What’s your role in shaping the future?

Last week we marked one whole year of life in lockdown. Let’s face it, it’s been a year which has been both a blessing and a curse at the same time. We’ve had the gift of time: time off from the usual commute, space to focus on well-being, quality time with family or just an extra hour of kip! On the flip side - it has also taken away basic things we didn’t think we’d miss; like hugs, leaving the house freely to run errands or just walking down the road without worrying about a 2m distance rule!

It’s no secret that the impact of Covid-19 has changed the world as we knew it; but can this be seen as a blessing too? There is so much in the media about how Covid-19 has forced organisations and institutions to re-evaluate their operating models and the consumer landscape. But I am just going to throw something out there… What if it wasn’t Covid-19 that created it? What if these weaknesses were already there and it took a global pandemic to expose them? What if it just accelerated the pace at which we travelled to make this our ‘new reality’?

With hope that life in lockdown will soon be a thing of the past, there are so many unknowns when it comes to what the future holds for organisations, the workforce, and the youth of today. Here are some of my thoughts and opinions on what we should consider when defining our new reality:

1. Enhancing the power of diverse perspectives

If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that we need to be creating ecosystems that are outside of the ‘norm’. This means businesses and organisations need to redesign their traditional networks and bring together a diverse set of perspectives to spark innovation and challenge their thinking.

Just imagine what could be possible when organisations, educational institutions, government leaders, and local communities put their skills and expertise together to reinvent what the modern world looks like? Bringing together ideas, spurred on by the possibilities created by technology, brought to life through experiences and stories - Just. Imagine. Isn’t that a future you want to be part of? One that was created for the people with the people?

2. Taking a human centred approach to designing the future of work and education

We all know that the economic landscape would be worse off if organisations had not adjusted to the restrictions with the help of innovative technologies. Virtual working has most definitely transformed many sectors, to a point where the hybrid world is fast becoming a reality.

However, the past 12 months have also shown that not everybody is equally positioned to cope in this new world of working. So many factors come into play here: existing vulnerabilities being heightened, blurred lines between work and home, the extra pressures faced by working parents; and not to mention digital poverty - specifically for the youths, which meant access to education was effectively inaccessible.

Whether you are looking after citizens or professionals, the elderly or the youth, operate in the private or public sector – you need to bring a human centred approach when designing what the new normal looks like. 

Everything starts with empathy. Empathise and listen to the people involved. Understand their experiences, observe their behaviours, ask the right questions, ideate on how to effectively consider these human factors when designing a solution, prototype those proposed solutions, repeatedly test the effectiveness, and finally implement the solution.

Sustainable change doesn’t just happen. It's co-created.

3. Be bold in your approach.

If someone told you ten years ago that you would spend the best part of a year in lockdown, where the world would come to a halt and you were forced to stay in your homes - would you believe them? Would you think they were absolutely mad? Well it happened didn’t it?

It’s no longer good enough to just think about tomorrow. You need to be thinking about tomorrow, next week, next month and beyond! Now is the time to be radical in our approach. It’s time to stop wondering and start acting. Collaborate with your new ecosystem and drive innovation from within society. Think big, be bold in your approach and really think about how we can improve the lives of our people by looking at technology to fuel this innovation.

How can advancing tech play it’s part? Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Digital assets, Internet of Things (IoT), Serverless computing (FaaS), Augmented/Virtual Reality (AR / VR), Robotics, Blockchain…the list goes on!

There are endless opportunities for us to seek out. Finding the right one that works for your people, business, society and ecosystem is down to you pulling together diverse perspectives, bringing that human centred approach to problem solving and being bold enough to re-imagine the future.

I will be posting more articles that follow themes around the future of work, people centred change, driving successful digital transformations, diversity and inclusion. Please follow and comment to join in on the discussion!