How much more can be written about agile practices? Consultancies are squeezing this trend dry. The white space seems to be how to make agile work at the sector level. And that’s what these BCG authors do in this piece, focusing on agile and pharma.
Read the report
Agile
Winner: BCG
We saw a lot of smart writing on the risks associated with AI this year. This piece
from McKinsey is one of the most sophisticated that I read.
Professional services firms are also starting to get into the specific uses of AI. That’s what authors from Capgemini do in
a report on AI and cybersecurity, another one of the most critical topics in business and society. The authors set aside the hype and examine how AI can best be employed in cybersecurity. In a similar vein, authors from PwC look at the ways AI could change how CFOs do their jobs.
Read the report
Artificial intelligence
Winners: McKinsey, Capgemini, PwC
This author team from Deloitte takes an unusually detailed look at the digital shortcomings of the workforce and what companies can do to help their workers thrive in a digital world.
The emergence of business ecosystems was well chronicled this year. What most pieces failed to do was clearly define what an ecosystem is and detail its pros and cons. BCG’s Henderson Institute does such a good job explaining the ecosystem model in this piece that you don’t have to bother reading anything else on the subject to understand what’s going on.
Nearly every article about digital transformation bemoans the scarcity of talent in the data and analytics field. These
authors from the executive search firm
Spencer Stuart discuss how to identify and hire these increasingly important employees.
Read the article
Data and analytics and digital or organizational transformation
Winners: Deloitte, BCG Henderson Institute,
Spencer Stuart
“
All professional services firms weighed in on some aspect of diversity and inclusion this year. Authors at the executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles distinguished themselves by addressing the topic from the point of view of Asia–Pacific companies.
Read the article
Diversity and inclusion
Winner: Heidrick & Struggles
“
Feeding the world in a sustainable manner has become an important topic for consultancies. In particular, we are seeing a lot of work on the application of digital technology to agriculture. This Roland Berger author team focuses on the use of precision-farming techniques and their impact on the agriculture value chain.
Mammoth reports can try a reader’s patience. But sometimes there’s a payoff. Capgemini has put together as comprehensive a report on the global energy situation as you will find anywhere, addressing everything from fossil fuels to renewables. It’s not an easy read, but people interested in energy and sustainability could find it quite useful.
Read the report
Energy and sustainability
Winners: Roland Berger, Capgemini
Back to top
Agile
BCG
Artificial intelligence
McKinsey, Capgemini, PwC
Data and analytics and digital or organizational transformation
Deloitte, BCG Henderson Institute, Spencer Stuart
Diversity and inclusion
Heidrick & Struggles
Energy and sustainability
Roland Berger, Capgemini
Future of work and automation
McKinsey Global Institute, PwC
Innovative formats
McKinsey, Bain & Company
The McKinsey Global Institute, the consulting firm’s think tank, is a leader in research on the future of work, including how automation will affect the workplace. This report offers a unique perspective on how automation might affect the US labor force at the local level.
Much discussion this year on automation revolved around retraining workers. This
article from PwC looks closely at what can be done to help workers adjust to the new world, offers a “road map for an upskilling initiative,” and is filled with real-world examples.
Future of work and automation
Winners: McKinsey Global Institute, PwC
McKinsey.com introduced a regular, multimedia feature it calls “The next normal: Perspectives on the future
of industries.” It cleverly combines commentary from McKinsey experts
and leading executives in an attractive package; in addition, the package
can be downloaded as a mini-compendium. To date, the series has addressed the future of meat, insurance, packaging, and parcel delivery.
The story of Zara, the fast-fashion company, has been told many times.
Bain & Company revisits that tale in an engaging and well-designed infographic, weaving in the authors’ views on Zara’s strategic breakthrough.
Innovative formats
Winners: McKinsey, Bain & Company
Agile
BCG
Artificial intelligence
McKinsey, Capgemini, PwC
Data and analytics and digital or organizational transformation
Deloitte, BCG Henderson Institute, Spencer Stuart
Diversity and inclusion
Heidrick & Struggles
Energy and sustainability
Roland Berger, Capgemini
Future of work and automation
McKinsey Global Institute, PwC
Innovative formats
McKinsey, Bain & Company