Deloitte Center for the Edge Shift Index app for iPhone and iPad

In the midst of economic fluctuations, it is easy to fixate on cyclical events, but there is real danger of losing sight of deeper trends. Short-term cyclical thinking risks discounting, or even ignoring, powerful forces of long-term change.

Deloitte’s Center for the Edge has developed the Shift Index to provide a clear, comprehensive, and sustained view of the deep dynamics changing our world, and what companies can do to address them. The Shift Index consists of 25 metrics designed to make longer-term performance trends more visible and actionable.

Key themes in the Shift Index include:
• Firm performance, measured by ROA (Return on Assets), continues its long-term decline

• Layoffs and other short-term measures taken by firms are not a sustainable answer for improving firm performance

• Connected individuals, rather than companies, are harnessing knowledge and resources flows and have more power because of it

• Firms have opportunities to reverse their declining performance by embracing “pull”

We call this the world of the Big Shift. While the macro forces shaping today’s business landscape put mounting performance pressure on companies, they also offer new opportunities. However, to take advantage of these opportunities, organizations will need to develop processes, structures, and environments that accelerate learning and performance improvement. By cultivating passion in their workforce and within the broader ecosystem, learning to leverage resources, and taking small but calculated moves, companies can develop adaptability and resilience—key characteristics of the learning enterprise that will be needed to thrive in the world of the Big Shift.