Mark McDonald

Mark McDonald
VP Analyst
12 years at Gartner
33 years IT Industry

Mark McDonald, Ph.D., is a Vice President and Fellow Emeritus in Gartner for General Managers Program. Read Full Bio

The inflation of change and turns

by Mark P. McDonald | November 20, 2019

We are trapped in a cycle of inflationary change. Sure, change is a constant in modern business, but not all change is the same. The failure to recognize these differences results in seasoned executives behaving like corporate three year old – everything is a big deal. In the face of these big deals, organizations naturally […]

The Connector Manager – A book review

by Mark P. McDonald | October 26, 2019

Organizations face a constant challenge to build the right skills in their people. Employees see their manager as a critical player in building those skills, but managers rather themselves as not having the time or skills to build those skills. This conundrum creates a need for a new management mandate. That mandate is the focus […]

Looking for the future of work, look no farther than your fantasy sports league

by Mark P. McDonald | October 23, 2019

How will we work in a world of artificial intelligence, machine learning, process automation and the like? Researchers and thought leaders will tell you that it will be utopia or dystopia based on their views with screens, data, buttons, gestures etc. While that stuff is cool and the subject of movies, realty is always more […]

Qualityland — a Book Review

by Mark P. McDonald | October 15, 2019

There always seems to be a book that brings a future into focus in a broadly accessible way. 1984, Brave New World and other books like that described a social future. Qualityland is in that same genre, focusing on what life could be like in a world driven by digital giants, analytics and social media. […]

Thinking about digital, time, priorities and what people do all day

by Mark P. McDonald | October 10, 2019

We are all busy, some of us are truly busy others feel or like to think of themselves as busy. I got to thinking about that after working people who are new to Agile methods and digital thinking. These were managers and leaders in legacy companies. The conversation flowed around new ways of working, particularly […]

Hurrah for Hoshin

by Mark P. McDonald | October 8, 2019

Today’s Wall Street Journal article on Larry Culp and his plans to fix GE included this “Now Mr. Culp has begun rolling out Hoshin Kanri, a Japanese strategic planning process that is part of lean manufacturing. Hoshin Kanri holds that all workers should understand the company’s strategy and how their role can contribute to it, […]

What to watch beyond MR. ROBOT

by Mark P. McDonald | October 7, 2019

The final season of MR. ROBOT started last night. It’s a complex show covering our relationships with ourselves, each other and technology. Taken from near real-time events, the series provides the most technically sophisticated drama on television, perhaps ever. If you have not watched it, then go back and start from the beginning. If you […]

You’re not steering a ship, your leading an organization

by Mark P. McDonald | September 30, 2019

The image is dramatic and clear. A ship is sailing into a horrendous storm. They can see it on the horizon, lightening illuminating the sky, the seas getting rougher and rougher. Attention turns to the captain, who is often behind the wheel and there is silence. … Such is the dramatic setting often followed by […]

Seeing Around Corners — a book review

by Mark P. McDonald | September 9, 2019

Digital transformation and its demands have stressed traditional strategic thinking and tools such as industry analysis, competitive differentiation, etc. While new digital techniques like design thinking provide support, there is a need for new ways of thinking about digital strategy. That is where this book comes into play. Seeing Around Corners represents a new approach […]

The Purpose of the Corporation – an update that reflects reality

by Mark P. McDonald | August 20, 2019

The Business Roundtable released its Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation yesterday. The updated statement is getting heavy media play and attention as it stresses a “fundamental commitment to all of our stakeholders.” Their emphasis on “all”. The energy around this new statement of purpose is that shareholders – the owners of the company […]