EP09 - Transcending Our Limitations By Shifting Our Perspective

As we reach our ninth installment in this series, and as we prepare to launch our new digital storefront, I find myself reflecting on the many, many things I’ve learned throughout the journey of developing my business KBC. Taking a step back and considering the larger context, I’m especially enthralled by just how much I’ve learned about the process of learning, itself.

We often think about learning as an information intake: we watch a lecture or read an article, and try our best to retain that information to apply it later. The thing is, though, that information isn’t only an object. Information can be an activity, found within the interaction of many different forces. It can mean what we learn by doing: we learn to throw in the process of pitching rather than by staring at a ball. Information can also be a life form that, once freed from its initial context, will evolve and adapt. It’s dynamic.

And sometimes it’s something that we can only understand by understanding its relationship to something else.

In that respect, learning isn’t a static process either: it’s something that we’re always doing, and re-doing, as we recontextualize all of our stored information. Broadly, I like to think of there being three types of information: what we know, what we know that we don’t know, and what we don’t know that we don’t know. That’s a mouthful!

Obviously we know what we know, but when there’s something that we’re not aware of, then we may actually not be aware of (or have an understanding of) its existence at all. If we are aware of it then the solution is (relatively) straightforward: commit to learning. If it’s not something we’re even aware of, though, then its existence will only become known to us as we expand our knowledge in other ways. As entrepreneurs, we might be particularly affected by this - since we’re ultimately responsible for the success of our business, we need to ensure that we know how to address every possible challenge ahead.

If you know me, you know that I’m a lifelong learner. I’m always pushing myself to be at the forefront of technological thought leadership. That’s why I’ve embraced a mindset to best respond to these unknowns.

It’s called “metanoia”.

Coming from the Greek roots of meta meaning shift or transcendence, and noia meaning “of the mind”, metanoia is the expansion of one’s mind (knowledge) to bring about a shift in one’s perspective. It’s a term that’s been (relatively more) recently co-opted by Christian theologists to mean changing one’s mind through spiritual repentance (recently meaning as of several hundred years ago), but the original concept doesn’t seem to have a religious connotation.

In the context of digital transformation, embracing metanoia means harnessing our resources not only to take in more knowledge, but also to use that expanded perspective to shape our reality. In that respect, I’m reminded of the Digital Maturity Model (DMM): a guide for our organizations as we transition from traditional business models to more advanced ones in a way that transcends our previous perspective. It’s comprised of four stages:

1. Initiation: we begin our digital journey with a focus on replacing outdated, usually very tedious manual processes with automated digital alternatives.
2. Radiation: we roll out cascading new digital capabilities across all our business functions, based on what we’ve learned during the initiation phase and how it’s transformed our perspective on what’s possible.
3. Convergence: we intertwine our digital technology with our business strategy in an inseparable symbiotic relationship.
4. Leadership: we leverage digital technologies to create entirely new business models and opportunities.

At the initiation stage, we’re still learning and becoming comfortable with our new knowledge. By the time we reach the leadership stage, that knowledge has transcended our perspective such that we can find opportunities that we didn’t even know were possible.

It’s clear that in this process, we’re both improving our own business processes and leveraging a new competitive edge. You’re probably reading this on a device from a company at the fourth stage (think Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon). When we think of those companies leading digital adoption, it’s easy to see how they’ve also led to complete transcendental shifts in the way we think - which is why they’ve been so successful.

Each of these new technological breakthroughs changed everything. And to do that, they had to change how we think.

New tech often follows the trajectory spelled out in Gartner’s Hype Cycle Model:

• Innovation Trigger: new technology starts with a breakthrough - the launch of some extraordinary innovative new technology.
• Peak of Inflated Expectations: customers excitement hypes the product up way beyond what it’s currently able to do. Sometimes this leads to inflated stock prices and a financial bubble.
• Trough of Disillusionment: people see that the product, while great, doesn’t quite live up to their inflated expectations and adoption slows.
• Slope of Enlightenment: thankfully, early adopters and technology gurus still recognize the product’s value and help us all to see the benefits of that innovation.
• Plateau of Productivity: customers finally feel comfortable with the technology and its adoption becomes widespread.

Where do you think we can make the most of our learning? I’d say it’s somewhere in the middle. By recognizing the value of emerging technology that hasn’t yet achieved widespread adoption, we can improve our value proposition to customers with efficiencies not found in our competitors’ offerings. We can shift our mindset of what’s possible.

We’re all now aware of the hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI, but you know that). It’s revolutionary, and poised to totally transform our lives. However, right now there’s high expectations for a technology that’s still in its infancy. We might be in that second stage. That means we need to be careful about how we plan to integrate AI into our business processes before we fully understand it. But, it also means there’s a great opportunity for tangible innovation if we do.

I’m very passionate about adopting AI. I used LLMs for all kinds of knowledge and efficiency gains. But there’s a risk: we shouldn’t be using technology that we don’t understand. Wherever we are in the DMM, it’s important that we take our time to expand our perspectives holistically rather than jumping ahead, because doing so would risk our cybersecurity.

Remember that jumping directly to the “leadership”' stage without a robust security framework may expose our organization to unnecessary risks. We can use Gartner's Hype Cycle to identify technologies that match our current level of digital maturity and business strategy - keeping in mind that newer isn't always better, especially if it means a higher security risk.

Regardless of where we are in the DMM, prioritizing cybersecurity is essential. We can use AI to enhance security measures and mitigate risks, but it can also expose us to new vulnerabilities if we don’t implement it strategically. By ensuring that we adopt a risk-based approach to our cybersecurity, and by aligning our business strategy with our technological infrastructure, we can focus on implementing an appropriate level of advanced technology that we’re capable of supporting.

This is typically called a “Zero-Trust” model: where we act as if any user, device, or process could be compromised, and take risk-prevention measures accordingly. In particular, we can implement strong monitoring and authentication protocols like multi-factor authentication, we can maintain compliance with regulations, we can support regular system updates (especially to patch vulnerabilities), and we can invest in our people. It's critical that our team understands the security implications of digital transformations and the role they play in protecting our organization. The most effective way to do this is through quality training delivered by experts.

Our entrepreneurial journey, deeply rooted in the course of our human evolution, is part of a legacy of innovation, trials, and triumphs. AI is the next part of this journey. And while it might stir up speculative fears and conspiracies, adopting it in a smart and secure way has the potential to propel us to unimaginable innovation. It’s all part of our journey of learning, and of transcending our perspectives.

Stay curious,

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/Sarj

Founder, knowledgebasedconsulting.ca