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Today’s Deep Tech Solutions are Tomorrow’s Household Names

Posted by

rstapholz on June 29, 2021

Today’s Deep Tech Solutions are Tomorrow’s Household Names

This week’s article is provided by Eric Redmond, a twenty-year veteran technologist and author. It is a companion to his interview on Innovating Leadership, Co-creating Our Future titled Deep Tech: Demystifying the Breakthrough Technologies that aired on Tuesday, June 29th. The following article has been adapted from the Deep Tech book.

If you’ve seen 2008’s Iron Man, a movie that reinvigorated the superhero genre, you can probably picture the high-tech laboratory of main character Tony Stark. Over a decade ago, much of the technology featured in his lab—augmented reality, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, autonomous robotics, Internet of Things—was largely confined to the realm of science fiction and academia.

A few years later, these emerging technologies are past the research and development phase, just on the cusp of scale, but not quite yet available for prime time. They’re deep tech: technology that is barely feasible today but will become pervasive and hugely impactful in day-to-day life tomorrow. Why does this matter to you as a business leader?

Deep tech offers the potential for enormous growth to businesses that adopt or invest in it at the right time. If you get in early—but not too early—you can leverage tech that will soon be so ubiquitous, they’re household names as recognizable as the iPhone.

When to Get Involved in Deep Tech?

Successful adoption of deep tech is all about timing. By its definition, deep tech practically begs to be undervalued in its early days, but those who seize on the opportunity at the right time almost always end up the winners. The trick is answering the question: when is the right time to get involved?

If you grab on too early, you may find yourself as Yahoo or Friendster. Jump on too late, and you’re Bing or App.net. But right on time?

You’re Google or Facebook.

The goal should be to not merely adopt emerging technologies but invest in and drive their adoption, forcing everyone else to catch up—that’s how you get ahead of the competition.

There are seven technologies poised to drive somewhere between 50 and 200 trillion dollars in new economic impact in the decade between 2020 and 2030: artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, blockchain, and cryptocurrencies, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, and quantum computing.

The right time to get involved in these technologies? Now.

Deep Tech Matters in Business

You might be thinking if the deep tech hasn’t hit the mainstream yet, does it matter to my business? The answer is yes. Whether you’re in finance, sales, design, logistics, or any number of fields and industries, we live in a world increasingly dominated by technology.

Over a hundred years ago, factories were the cutting edge, powered by the assembly line, and the world was dominated by those who used them. Then came electricity. Then business structures like the firm. Then supply chain optimization. Then the world belonged to those who cleverly leveraged financial instruments.

Today, we live in a fully digital age, and the major division is between those companies that respond to that change and those that are left behind. As corporate tech expert Patrick Fisher said in Reuters, “all companies are technology companies now.”

Leveraging emerging technology is an effective way to get ahead, and on the flip side, ignoring it can cost you significantly. Recent history is littered with corporations refusing to make the transition into leveraging technology appropriately, from the loss of a century of Sears dominance to the upstart of Amazon to Hertz bankruptcy due to a billion ride-share cuts.

The biggest danger in being ignorant of the current docket of deep tech’s coming of age is apathy, which in other words is a recipe for irrelevance. Whether you’re beginning a startup, or you’re a CEO or a thought leader, don’t allow yourself to flirt with the lines of Luddite groupthink and be drawn into ignoring what you don’t want to believe.

Deep Tech is a Pathway to New Lines of Business

If you want a concrete example of the benefits of understanding deep tech, consider the Winklevoss twins. You may be familiar with these brothers, Cameron and Tyler, as popular foils in the Facebook creation myth. But what’s more interesting is how the Winklevosses made their billions after Facebook: by keeping a keen eye on deep tech.

In 2013, they saw the Bitcoin revolution coming and chose to act on it. They bought in on Bitcoin (BTC) early, starting when the going rate was around $10 per BTC. Then they bought more and more, finally amassing a 1 percent stake of the total number of Bitcoin. To support the technology and community, they worked as ambassadors for the power of the decentralized digital currency. All the while, their investment grew. Once Bitcoin hit $10,000 per BTC in 2017, they both became the world’s first Bitcoin billionaires. What a difference a decade makes.

Like the Winklevosses, deep tech can be a pathway to new lines of business for you and your company. Whether you’re looking for new revenue streams, process effectiveness, or other cost savings, deep tech is the most important avenue to investigate. You’ll get the most value by adopting early and implementing the technology before your competitors.

Act Before Deep Tech Turns into Popular Tech

In 2008, Tony Stark’s lab tech was still science fiction, but today, we’re living with much of it, and the next level of advancement is right around the corner. Remember, deep tech refers to the stage the technology is in: impossible yesterday, barely feasible today, and soon to be so pervasive it’s hard to remember life without it.

The key to leveraging deep tech to your maximum advantage is timing your involvement right. Adopt and invest early, just before the technology is ready for mass market. Moves to adopt deep tech at the right moment are what turned Amazon, Google, and Facebook into the juggernauts they are today.

Technologies considered deep tech now—artificial intelligence, augmented and virtual reality, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, the Internet of Things, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, and quantum computing—will be household fixtures tomorrow, so lean into the opportunity and get involved.

For more advice on emerging technologies, you can find Deep Tech on Amazon.

To become a more innovative leader, you can begin by taking our free leadership assessments and then enrolling in our online leadership development program.

Check out the companion interview and past episodes of Innovating Leadership, Co-creating Our Future, via iTunes, TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify, Amazon Music, Audible, iHeartRADIO, and NPR One. Stay up-to-date on new shows airing by following the Innovative Leadership Institute LinkedIn.

About the Author

Eric Redmond is the Forrest Gump of technology: a twenty-year veteran technologist who always happens to show up wherever deep tech history is being made, from the first iPhone apps to big data to Bitcoin. He has advised state and national governments, Fortune 100 companies, and groups as varied as the World Economic Forum and MIT Media Lab. He has also authored half a dozen technology books (including two tech books for babies) and spoken on every continent except Antarctica. Today, he’s a husband, a dad, and the leader of a global tech innovation team.

Photo by Alex Knight on Unsplash

Smart Cities (w/ Dr. Jacqui Taylor)

Posted by

presspass on January 22, 2021

Variety

Join me July 15, 2021 at 9am EST!

What is a Smart City? In an increasingly chaotic and disruptive world of technology, I talk to Dr. Jacqui Taylor, one of 2019’s Global Leaders and a top 10 global Internet of Things innovator. Dr. Taylor will share her global work as the world’s first Smart City Tsar and define what makes up a Smart City and the considerations, and extensive work required, needed to make cities – and nations – Smart. Dr. Taylor provides us clarity on the benefits of a Smart City and identifies the misconceptions about the top and describing how to recognize a Smart City by not ‘seeing’ the technologies behind it. It’s the next logical step in our development as a community and as a nation(s). An very interesting discussion not to be missed.

GLOOM to BLOOM

Posted by

presspass on December 4, 2020

Variety

Join me Mar 4/21, 9am EST as I chat with global risk, ethics and governance strategist, and author, Andrea Bonime-Blanc.

‘Gloom to Bloom’: How Leaders Transform Risk into Resilience and Value’ is the latest book by Andrea Bonime-Blanc (Routledge, 2020). I chat with noted global risk, ethics and governance strategist, and author, Andrea Bonime-Blanc about some of the key megatrends that are affecting today’s business world, including the trend to increase the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the considerations related to it. We’ll also talk about how categorizing risks using ESG&T considerations (environment, societal, governance, technology) can assist organizations in creating opportunities from risk to create a stronger sense of resilience – and value. Finally, Andrea will discuss the role of leadership and how they can transform risk ESG&T risk into resilience and value for clients, customers, partners, suppliers, and employees.

Don’t miss it!

Enjoy!

Seniors Connections Matter: Connecting Seniors Through Technology

Posted by

presspass on June 1, 2020

Empowerment

The impact of the coronavirus on our nation’s elder citizens has been enormous and has highlighted the disconnect elders experience from family and loved ones. Directives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Federal agency that oversees Nursing Homes, is that all visitation is to be restricted, exceptions noted in the case of end-of-life or comfort-care. This has resulted in nursing home residents being isolated from families and loved ones. Family members and loved ones are also increasingly concerned about their loved ones, knowing all too well that their presence plays a key role in their ability to advocate to for their loved ones care. As we move forward from the virus, and the possibility of easing restrictions for in-person family nursing home visits ensues, the need for families who live a distance from their loved ones residing in nursing homes having access to virtual visits should not be any less of a priority.

We all need and crave connection, especially with loved ones, and now more than ever. Understanding that need, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has urged facilities to facilitate visual connections between residents and their loved ones. Many residents do not have mobile devices to establish these connections or, if so, need assistance to use them. Of the 15,600 nursing homes, the vast majority of facilities may not be equipped with a sufficient number of devices to enable residents and families/loved ones to have frequent virtual visits, especially since many facilities have upwards of 200, 400, and 500 residents.

Nursing home residents are isolated, lonely and understandably frightened. The stress from prolonged isolation is documented and can be considered equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes/day. It impacts anxiety, sleep disorders, falls, cognitive decline and symptoms of depression.

Of all the states, Florida took swift action in mid-March to ban visits to nursing homes in an effort to manage the spread of the virus. Now, Governor Rick DeSantis, in a May 26^th Forbes magazine article,[1] suggests that “we must restrict visits to nursing homes by family and friends for at least the next several months, with the possible exception of those who can prove that they are not actively infected with the novel coronavirus”. If this suggestion becomes a reality, residents and family members may not be able to have valuable in-person visits in the foreseeable future.

Please think about the mothers, father, grandmothers, grandfathers, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, in the nursing homes all across the United States and Donate Now. A Nursing Home resident and Family member/loved one will thank you.

“Nursing Homes have been my life’s work. Seeing the pervasive loneliness and isolation nursing home residents experience as a result of being disconnected from their families and friends is heartbreaking. It’s important for me to find a way to bridge that gap.”

PLEASE HELP US!! Visit Senior Connections Matter, Connecting Seniors Through Technology https://www.gofundme.com/f/senior-connections-matter

[1]Roy, A. The Most Important Coronavirus Statistic: 42% of U.S. Deaths Are from 0.6 % Of The Population, Forbes, May 26, 2020.https://www.forbes.com/sites/theapothecary/2020/05/26/nursing-homes-assisted-living-facilities-0-6-of-the-u-s-population-43-of-u-s-covid-19-deaths/

Leveraging Technology To Improve Leadership Development

Posted by

presspass on March 16, 2020

Business

Leveraging Technology To Improve Leadership Development

To start or to continue receiving the weekly blogs via email, please sign-up using this link: subscribe to Innovative Leadership Institute weekly blog.

In the current Corona virus crisis, this interview may be useful to those looking to use online platforms in place of in-person instruction. The following blog is a republish of an article appearing in Forbes written by Maureen Metcalf. It is a companion to the interview on Innovating Leadership, Co-creating Our Future on titled Leveraging Online Kajabi Platform To Build Thriving Brands.

As a university adjunct faculty member, consultant and coach, I have been using the tagline of “Innovative Leadership” for many years. This sets the bar for how I commit to my work as well as the services I deliver. I recently started to explore how I could refresh my use of technology to teach leadership in conjunction with coaching and workshops. I am looking for options to accelerate the leader’s learning process and offer a broad range of tools for different learning styles. I want to share my experience of how I am leveraging this technology to support leaders in their development.

I researched the many robust online delivery options and selected a tool that was a solid fit for my work: Kajabi. I selected it because of the strong technology platform, strong start-up support, cost-effectiveness, integrated payment and affiliate tracking modules and the ability to communicate with participants by product.

With the support of the online platform, I am rethinking what is possible. Right now, I am using the online training for the following three applications initially and I will expand these as we use the platform.

We recently launched a 10-month IT leadership development program. This program was designed to build skills in the IT community in order to build the talent pipeline for senior roles. It will be delivered through monthly in-person sessions in conjunction with our local CIO forum. The online platform allows us to deliver training that integrates structured exercises, case studies and audio interviews with local CIOs and executives. One of the key objectives of the in-person sessions is to learn content and build a network. We expect the online element to significantly accelerate the building of leadership skills for mid- to senior-level IT professionals.

The online platform allows us to track payment and engagement with the materials. As the facilitator, this lets me manage the finances easily and also identify who is highly engaged so we can offer additional resources to enrich their experience. It also tells me who is less engaged so I can reach out and troubleshoot.

We often augment our leadership coaching programs with a series of exercises designed to help participants build self-awareness, knowledge and skills. Especially for emerging leaders, we deliver a hybrid of training and coaching to prepare them to step into larger roles. For this group, we created a standard curriculum with exercises, case studies, audio interviews and videos. I can monitor client progress through the platform, and in this case, they share their progress prior to coaching sessions and discuss how their learning can improve their leadership work.

The online platform offers the option to package the leadership development curriculum by leadership level. I can sell packaged offerings of coaching and online training. It also gives the option to support affiliates so the other coaches and consultants in our organization work from a single platform with consistent processes and offerings.

We offer online development programs as standalone offerings for individuals and companies to provide effective (and cost-effective) training for their emerging and current leaders. These programs can be combined with other programs the companies are conducting. Because this program is comprehensive and participants work through it over time, it provides the opportunity to internalize the learning, not just attend and depart.

The online platform allows us to customize materials for specific groups and tweak other courses where appropriate to reinforce and build on the in-person development investments they are making.

Another element we will be building into the platform that we are very excited about is an assessment that will be used by those taking courses, and it is also offered as a standalone service. Because an online platform can support a range of services, we are able to create a clean and user-friendly purchasing experience.

I have struggled for years to present a simple path for clients. Our company website is highly complex and positions us as a thought leadership and executive advisory firm. While that works for some audiences, it is inappropriate for others. Using Kajabi as our online platform and linking it to our main site and our book website, we can tailor the user experience to the target audience in a manner that is cost-effective for us and easy for the user.

I talk about the most effective leaders acting like scientists. This endeavor is one of my experiments. I did my homework and selected this platform. We are implementing several modules and we will continue to test and refine our experiment as we go along. For other coaches and consultants looking to extend your offering, I encourage you to explore the broad range of options for technology to enable and even extend the strong impact you are already having on clients.

To become a more innovative leader, you can begin by taking our free leadership assessments and then enrolling in our online leadership development program.

Check out the companion interview and past episodes of Innovating Leadership, Co-creating Our Future, via iTunes, Google Play, TuneIn, Stitcher, Spotify and iHeartRADIO. Stay up-to-date on new shows airing by following the Innovative Leadership Institute LinkedIn.

About the Author

Maureen Metcalf, CEO of the Innovative Leadership Institute, is a renowned executive advisor, coach, consultant, author and speaker.

Photo by fauxels

Accelerating Competitive Advantage with AI: How Organisations are Moving from Experimentation to Business Impact

Posted by

presspass on January 7, 2020

Business

This blog is provided by Dr. Jennifer Barth and her team, as a companion to her interview on Innovating Leadership, Co-creating Our Future. This interview, Accelerating Competitive Advantage with Artificial Intelligence aired on 1/7/20.

Research Overview

We collaborated with Microsoft for the third year running during summer 2019, to explore the current state of AI across four specific industries, retail, manufacturing, health and financial services within the UK. We analysed how organisations within these sectors can implement AI in an ethical, cost effective and optimal way.

With rapid advancements in AI, our research answers questions around ethics, responsible innovation and the future impact of AI on our industry sectors and workforces. We gathered practical advice on how organisations can create robust and scalable AI investments.

Key Research Findings

56% of organisations in the UK are using AI enabled solutions with notable advances in use of machine learning and analytics
Organisations already using AI at scale are performing an average of 11.5% better than those who are not – up from 5% just one year ago
Last year 51% of organisations did not have an AI strategy at all, a number which has decreased to 37% of organisations this year.
38% of business leaders want to be leaders in AI innovation – a figure that has more than doubled since last year

Report Findings

How exactly can UK organisations scale their use of AI and secure a competitive edge while, at the same time, doing so in a way that is ethical, responsible and in line with the needs of their employees, partners and customers? Our research explores three key themes that allow organisations/leaders to truly accelerate their competitive advantage through AI enabled solutions.

Moving from Experimentation to Implementation

Of all the business leaders we surveyed, only 8% classified their organisation as Advanced AI users while nearly half (48%) currently remain in the experimentation phase. Thus, over half of all British businesses using AI don’t seem to have an AI strategy at all, mainly because they lack a clear understanding about what AI can do for their business. As the people tasked with setting an organisation’s strategic direction, leaders need to quickly ascertain exactly what role AI can and should play within their organisation and provide adequate training and resources for successful AI implementation. Currently, only 21% of leaders have completed training in how they can use AI in their jobs, and only 21% are sure they can meet staffing needs related to skill changes caused by AI. Overcoming these obstacles will be crucial in enabling UK organisations to implement AI quickly and responsibly across their organisations to stay relevant in the future.

Luckily, advanced AI-organisations recognise this as those that are successfully employing the technology at an organisational level, rather than just a local or departmental one, are much more adept at evaluating the business benefits of AI investments and ensuring they have a clear objective at the outset. They are also more agile in how they operate than those that are experimenting with AI, meaning they are better equipped to respond to customer and employee needs, changes in technologies, or market conditions

Create a Culture of Participation

Ensuring workers have the tools to augment their job roles with AI is critical – The change is as much about culture as it is about technology. It involves a move away from a situation in which only certain people or business functions have the tools to experiment with AI, to a democracy – where everyone has the building blocks to integrate AI into their working day and actively contribute to the development of new solutions, regardless of where they sit in the organisation

Building out your culture to equip your people will be the best competitive asset you have. Our research found AI-advanced businesses lead to stronger democratic practices, as organisations that are more advanced in their use of AI are more likely to:

Ensure AI is used responsibly
Understand and develop the skills and mindset needed to work with AI
Create and implement workforce diversity plans

Make AI work for everyone

By establishing a clear set of developmental standards and operating principles to ensure the technology is deployed ethically, with attention to bias and in a way that actively promotes diversity and inclusion. Our research shows us that firms advanced in AI are better at tackling overall bias, as 77% of advanced organisations say they have the capability to identify bias in their organisation when it is observed (58% experimenting).

Two of the most important criteria here are the ability to accurately identify all ethical issues as they arise and understanding how to respond when they do. Crucially, the more advanced an organisation is in its AI-led digital transformation, the more likely it is to have established the operational logistics to deliver against an ethical criteria.

Take Away: Tips for Scaling AI successfully

Treat it as a business change programme – this needs to be something the entire organisation is involved and invested in
Make sure everyone is supported in knowing how the technology works – an understands how they can use AI to be more effective in their role
Embed a culture of integrity and ethical behaviour – it’s up to leaders to communicate internally and establish a framework for making ethical decisions – companies advanced in their AI implementation know how to operationalise solutions to these problems

Research Methodology

Our research used a mixed-method approach to analyse the current state of AI within the UK in the spring and summer of 2019. Including an in-depth literature review of academic, industry and media sources, subject matter expert interviews and case studies across a variety of academics, professionals and organisations, a social experiment on augmentation. The research also included a survey of 1000 leaders and 4000 employees in organisations with over 500 employees with focus on four industries (finance, retail, manufacturing, and healthcare). From these sources, we developed a set of dimensions as a lens through which to consider the opportunities for AI in the UK today.

More Information

To find out more about this research, click here.

To become a more innovative leader, you can begin by taking our free leadership assessments and then enrolling in our online leadership development program.

About the Author

Dr Jennifer Barth is an experienced ethnographer and social researcher, with a PHD from the University of Oxford. Her work is informed by empirical research on the intersections of emerging technologies and socioeconomic change. She provides companies with thought leadership and media engagement opportunities on global issues impacting and shaping our current and future socio-cultural lives.

Her current research focuses on the human impact of artificial intelligence (AI) through fieldwork experiments with IBM Watson and other providers, leading Digital Transformation and AI implementation research for Microsoft, Reinventing Loyalty with Adobe, and more. She is skilled at research design, qualitative research and analysis, quantitative analysis, new methods using emerging technologies and working with people to bring to life the stories behind numbers.

Photo by D1_TheOne

4 Industries That Need Strong Leaders to Guide Them Through the 4th Industrial Revolution

Posted by

presspass on December 3, 2019

What Is the 4th Industrial Revolution?

The 4th Industrial Revolution (also known as Industry 4.0) boosts business performance by linking the best of physical and digital worlds.

This is achieved through a mix of innovative technologies such as AI, robotics, cloud computing, blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Industry 4.0 is sometimes deemed as the age of the smart factory, where digital systems monitor and make automated decisions for businesses with the help of the technologies mentioned earlier.

Industry 4.0 is paving the way for transformative changes at breakneck speed in every industry, from changing the face of manufacturing to revamping construction works, to enabling fintech services in needy areas all over the world.

How Will the 4th Industrial Revolution Affect Industries?

The question is, what are the industries most impacted by the 4th Industrial Revolution—and what can business leaders do to ease this change?

Manufacturing

Many manufacturing companies are behind the tech curve as their operations remain the same as how they were 30, 40 years ago.

Machine operators come into work, attend routine daily meetings with their superiors, then proceed to operate machines manually for the rest of the workday. This is nowhere near efficient for enterprises that want to embrace digital transformation.

With Industry 4.0, many of the repetitive, inefficient processes in manufacturing are automated by smart machines.

This allows employees to focus more on higher-level work which gives organizations leeway in pursuing valuable organizational, operational and digital transformation efforts.

For example, instead of relying on daily meetings to distribute tasks, manufacturers can utilize smart whiteboards to automatically display work metrics in real-time and assign tasks.

Questions like “what are the important tasks to complete today?” and “who should work on them?” are managed automatically without the need for human interference.

Smart monitoring is another avenue manufacturing companies are pursuing to improve work efficiency. In smart monitoring, digital tools assess the conditions of machines in real-time which allows factories to predict potential machine failures with the data at hand.

With this technology, factory owners can identify machine errors before they happen, increasing the long-term quality of their inventory while improving output immensely.

Some smart machines even have the ability to automatically fix itself and optimize processes, further reducing the burden of human workers.

All these advancements will see a shift in the manufacturing field from favoring labor-heavy companies to those who can adapt to Industry 4.0 the fastest—a shift that is already taking effect today.

Logistics and Supply Chains

Modern supply chains do benefit from technology by leveraging big data to coordinate processes within the supply chain.

For example, logistics companies use data analytics to help them make informed business decisions like predicting traffic, improving global collaboration, and manage container risks.

Physical platforms (e.g. logistics) also utilize technology in smoothing the flow of physical products, bringing inventory handling performance to an all-time high while keeping costs low.

Despite these improvements, supply chains still lack the capabilities needed to keep up with the unpredictable expectations placed on companies. Simply put, traditional supply chains are too slow for today’s fast-moving markets.

Industry 4.0 aims to put an end to this obstacle by enabling automation with digitized and robotic supply chain processes.

As a result, more and more logistics processes will be handled by AI and robots, leaving behind the time and cost-intensive human labor of old.

Logistics companies that have the resources to implement these technologies in their supply chains will benefit massively, as wide-scale automation saves a lot of time and effort that can be funneled towards more valuable and strategic work.

Construction

Same as the logistics and manufacturing fields, the construction industry is far behind in terms of technology adoption. Many construction companies still use manual labor, outdated machines, and outdated operating and business models.

The 4th Industrial Revolution, however, changes how construction companies are going about in designing, constructing, operating and maintaining assets.

Innovative technologies like 3D printing, robotic machinery, and prefabrication are impacting the construction field positively by reducing excess budgets and inefficient work.

Experts believe that within 10 years, Industry 4.0 could help the industry overcome its growth issues by cutting down on $1.7 trillion of wasted spending, a figure equivalent to 20% in annual cost savings.

The 4th Industrial Revolution will also help companies attract new talent which is vital considering the “boring” nature of the field.

Construction jobs are typically associated with hard work and labor, but that is set to change as future scenarios require a different set of modern skills to navigate.

Finance

Technology is crucial to financial institutions as they catalyze the innovation of solutions that help fuel economic growth, mainly through enabling global financial access in less developed areas.

Technology in finance also promotes the greater knowledge of financial tools to the needy, while also increasing transparency—a much-needed solution considering the discrete nature of financial institutions.

The biggest benefit of the 4th Industrial Revolution to the finance industry is its role in simplifying customer-facing technology (e.g. mobile banking), which promotes user engagements, eventually leading to the growth of financial markets.

Most of today’s banking operations will be automated in Industry 4.0. Thus, financial institutions would shift their business model towards offering business insights and higher-level services (e.g. consulting) with the use of data analytics, bringing an end to basic bank teller services.

New financial service models are also expected to appear for operational, business, and specialized finance, with tasks being done by a combination of humans, robots, and AI.

This forces banks and other financial institutions to rethink their business strategy to pull through the 4th Industrial revolution.

Why These Industries Need Strong Leaders to Navigate Through the 4th Industrial Revolution

The ever-changing environment of the 4th Industrial Revolution creates a level of uncertainty and expectation that requires businesses to be agile and flexible—a task that falls on the shoulders of business leaders.

In a Deloitte study, 86% of business leaders said they were “business-ready” in terms of embracing Industry 4.0 and were doing “all they could” to make the transition as seamless as possible.

The same study was repeated six months later and surprisingly, only 47% said they were prepared for Industry 4.0—less than half the previous figure in just under a year.

While this figure may seem worrying at first sight, it represents a welcome change in the attitude of leaders towards the 4th Industrial Revolution.

Instead, this mindset shift suggests that key executives are now more aware of the effort it takes to overcome Industry 4.0’s biggest challenges.

The Skills Every Top Leader Needs to Embrace Industry 4.0

Leaders play an important role as they’re the ones responsible for easing digital transformation in the workspace.

That role begins by putting people first and empowering them with the tools and skills needed to adapt to change.

Agile and Flexible

The rapid speed of change in the 4th Industrial Revolution means that leaders need to be agile and flexible in embracing change.

More importantly, strong leaders see change as an opening for organizations to innovate, not as a liability.

This skill, along with the flexibility to cater to the changing demands of employees, working environments, and business tools, is crucial as strategies that work today may not work in the future.

Hence, leaders need to be on their toes in keeping up with change and making the best out of it.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ)

Emotional intelligence is an important skill to have in the future as leaders are expected to manage employee sentiment well as well as their own emotions.

As machines and smart systems enter the workforce, leaders will need to be even more empathetic to maintain their team members’ wellbeing.

A good leader in the 4th Industrial Revolution is someone who is willing to have honest, open conversations with their team not only about work but also on personal topics outside of work.

Responsibility

Leaders can only earn the respect of their team if they’re responsible and accountable.

Industry 4.0 preaches a transparent workplace, leaving no room for irresponsible employees including leaders themselves.

It’s crucial for leaders to take responsibility for the outcomes of business decisions while ensuring that team members are protected from criticism should any unwanted events occur.

Tech Literate

Industry 4.0 is driven mainly by advanced technology.

As a result of this change, future leaders must be tech-savvy to understand rapidly changing tech landscapes.

This allows them to identify the right technology for their organization rather than blindly following what’s in trend.

Teamwork and Collaboration

In contrast to today’s offices, future leaders won’t have their own exclusive workspace—they’ll be working with the team instead.

Leaders will still have executive powers but collaboration will be the number one factor that separates strong leaders from mediocre ones.

The importance of collaboration is further amplified by the diversity of future workspaces.

With employees coming from different backgrounds and parts of the world, they need strong leaders to appreciate and leverage the differences of every individual to benefit the team and the organization.

Industry 4.0 Needs Equally Transformative Leaders

As the 4th Industrial Revolution changes how we work in the future, business leaders must prepare their teams by leading by example.

No matter how much AI and smart machines impact the workforce, excellent leadership will—and always will be—the driver of organizational success.

To become a more innovative leader, you can begin by taking our free leadership assessments and then enrolling in our online leadership development program.

About the Author

Ashley Wilson is writing about business and tech, and the intersection of the two. Personally, she has been known to reference movies in casual conversation and she enjoys baking homemade treats for her husband and their two felines, Lady and Gaga. If you need a new writer, get in touch with Ashley via Twitter.

Photo from: pixabay.com

Technology and Emergency Management

Posted by

presspass on February 1, 2019

Variety

For our June 6, 2019 show we’ll talk to author and Professor, John C. Pine about his book Technology and Emergency Management.

Enjoy!

Rediscovering the Art of Connection in the Age of Technology

Posted by

Editor on February 15, 2018

Empowerment

Rediscovering the Art of Connection in the Age of Technology

My passion is to help people better their lives by releasing their fears and blossoming into who they are meant to be. In my weekly radio show, Uplift Your Life, Nourishment of the Spirit, I share information and tools to help you make new healthier choices, heal physically, mentally and emotionally and become your authentic self. In my new blog, I’ll help you do this by sharing my tip of the week, a story to help you learn how to find the Silver Lining in every situation and a response from a listener, Marian Stephens, who is using the information in my radio show to change her life. Her first email to me impressed me so much that I invited her to be a regular part of my blog. This was Marian’s heartfelt response: “I have been longing for guidance and direction in life. Your show is powerful and I know there are so many like myself who will listen and change their lives. I feel honored that you want me to be a part of that experience. Thank you so much!” I hope we inspire you to listen to the show, read the blogs and change your life.

Dr. Paula’s Tip of the Week

This week my guest, Michael Gelb, and I discuss the importance of human connection and how to cultivate open and honest communication channels with family, friends, and co-workers. My tip of the week is a surefire way to begin finding the power of authentic connection.

The tip of the week comes from my e-book, 33 Tips for Self-Empowerment, I wrote this book because when you are self-empowered, you are connected to your limitless higher self, your soul, your intuition, your gut feelings, your guidance. Our limitless higher self is the wiser part of ourselves, the part that knows the Truth of who we are. Our logical mind is so loud, however, that it often drowns out the whisper that is trying to guide us on our authentic path. As you learn to listen to the still small voice within, you will begin to feel at peace. Because your limitless higher self has direct access to the Divine, it is through this connection that miracles occur, like unexpected healing, healthy relationships, peace and wealth. This connection gives you an inner foundation of love, which eliminates fear. It is through this love that you can heal the planet and yourself and make the shift into the 4th dimension. Our higher self helps us find safety and even save our own life and others’ lives. We must train ourselves to trust our higher self and never go against it. Don’t talk yourself out of something that feels right to you or let what others say or think influence what you do. Please use these tips. My Tip for this week is in honor of our topic today. If you’re working on releasing your anger, for instance, ask yourself: Is the intensity of my anger diminished? Is the duration of my anger shorter? Is my recovery time faster? Is the amount of time between angry outbursts greater?

When you’re changing a behavior, whether it’s adjusting how you use technology, connect with others or let go of destructive habits like anger, blame, shame, judgment, etc., it’s important to notice small changes along the way. Give yourself credit for your progress . . . And celebrate your victories!

This is important because our minds tend to focus on what is still missing, what we’re not doing right and how we’re not perfect. This negative energy robs us of the joy of our progress, steals our hope and makes us believe that we’ll never achieve our goals. Monitoring our progress is a powerful way to counteract this tendency. We are in charge of our thoughts and have the ability to kick out the ones that hurt us. Since our thoughts carry a frequency, it is important that we stay as positive as we can. The higher vibration will attract more of the same, which will build our positive energy and create more good things in our personal and professional lives. Whether you are a designated leader or not, your energy affects everyone around you. Make sure that you are spreading positive energy. As we change ourselves, we change everyone who comes in contact with us, even people who just pass us on the street. In this way, each one of us is a leader, a piece of the puzzle, part of the one mind that will help to heal the world and help it become the world we want to live in. What you think, say and do matters.

Dr. Paula’s Silver Lining Story

Intimate connection with one another is more important than ever. Electronics, social media, texting, google, Wikipedia, and many other Internet spots are luring our attention away from face to face or voice to voice communication. In my story today, I share my own challenges with social media and email.

I must admit that I was a little slow getting into cell phone technology. I’m fully in it now, though. Initially, I had to learn to text if I wanted to communicate with my children. Then I added social media for business purposes. It was fine, until one night I noticed that I had gotten a little too far into it. Without wanting to, I was checking my social media every few minutes. That’s when I put the phone out of reach and turned off the alerts. I stopped using social media for a few days to break the pattern that had over-taken me, and I never turned alerts back on. Now I choose when I want to go on social media and I only use it to fulfill my mission of uplifting people’s lives, including my own. I blocked people who were using social media to spread mean spirited posts, I deleted any comments on my posts that were rude or inappropriate, and I encouraged others to do the same. Sometimes I take time off from social media if I’m particularly tired or busy or just not wanting to do it. Other times I spend extra time because I need uplifting and the posts make me laugh or nurture my soul. I don’t follow a time pattern. I follow my internal guidance because it never steers me wrong.

Technology is not good or bad. How we use it determines its value, and we all have choices in that regard. Although technology often saves me time, I’m old fashioned about the value of more personal communication. Sometimes, I use text to set a phone appointment, which I consider to be second to face to face communication. But skype or a personal visit isn’t always possible. Emails and text are efficient and helpful at times, but they don’t convey tone or the warmth of a voice or smile and they can be easily misunderstood. I remember having crafted a difficult email to someone with great care only to discover from a third party that the person had completely misinterpreted my message. A phone conversation would have given me the opportunity to pick up on the miscommunication and solve it before it grew.

I have learned a lot from people younger than me about the value of technology. I have also learned to be discerning about when I use it and to not throw away what I know about the value of personal connection for healthy communication.

Marian Stephen’s Story

When I received the following email from Marian, I was so impressed with her self-awareness, openness to change and willingness to take the ideas in my radio show and apply them to her own life that I invited her to do this blog with me. We hope this will help you create the life you want.

Today’s show reflected the theme of an ongoing conversation that I have with my new husband, Rob. We have a desire to deepen our connection. We share a very strong connection and I have found that it has led to a greater sense of self awareness and a wish to express myself creatively. What we have been searching for is the language to express what a deep connection looks like and the tools needed to achieve it. I know working with you and your team is going to provide me with the answers I have been seeking. I want to define my spiritual path in order to express myself through the written word and tell the story of my parenting journey. Applying some of the concepts outlined in today’s episode will also help strengthen my relationships with my family – these relationships are the foundation on which I am building the practices needed for the lifestyle I want.

Tonight I am going to try the technique you suggested in a previous show of lighting the candles and writing down the questions I have. I know I should trust my intuition, but still disregard that quiet voice that speaks to me despite knowing it is true. My oldest son has special needs and I am struggling with what next steps to take with him. I find myself stuck in a negative thought cycle that has left me feeling unable to act. I’ll get a glimpse of what I need to do, then the ideas become elusive.

The question, “How might I respond if I were not taking this personally?” is one that I need to ask myself throughout the day. I have sincere difficulty not being overly sensitive. I find that it impacts my ability to effectively listen to what is even being said. I also find myself defensive which is leading to speaking angrily and shutting down. I want to communicate in positive ways and practicing asking this will be very helpful.

The segment about defining the purpose of goals resonated with me because I think being aware of the purpose will help define the steps needed to achieve the goals. If I am aware of the meaning of the actions, I think I am more likely to put a great deal of effort into working on my goals. Keeping the purpose in the forefront of my mind would help to define and reach various ideals.

It does require vulnerability to build an authentic connection which is why I sometimes rely on technology, or distract myself with electronic devices. It can be momentarily more comfortable than being open to having what I perceive to be a difficult conversation. But, it leaves me craving closeness and that sense of connection that makes me feel heard and understood.

For More Shows on Connection

Listen to the following radio shows:

Create Change by Making Compassionate Life Affirming Choices with Stephan Schwartz

Listening With an Open Heart with Stephan Beyer

A Simple Solution for Loneliness with Kira Asatryan

FREE CHAPTER, THE ULTIMATE CREATIVE PROBLEM SOLVING PROCESS, FROM MY BEST-SELLING BOOK, “NOTHING BUT NET”

To learn more about my unique process that removes hidden blockages, unleashes your creativity and helps you solve your most challenging problems, click here to sign up for my newsletter and receive the chapter as my gift: http://paulajoyce.com/wpsite/newsletter-sign-up/

Technology Today and Tomorrow

Posted by

Editor on November 7, 2017

Kids

Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” Arthur C. Clarke

Discover the latest, greatest, and craziest advancements in technology with our Express Yourself! team of Brigitte, Joven, Jack, Chelsea, and Katie. Will cryptocurrency replace our current monetary system? Will self-driving cars be accident proof or prone? What are the newest and most lucrative careers in the fields of technology and digital? Want to know the history of the iphone? What is net neutrality and why do you need to care about it? The world of technology will have already changed by the time you listen! Tune in for the information that will benefit you today and tomorrow.

Teens talk and the world listens every Tuesday NOON PT on the Voice America Kids Network. Produced by StarStyle® Productions, LLC and Cynthia Brian, these young adults know how to rock and express their unique views. Join the fun!

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