The Edge of Ingenuity
Stefan Holitschke
Crafting Tomorrow’s Solutions, Today – Join My Professional Odyssey
The year is 2023: A time of rapid change and uncertainty, as the world faces multiple crises and opportunities. The aftermath of COVID-19 pandemic is still felt, the climate emergency, the rise of artificial intelligence, the great resignation, and the transformation of work are some of the factors that shape the individual and social realities of 2023.
2023
The COVID-19 pandemic has previously exposed the fragility and inequality of our global system, as well as the resilience and solidarity of our human spirit. It has also accelerated the adoption of digital technologies, remote work, e-commerce, telemedicine, and online education. These changes have implications for the health, well-being, education, and income of individuals, as well as for the social cohesion, trust, and democracy of societies.
The climate emergency is an existential threat that requires urgent and collective action.?The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns that human activities have already caused 1.1°C of global warming, and that we are on track to exceed 1.5°C by 2030 unless we drastically reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
The consequences of climate change include more frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, floods, storms, wildfires, sea level rise, and biodiversity loss. These impacts affect the livelihoods, security, and rights of individuals, especially those who are most vulnerable and marginalized. They also challenge the stability, cooperation, and justice of societies, as they create new conflicts, migrations, and inequalities.
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) is a powerful force that can either enhance or undermine human capabilities and values.?AI is machine-displayed intelligence that simulates human behavior or thinking and can be trained to solve specific problems?. AI can offer many benefits for individuals and societies, such as improving productivity, innovation, health care, education, entertainment, and sustainability. However, AI also poses many risks and challenges, such as displacing workers, increasing surveillance, amplifying biases, eroding privacy, manipulating information, and threatening human dignity.?
The great resignation is a phenomenon that describes the record number of people leaving their jobs since the beginning of the pandemic. The great resignation reflects a shift in the expectations and preferences of workers, who seek more flexibility, autonomy, purpose, and well-being in their careers. It also reveals a gap between the needs and demands of workers and employers, who struggle to retain talent and adapt to the changing nature of work.
The transformation of work is a result of the interplay between technological innovation, economic globalization, social change, and environmental pressure.?Work is becoming more digitalized, automated, decentralized, diversified, personalized, and collaborative. These trends offer new opportunities for individuals to learn new skills, create new value, and express their creativity. They also require new competencies, new mindsets, and new forms of organization to cope with complexity, uncertainty, and diversity.
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SAP Basis once and now – or: my daily bread at Capgemini
I find myself in the middle of all this. 2023. A mid-forty something. A SAP Basis Consultant, no, correctly spelled I am a "Senior Application Consultant" with almost two decades of work experience in IT. I currently work for Capgemini. Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, digital transformation, technology, and engineering services. SAP is a market leader in enterprise application software.
SAP Basis is the administration and operations layer of the SAP system that manages communications between the application and database layers.?SAP Basis was first introduced in 1992 as part of SAP R/3, a client-server based ERP system that integrated various business functions such as finance, logistics, human resources, and production planning.
SAP Basis evolved over time to support different platforms, technologies, and applications, such as SAP NetWeaver, SAP HANA, SAP S/4HANA, and SAP Cloud Platform.
SAP S/4HANA is based on SAP HANA, an in-memory database platform that enables real-time data processing, analytics, and decision making?
SAP S/4HANA leverages the capabilities of SAP HANA to provide a simplified data model, a user-friendly interface, and intelligent automation.?
SAP S/4HANA also integrates with other cloud services, such as SAP Ariba, SAP SuccessFactors, and SAP Concur, to offer a comprehensive solution for various business scenarios.
Yes, even my work and the underlying technology has changed a lot over the years...
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Change
Change is an inevitable and constant process that affects all aspects of life.?Change can be defined as a difference in state or condition over time.
Change can be driven by internal or external factors, such as personal growth, learning, innovation, competition, crisis, or opportunity.?Change can be positive or negative, planned or unplanned, incremental or radical, linear or nonlinear.
Change can also be perceived differently by different people, depending on their values, beliefs, expectations, and emotions.
Change can be challenging and stressful, as it requires adaptation, learning, and coping with uncertainty and loss. Change can also be rewarding and empowering, as it offers new possibilities, experiences, and insights.?Change can be facilitated and managed by applying various strategies and tools, such as vision, goals, communication, collaboration, feedback, evaluation, and innovation.
Change can also be resisted and hindered by various barriers and obstacles, such as inertia, fear, denial, conflict, and complexity -- feelings that often occur when people think or discuss about climate change.
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Climate change
Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. Did you notice any change in the weather of 2023...? Climate change is mainly caused by human activities that increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, agriculture, and industry. Greenhouse gases trap heat and warm the planet, leading to various impacts on the environment and society. Most scientists accept it. Some people deny it ...
My current employer is very sensitive and aware to climate change and corporate social responsibility. Just as SAP. One of the areas where they collaborate is environmental sustainability, which is a key priority for both companies and their stakeholders. Capgemini and SAP share a vision of creating a more sustainable future for humanity and nature, by leveraging technology and data to address the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change.
Climate change affects the natural systems that sustain life on Earth, such as forests, oceans, wetlands, coral reefs, and polar regions. These ecosystems provide essential services for humans and other species, such as food, water, oxygen, carbon storage, biodiversity, and recreation. However, climate change is disrupting the balance and functioning of these ecosystems, causing them to lose their resilience and diversity. Some of the impacts of climate change on ecosystems are:
Climate change is a global problem that requires urgent action from all sectors of society. We need to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and enhance our resilience to future changes. We also need to protect and restore our natural ecosystems, which are vital for our well-being and for mitigating climate change. By doing so, we can create a more sustainable and equitable future for ourselves and for other species. It will take a new form of Ingenuity to master and address these challenges.
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Ingenuity
Our present year is a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty, as the world faces multiple crises and opportunities. War, the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate emergency, the digital transformation, the great resignation, and the rise of artificial intelligence are some of the forces that - as mentioned - are reshaping the individual and social realities of 2023. How can we understand and navigate these complex and interconnected phenomena? How can we adapt and thrive in this new era? What is my role as individual in all this?
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One of the most evident changes in 2023 is the shift in the nature and meaning of work. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of remote work, e-commerce, automation, and AI, creating new challenges and opportunities for workers and employers. The great resignation, a phenomenon that describes the record number of people leaving their jobs after the pandemic, reflects the dissatisfaction and desire for change among many workers who seek more flexibility, autonomy, purpose, and well-being in their careers. The future of work requires new skills, mindsets, and values, as well as new ways of collaborating, learning, and innovating.
To succeed in this changing landscape, individuals need to embrace ingenuity, the quality of being cleverly inventive or resourceful. Ingenuity can help us solve problems, create opportunities, and express ourselves in novel and meaningful ways. Ingenuity can also help us cope with uncertainty, complexity, and diversity, as we encounter new situations and perspectives. Ingenuity can be cultivated by fostering curiosity, creativity, experimentation, and resilience.
To me, ingenuity is more than just a skill or a value. It is also a responsibility that I have to myself and others. I believe that I have the power and the duty to use my ingenuity to create positive change in the world. I believe that I have the tools and the resources to enhance my capabilities and performance, but also to align them with the principles of sustainability and equity. And I believe that I have the opportunity and the curiosity to learn from sources that can broaden my vision and perspective. By doing so, I hope to create a better future for myself and others. May I invite you to the club ... ?
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The Club of Rome - my personal "wake-up call"
One of the sources that I have recently come across from is the Club of Rome, a global think tank that advocates for a sustainable future for humanity.?The Club of Rome published "The Limits to Growth" in 1972, a landmark report that warned about the consequences of believing in exponential growth on a finite planet.
Fifty years later, the Club of Rome continues to produce relevant and insightful research on topics such as climate change, economic transformation, social justice, and systemic change.
As strange as it possibly sounds: But the Club of Rome challenged me to rethink my assumptions, values, and paradigms about how I live and work on Earth. Of course it is not the only think-tank warning about these things. But it is the one that left an immediate impression on me with its findings.
The latest findings of the Club of Rome are both alarming and inspiring.?They show that we are facing a planetary emergency, as we are approaching or exceeding several critical thresholds in the Earth system.
But they also show that we have a window of opportunity to act, as we can still avoid the worst scenarios if we implement radical and systemic changes in our societies. They propose a new vision of human development, based on well-being, solidarity, and regeneration.
The Club of Rome reminds me that we have choices as humanity. We can either continue on the path of business as usual, which will lead us to collapse and catastrophe, or we can choose a different path, which will lead us to resilience and renewal. The choice is ours, but it requires courage, creativity, and collaboration.
In the end ... ?
I do not want to be paralyzed by the expectation of an apocalypse. I want to be proactive and optimistic. I want to use my ingenuity to contribute to a greater good. That is why I enjoy working as a consultant in Capgemini with SAP S/4 HANA. This software can contribute to corporations as to optimize their processes, data, and insights across various domains such as finance, supply chain, customer experience, human resources -- and sustainability.
As an ERP implementor, I want to work with this software in a way that is consistent with the principles of sustainability and equity. I want to use SAP S/4 HANA not only to enhance and pursue my own interests, but also to support the common interests of society - and in the end humanity and nature.
I want to use SAP S/4 HANA not only to increase my productivity and profitability, but also to reduce my environmental impact and social inequality. I want to use SAP S/4 HANA not only to solve problems, but also to create opportunities for myself and others. These are ethical concerns that I am confronted with on a daily base. But it helps a lot that Capgemini and SAP have launched initiatives to accelerate the sustainability transformation.
I believe that ingenuity is not only a skill or a value, but also a responsibility. I believe that I can use my ingenuity to create positive change for myself and others. I believe that I can use the work with ERP systems such as SAP S/4 HANA to enhance my capabilities, performances and skills, but also to align them with the principles of sustainability and equity. It is a relief for me as individual that I can combine these aspects in my work at Capgemini. By doing so, I hope to create a better future for myself and others.
Text: ChatGPT
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