A multiyear data transformation project at Caterpillar that has made the company AI-ready provides an exemplary case for what leadership commitment to such a technology project involves. CEOs must go beyond communicating abstract support, by setting a tangible, strategic business goal that the transformation will support; giving teams realistic time horizons and adequate resources; and assigning meaningful, instrumental roles to members of the leadership team. Caterpillar's CEO had a problem. Jim Umpleby had stepped into the chief executive role in 2017 with a vision of achieving more profitable growth by selling more services and parts to the company's heavy-equipment customers. Because offering real-time fleet management information services and selling parts online would depend on digital technologies, he set up a new division called Cat Digital. But 'the division's head soon had unwelcome news for Umpleby: The company didn't know its customers well enough to deliver on its goal....
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