Shanghai didn’t just impress me with its innovations. It invited me to think differently. I recently returned from a compelling trip to Shanghai, where I immersed myself in the future — not a distant vision, but a tangible reality already unfolding on the streets and in the showrooms of China. From testing autonomous vehicles to[…]
The Third Road: A Decade of Insight and Vision on Management, Mobility, and Society Introduction Since 2015, The Third Road has documented a transformative journey through the evolving contours of business, technology, and society. Authored from a unique perspective at the intersection of global strategy, cultural sensitivity, and technological foresight, the blog presents a consistent call for[…]
I am in panic. I can’t sleep. The wave is rising—clearly visible from afar. Yet so many act as if nothing is coming. In 1994, during a visit to Alcatel, I heard that phones would become personal—not tied to places. That by 2000, 4 million people in France would use mobile phones. It convinced me and I reported[…]
Successful Innovation and Trend Forecasting: Defying the Consensus and Making a Difference I recently had the opportunity to exchange with a team responsible for product and innovation management at a major corporation. Introduced as the “crazy guy” whose ideas and forecasts defied expectations but generally became reality, I was asked to share insights from my past in innovation management. In this article, I’ll try to articulate some[…]
Lessons from Nissan and Toyota (excerpt of the interview) In this interview, GG explains how mobility has become more complex and how the speed of transformation is unprecedented. In a more global and local world, it will be more and more important to use a management that ensures at the same time a robust and[…]
We recently read that the 2 car juggernauts VW and Ford decided to drop Argo AI to “focus on more short term objectives” (1) and some jump to the conclusion that the autonomous dream is dead. For example, Max Chafkin in Bloomberg does not hesitate to write it is “going nowhere” (2) The reality is[…]
When it comes to COVID, there will be a before and an after… many are talking about a new normal and there will be many versions of it… as when is the after. During the pandemic, our lives changed a way we would not have imagined before. It will take time to understand and analyze[…]
A few weeks ago I gave a lecture at Waseda University to E-MBA students of ESSEC and Mannheim University of three different campuses (Germany, Singapore and France) on transformation in Japanese corporations. It was following a class I did a few years ago, on The Third Road of Management or how to transform companies. The[…]
This year at CES, trends are getting confirmed. Autonomous and smart mobility seems closer than ever. Let’s be clear: Level 5 (the autonomous car you will buy and that can go everywhere) is a Grail that will not be achieved easily. It is now understood by (almost) everyone that you won’t own a car without[…]
I.1) The Japanese school, Prioritizing harmony and operational efficiency The Japanese executive is a gardener when the western one is an architect*. This sentence is a good summary of the differences between the two managing system which I call the first two roads of management. When the western executive defines centrally a detailed plan, his[…]