Video Quick Take: Accenture’s Manish Sharma on the Fast Track to Future-Ready Performance
Julie Devoll, HBR
Welcome to the HBR Quick Take. I’m Julie Devoll, editor for special projects and webinars, and today, I’m joined by Manish Sharma, group chief executive of Accenture Operations. Manish, thank you so much for joining us today.
Manish Sharma, Accenture
Thanks, Julie. Delighted to be here with you.
Julie Devoll, HBR
Manish, Covid-19 has impacted business in so many ways and turned many industries upside down. How has this unprecedented disruption changed the role of operations?
Manish Sharma, Accenture
I think what’s transpired out of this period of unprecedented change is leaders’ expectations of what the operating model can achieve in the context of technology, strategy, growth, and the future of work. We have seen the role of operations pivot from cost efficiency to driving growth and value.
In fact, Accenture launched a research study on this exact point today. What it found was future-ready organizations—the top 7%—achieved about three times higher profitability and twice the efficiency compared to everybody else. So, to show you the scale of possibility, let’s consider the remaining 93% of the companies. If these companies practice the same strategies, it would add $5 trillion to the global economy.
Julie Devoll, HBR
How do leaders look at operations compared with everyone else? And can you give us an example?
Manish Sharma, Accenture
Most companies are focused on incremental changes to existing operations—making things faster, better, or cheaper—without changing how the work gets done. This is often a cost efficiency play. Leaders instead drive what I call operational reinvention. They take a strategic approach to advancing the operating model by adapting how work gets done across technology, processes, and people.
Practically speaking, this might be finding new ways to fill orders, serve customers, or develop products by enhancing the processes and the role of technology, data, and people. In our research, we also found that companies that report the greatest improvements also had simultaneous gains in employee engagement and retention.
Julie Devoll, HBR
In this time of workforce disruption, I’ve heard you say that AI is the glue that makes people more capable and links us together. Can you share a few examples of that?
Manish Sharma, Accenture
AI humanizes work by freeing up more time for creativity, empathy, and critical thinking. For example, having virtual agents can [not only] help stabilize demand surges but also free up human attention for the cases that need it most. It can enhance experiences with anytime, anywhere access to services or service consistency, whether it’s two-day shipping or a customer resolution. And as companies operate with reduced staff and new distancing rules, AI can help people build a more flexible organization by becoming the vehicle that enterprises use to pivot operations as situations change.
Julie Devoll, HBR
What do leaders do differently that serve as key advantages?
Manish Sharma, Accenture
Leaders think big and start with the endgame in mind. Finding true value starts with defining what really matters to your business. It’s not productivity or outcomes alone. It’s about delivering on the overarching business strategy.
Leaders know the three key steps to advance and understand which are most important to bridging the gap between current operations and a future-ready state. The three steps being first, they automate at scale. Second, they augment human talent with technology, not the other way around. This delivers efficiencies. As more work gets allocated to technology, it frees up human capacity for creativity and critical thinking, and it allows the organization to focus on new sources of value.
But most, which is about 75% of organizations, still need to retool processes that bring technology and people together to humanize the way they interact. And third, they commit to data-driven decisions (using better data). Leaders commit to making data-driven decisions. Even in a data-powered world, many, which is around 36% of leaders, still rely heavily on their own intuition and experience. With only 1% of data currently being analyzed, it’s also a significant area of untapped potential.
Julie Devoll, HBR
What then should leaders watch out for?
Manish Sharma, Accenture
Our research found that there are four things to look for. First, it’s not just about speed. It’s about moving with focus in the right direction. Second, it’s not just about more data. It’s about investing in data, being both deliberate and pragmatic to drive the right insights. Third, it’s not just about the money. It’s about aligning investments to the right places to guide large-scale change. Fourth, it’s not just about a single leader. It is about the multidisciplinary teams that bring the right capabilities.
Julie Devoll, HBR
Manish, looking ahead, is there anything else you would add?
Manish Sharma, Accenture
I think a key thing to remember is that at the heart of change lies opportunity. It’s often periods of uncertainty that uncover unexpected opportunities for meaningful change and the opportunity to emerge stronger than before.
Julie Devoll, HBR
This has been a great discussion. Thank you so much for joining us today.
Manish Sharma, Accenture
Thanks. It was a pleasure being with you.
To learn more about being a future-ready operation, click here.
Video Quick Take: Accenture’s Manish Sharma on the Fast Track to Future-Ready Performance
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