Smart Business

Leaders already know that the classic approach to strategy – analyze, plan, execute – is losing relevance. But they don’t yet know what replaces it. As everyone and everything becomes more interconnected and digitized, how do you operate, compete, and win?

Ming Zeng, the former chief of staff and strategy adviser to Alibaba Group’s founder, Jack Ma, explains how the latest technological developments, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, the mobile internet, and cloud computing, are redefining how value is created. Written especially for those outside the technology industry or the start-up arena, this book introduces a simple, overarching framework to guide strategy formulation and execution in this data-rich and highly interactive environment.

Revealing the revolutionary practices that he and his team have developed at Alibaba, Zeng shows how to: automate decisions through machine learning; create products informed by real-time data from customers; determine the right strategic positioning to maximize value from platforms and suppliers; repurpose your organization to further human insight and enable creativity; and lead your company’s transformation into a smart business. 

Table of Contents

Part One: Alibaba

Ch 1: The New Forces of Value Creation

Ch 2: Network Coordination

Ch 3: Data Intelligence

Part Two: How Smart Businesses Compete

Ch 4: Automating Decisions

Ch 5: The Customer-to-Business Model

Ch 6: Positioning

Part Three: How Smart Businesses Run

Ch 7: Self-Tuning

Ch 8: From Managing to Enabling

Ch 9: The Future of Smart Business

Appendix A: Alibaba and Its Affiliated Businesses

Appendix B: The Evolution of Taobao as a Smart Ecosystem

Appendix C: Conceptual Foundations

About the Author

Ming Zeng Strategy advisor to the Alibaba Group since 2002, Zeng joined full time in 2006, becoming chief strategy officer and executive vice president. Previously professor of strategy at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, Beijing, and faculty member, INSEAD, Zeng is the founding dean of Hupan School of Entrepreneurship.