In the first two parts of the book, I discussed the emergence of what I call smart business and the strategic implications of becoming a smart business. For smart businesses, the game is now one of coordination among interconnected players, where data intelligence makes all the players smarter. In this strategic environment, traditional approaches to positioning, decision making, planning, and meeting customer needs are upended.

In part 3, I turn to the organizational implications of the new strategic environment. Drawn from my and my colleagues’ work at Alibaba, as well as countless conversations with entrepreneurs and leaders in companies big and small, these chapters show that operating as a smart business requires a different process of formulating and executing strategy. These changes in turn mandate a different kind of organization, with different processes, systems, and roles for managers.