Digital Transformation: In the late 70s and early 80s, we had lots of discussions about what the heck the internet was. My colleagues and I were all electronics engineers or software programmers, so we knew about the technology, but what was the real meaning of and use of the internet? What did it mean to society in general? There was …
What? Me Worry? There is much discussion on how change is accelerating and how dangerous the big tech companies have gotten. I do not believe big is terrible by itself. Neither do I think that big means impervious to change or disruption. So while I’m not particularly worried, I also believe we would do well to restructure a couple of these behemoths.
Consumers frequently benefit from the economies of scale large corporations gain. In some cases, the gains in pricing, innovation, and delivery may far outweigh any perceived negatives from a corporation growing large. Properly governed large companies can be a win for everyone.
Stature: A good friend and colleague asked me if I would be willing to guest lecture at his local university fully employed MBA class. The topic of the talk was to be leadership. I agreed, and we set the date. I signed into the virtual meeting early to make sure we had the technology issues under control. While we were …
Equal Opportunity Destroyer: Rani Molla, a Visual Journalist at The Wall Street Journal, recently published an article in Vox that caught my eye. In that article, she made the statement that “‘Knowledge workers’ could be the most impacted by future automation.” Conventional wisdom has been suggesting that only the “blue-collar workers” were going to be affected in any significant way …
Shut down: I am NOT recommending that you do what I have done. I am, however, going to share with you my journey to being purposeful about how and where I spend my time gathering information. What prompts sharing this little diatribe are several articles, podcasts, and posts about how the content writers manipulate us. Moreover, as always, I am …
Not Just Google: Some business leaders have watched with a mix of envy and consternation as the technology firms, and large retailers, have taken advantage of big data. Until now, smaller firms have not been able to afford significant data science operations. However, predictions are that this year and next will be the year when Small to Mid-sized Enterprises (SMEs) …
On a More Even Keel: A recent report, Automation and Artificial Intelligence: How Machines are Affecting People and Places, puts things in a better perspective than we might have held starting several years ago. Gone is the panic over “all jobs going away.” Moreover, gone is the blasé attitude that no loss of jobs will occur. From the report: “Now, …
The Curiosity Trap: As mentioned several times on this blog, curiosity is a common trait of successful leaders. Many leadership coaches consider curiosity to be a requisite leadership strength. Also, on the blog, I have mentioned that one’s strength is also a weakness. How do these two precepts jibe? When is curiosity a weakness? Disruption The employees of highly curious …
Stereotype: “We need fresh ideas.” “We need a Millennial to address our social media marketing.” “I don’t think Frank is up to the demands of the new software.” “If our salespeople won’t use the automation system, then we’ll get some younger folks in here who will!” I’ve heard these comments or comments very close to them on more than one …
Critical Thinking: I’m struggling a bit with my thoughts on how to prepare people, especially our young people, for the work world ahead of us. Indeed, some necessary skills will be required. But which ones? It is next to impossible to predict what “jobs” will exist, let alone what skills will be needed. Surely, we will be required to work …