Executives are so screwed. But wait, there is a solution

A few years back, I won an innovation award. The prize was a trip to London to go watch the Olympic 100 metres men’s sprint final. Well, I ultimately wasn’t able to go watch the race, as I had other commitments at the time. Many thought I was crazy for passing up the opportunity to see Hussain Bolt and co flying at full speed. I don’t regret not going. Nevertheless. If I had gone, I really would have needed to make sure that my full concentration was on the race. These guys are super quick and they finish the race in under 10 seconds. I couldn’t even afford to sneeze during the race, by the time I were to look up from one of my over-the-top sneezes, the race would be over and Bolt would already be doing his little victory dance as he sets a new record.

Why the heck am I sharing this with you? Well, I may have missed these speedsters but I now immersed and focused on watching speedsters of an altogether different type. These however aren’t Jamaican or sponsored by Puma. They speedsters are new technologies and companies powered by new technologies.

Things that seemed impossible just a couple years ago are being achieved with ease today through new enablers such as AI. Companies using the right digital tools can now go from nothing to worth over a billion dollars in a flash. Bird, an electrical scooter start-up, absolutely shattered the record for the fastest start-up to reach a billion-dollar valuation. It only launched in September of 2017 and reached this valuation in well under a year of operation.

Things are happening and they are happening fast.

I frequently run radical innovation masterclasses, where I share a framework for how to create winning innovations in the new world. I am forced to constantly update elements of my masterclass as every single week, there are more amazing shifts that occur that move the goal posts in some way.

I dedicate loads of time, and resources to keeping up to date with this changing world and still find it a gargantuan task.

So the question is, how can CEOs and other business leaders keep ahead of these rapid changes?

These are changes that have a material impact on the decisions that need to be made inside their organisations. Through the engagements that I have had with leaders from companies of all sizes across different industries it is clear that a large knowledge gap exists, where leaders are unaware of the benefits or threats of new technologies.

Of course, most leaders are not totally clueless, they have attended a few fancy conferences and had some discussions around the topic. However, they simply have not had enough ongoing exposure to be the subject matter masters that they need to be to lead their companies in the optimal way. The problem is that you don’t know what you don’t know until you know it and you cannot afford to know it too late. 

It is not only important for leaders to realize that more amazing things are possible today than ever before and be plugged into the details pertaining to their industry. They also need to understand the impact of new technologies on the way they spend their budgets. Almost every single company that I have come across (even the one’s desperate to reduce costs) are paying well over the odds for information and services because they just don’t know any better. There are so many digital resources that are freely or cheaply available that just a few years ago you would have needed to pay large amounts of money for. But, if you don’t know they exist, you don’t know they exist and your spending behaviour won’t change.

Executives have simply not had adequate time to dedicate towards future-proofing themselves and their organizations. Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT&T said that if you don’t spend 5 to 10 hours a week learning online, you will soon become obsolete. But most leaders simply don’t have the time to do so.

When I started running my radical innovation masterclasses, I naively assumed that the higher up an individual is on the corporate ladder, the more “switched on” they would be. This assumption of mine was quickly shattered. In fact, I have seen that usually the corollary is true and why is this the case, because the more senior you are, the greatest your day to day responsibility and the less time you have to look up and focus on the changing world around you.

So, what is the answer to this problem?

Well, I have been preaching for a while now that Boards of directors should include at least one expert on the new world of technology and potential future trends. But, I’m not holding my breath here, companies are still hiring the old folks that understand the old world of work to guide them into the future.

So, in lieu of this, I have set up an executive new world coaching service. Through this service, executives will have a weekly (or monthly) one-on-one coaching sessions with myself, Dean Furman - author of Exponential Potential and new world innovation expert. It will be a space where they are free to ask questions that they are not comfortable asking their colleagues. They will also be informed of relevant technological developments relating to their company and are free to discuss how these impact their strategy. This will bridge their knowledge gap and give them the support needed to act with the surety and confidence needed. They will also be assisted with future-proofing themselves and pointed towards the right learning material. These sessions will happen virtually so they will be available to those in any location. There are limited spots available, so to find out more regarding price or available time-slots or to reserve your weekly spot, email me: [email protected]