Thoughts on Future-Proofing for 4IR
Clarke Murphy
Board and CEO Leadership Advisor, Russell Reynolds Associates | CEO Emeritus | Board Director | Best-selling author of Sustainable Leadership
This week, I am attending the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. Each year, over 3,000 global leaders from politics, government, civil society, academia, the arts and media gather to discuss issues impacting the world. This year, the theme is “Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” which focuses on how economies, businesses, societies and politics are not just changing but fundamentally transforming due to technological advancement. And these transformations are occurring during a time of increased globalization, volatility and uncertainty.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) provides us all with exciting opportunities: if we prepare ourselves, it can enable us to shrink an expanding physical world into a new, interconnected digital one. The expectation is that technology will fundamentally change the way everyone works as the skills required to remain competitive continuously evolve—and no industry is immune.
What excites me most about this theme is the natural spotlight it creates on leadership as a key factor in surviving and prospering through the 4IR. In this light, I am looking forward to speaking with other leaders about how they are seeing technology go horizontal in their organization, how executives are overseeing corporate culture, and what they are doing to improve diversity and inclusion. The critical question organizations are clearly asking themselves is: Are we confident we have the individuals and teams who can lead us forward in times of accelerated and unprecedented change? And if they are not asking themselves those questions now, they might be in big trouble soon!
I will be posting key learnings throughout the week on social media. Stay tuned for more!
Clarke
MBA | Senior Business Development Manager presso Amazon
6 年The Internet of things increases work efficiency by connecting people and machines, Big Data and predictive analitics allow to determine patterns and predict future trends and results.? Technology is the main driver of the 4IR and companies need to adapt to be alive. Even though this means greater efficiency for supply chains, this may rise social tensions due to the increased separation between qualified and unqualified individuals. Still a big opportunity. As already pointed out by Klaus Schwab, in the new world it's no longer the big fish which eats the small fish, BUT it's the fast fish which eats the slow fish.
Full Stack Marketer | Digital Marketing, Content Creation, Analytics & Project Management
6 年The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) with its rapid technological advancements in the digital sphere is shrinking the physical space and connecting demographics and geographies like never before. Businesses should be alive to the potential of avant-garde technologies and use them to enhance their brand equity.