Being fit to lead this decade requires building new fitness

Being fit for new conditions is the key to success in those conditions.

We know this from our experience and observations in life.

Through 2020 there has been a lot of leadership discussion about working in the different conditions. Industry leaders are now dialling up the conversation on the conditions of this decade. 

We have experienced one year of this decade. It has been ‘unprecedented’ on many fronts as we have heard many times as the year unfolded.

As we approached this decade I have been on a quest to step up my game and support others to see more transformations than suffering from disruption this decade. This has involved researching and networking with industry leaders and thought leaders from all over the world. I have been so impressed and grateful for the insights and updates regularly shared. The more I learn and reflect, being change-fit leaders for the conditions of this decade is not going to happen by relying on past fitness or fitness from different conditions.

The business operating conditions are very different to the industry games we may have played in the past. Which I will share references and we will unpack further below.

In sport, we understand fitness is relative to the game we are playing. For example, we can be fit for 10km running and be totally unfit for a full game of competitive football. Before each season we watch conscientious sportspeople build ‘Match fitness’ to set up their season for success, reduce the risk of injury, and avoid the loss of totally falling short when challenged.

Talking with industry leaders everyone has their own experiences and stories to relate to this relative fitness for the conditions. It could be at work or academic, sports, music, hobbies, all sorts of perspectives, yet the same theme emerges. (I love these chats as people come to life on these topics in a way on a regular business call they may not)

In my life, I have experienced this getting fit for new conditions + also being caught out NOT fit for the condition’s many times. 

On the prepared side, I can see experiences where I was engaged in the deliberate building of skills and strengths of the specific fitness and rose to capabilities that would have been totally beyond the unfit me. I competed in full contact Karate world championships in Japan, run Marathons and Ultra-Marathons, and completed multiple Ironman Triathlons. 

On the unprepared, and consequently unfit for the conditions side a few stories stick in my mind. 

In my thirties, I had relocated with work and socially was invited to join a tennis club. I had played tennis at school and thought I was generally fit. Each week I was soundly beaten by people twice my age who were tennis fit and smart.

The first triathlon I ever entered I came to as a runner. I was running fit. I almost drowned on the short course swim leg. (Not saying this as an expression – it was actually the case!) As I struggled to the shore I was given encouraging support from an official who didn’t realise that the others coming in around me had completed both laps of the course and I had needed to come to shore after only one lap. My swimming lack of fitness was totally exposed as I staggered to the bike area.

More recently I found myself collapsed in a public transport waiting area. I had trained for a Marathon in the cool morning temperatures and did not acknowledge the warmer conditions of the day during this particular event. I should have known better, but was caught out

Getting fit for new conditions + also being caught out NOT fit for the condition’s is in most of our experience when we reflect and discuss.

Business and career conditions are shifting. Looking at the big picture of this decade we can see many conditions around us are changing.

Operational leaders need to understand the week to week, year to year. That by nature is typically within existing operating models.

Strategically we can look out further beyond operating models for current conditions to trends that we may not yet see in practice around us, yet are clearly emerging conditions.

These excerpts from Peter Diamandis 20 Metatrends for the 2020s are a sample of interesting topics to unpack when reflecting on fitness for emerging conditions.

(1) Everyday goods and services (finance, insurance, education and entertainment) are being digitized and becoming fully demonetized, available to the rising billion on mobile devices. This Metatrend is driven by the convergence of high-bandwidth and low-cost communication, ubiquitous AI on the cloud, growing access to AI-aided education and AI-driven healthcare.

(2) Today’s skyrocketing connectivity is bringing online an additional 3 billion individuals, driving tens of trillions of dollars into the global economy. This Metatrend is driven by the convergence of: low-cost space launches, hardware advancements, 5G networks, artificial intelligence, materials science, and surging computing power.

(3) The average human healthspan will increase by 10+ years: This Metatrend is driven by the convergence of: genome sequencing, CRISPR technologies, AI, quantum computing, and cellular medicine.

(4) An age of capital abundance will see increasing access to capital everywhere: Over the past few years, humanity hit all-time highs in the global flow of seed capital, venture capital and sovereign wealth fund investments. While this trend will witness some ups and downs in the wake of future recessions, it is expected to continue its overall upward trajectory. This Metatrend is driven by the convergence of: global connectivity, dematerialization, demonetization, and democratization.

(5) Augmented Reality and the Spatial Web will achieve ubiquitous deployment: The combination of Augmented Reality (yielding Web 3.0, or the Spatial Web) and 5G networks (offering 100Mb/s - 10Gb/s connection speeds) will transform how we live our everyday lives, impacting every industry from retail and advertising, to education, entertainment, health, and supply chains. Consumers will play, learn and shop throughout the day in a newly intelligent, virtually overlaid world. This Metatrend will be driven by the convergence of: hardware advancements, 5G networks, artificial intelligence, materials science, and surging computing power.

(6) AI-Human Collaboration will skyrocket across all professions: The rise of “AI as a Service” (AIaaS) platforms will enable humans to partner with AI in every aspect of their work, at every level, in every industry. AIs will become entrenched in everyday business operations, serving as cognitive collaborators to employees — supporting creative tasks, generating new ideas, and tackling previously unattainable innovations. In some fields, partnership with AI will even become a requirement. For example: in the future, making certain diagnoses without the consultation of AI may be deemed malpractice.

(7) The insurance industry transforms from “recovery after risk” to “prevention of risk:” Today, fire insurance pays you after your house burns down; life insurance pays your next-of-kin after you die; and health insurance (which is really sick insurance) pays only after you get sick. This next decade, a new generation of insurance providers will leverage the convergence of machine learning, ubiquitous sensors, low-cost genome sequencing and robotics to detect risk, prevent disaster, and guarantee safety before any costs are incurred.

(8) On-demand production and on-demand delivery will birth an “instant economy of things:” Urban dwellers will learn to expect “instant fulfilment” of their retail orders as drone and robotic last-mile delivery services carry products from local supply depots directly to your doorstep. Further riding the deployment of regional on-demand digital manufacturing (3D printing farms), individualized products can be obtained within hours, anywhere, anytime. This Metatrend is driven by the convergence of: networks, 3D printing, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

(9) Cellular agriculture moves from the lab into inner cities, providing high-quality protein that is cheaper and healthier: This next decade will witness the birth of the most ethical, nutritious, and environmentally sustainable protein production system devised by humankind. Stem cell-based ‘cellular agriculture’ will allow the production of beef, chicken and fish anywhere, on-demand, with far higher nutritional content, and a vastly lower environmental footprint than traditional livestock options. This Metatrend is enabled by the convergence of: biotechnology, materials science, machine learning, and AgTech.

(10) Increased focus on sustainability and the environment: An increase in global environmental awareness and concern over global warming will drive companies to invest in sustainability, both from a necessity standpoint and for marketing purposes. Breakthroughs in materials science, enabled by AI, will allow companies to drive tremendous reductions in waste and environmental contamination. One company’s waste will become another company’s profit center. This Metatrend is enabled by the convergence of: materials science, artificial intelligence, and broadband networks.

How fit are you for the 2020s conditions?

What can you be doing to prepare and build fitness?

What are the career and business risks in NOT being fit for the new conditions?

I work with transformational leaders to deliver results. We typically need to move the conversation.

Are you building fitness to lead through this decade?

What is your experience?

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Bernie is known for building capability and confidence in leaders who need to transform organisations that are continually reshaping to survive and thrive.

From first-hand experience as an executive leading through major transitions and over 10,000 hours in facilitation and training for organisational transformation, Bernie sets leadership teams to build change-fitness to deliver what matters.

Bernie welcomes connecting with and talking to leaders tackling the challenges of organisational transition

Contact Bernie via LinkedIn: www.dhirubhai.net/in/berniekelly100/ or Email: [email protected] or Phone: + 61 421 915 608