The 1984 box office hit movie “Revenge of the Nerds” predicted it.
Fact. Nerds do, and will continue to rule the world. And for good reason. They have the tools, the knowledge, the intelligence, and the creativity that enable organisations to rapidly adapt to changing market dynamics and capitalise on shifting consumer behaviour.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2020, we are currently in the grip of a “double disruption” caused by the dual impact of the pandemic, coupled with accelerated transition towards digitisation, automation and artificial intelligence.
“By 2025, the time spent on current tasks at work by humans and machines will be equal.”
This is a startling statistic, indicating that at least 50% of the global workforce will need re-skilling over the next five years.
When the tech leaders themselves were surveyed in the 2020 Harvey Nash / KPMG CIO survey; over 6 in 10 reported feeling more influential as a result of the pandemic.
More and more, business leaders are partnering with digital leaders – both from within their own enterprise and also from technology companies – to effectively respond to changing consumer dynamics, increase operational efficiency and effectively protect themselves from vastly increased cyber-security risk that results from hybrid working environments.
To be future ready – is to build the capacities of people, teams and organisations to adapt and respond. Effectively utilising and leveraging technology is a core driver of that.
So what does this mean for you? If you’re a business leader, it means involvement of digital leaders in strategy creation, as well as deliberate investment in the development of digital knowledge, skills and capacities of your teams.
Think about your workforce right now. As a rough guide….approximately half their skillsets will be displaced by emerging tech over the next five years. Fifty percent of your team will need to re-skill both to stay relevant in the job market, and to future proof your business.
Accepting this reality now will make all the difference between being an early adopter or a laggard.
Basic truth – we all need to channel our inner nerd – or be ruled by one!
All jokes aside – if you want to learn more – sign up for one of my upcoming free information sessions for leaders in the technology sector:
INSPIRE HIGH PERFORMANCE: with a system for Leadership – Wednesday 14 July, 1:30pm-2:30pm AEST
Register here
AMPLIFY CULTURE: with a system for Culture – Wednesday 11 August, 1:30pm-2:30pm AEST
Register here