23/03/2024
Key Influences on the Digital Core in a Digitally Disruptive World – Part 3
Leadership
When considering the Digital Core of your own business, it’s important to look at the increasing number of skills, capabilities and disciplines that are required to be closely interconnected and critically, the numbers of people required to have this understanding. Technology, Data, Cyber and now AI may look to the uninitiated to be similar skills, are in fact in many ways very different in terms of mindsets, likely career paths, interests, and personalities. The implications of getting it “wrong” now in the Digital Core are significant, potentially fatal. Getting it “right” will require consistent levels of energy and expertise across a 24x7x365 horizon, to keep up with the required innovation and development of new capabilities and the ever-increasing efforts to secure and maintain. The Leadership understanding of these highly technical environments and skills is at a premium as are the increasing depths of skill required in each component of the Digital Core. The challenge is only getting bigger, and the pace of change is only getting faster. The C-Suite and the wider leadership teams must get closer to and understand a little more about the Digital Core of the business. The introduction of generative AI into the world has made the Digital Core an enterprise-wide asset (as it has actually always been) to be understood and leveraged by all. The ‘mysteries’ of technology can no longer be just the remit of the Chief Information, Chief Technology or Chief Digital Officer.
Ethics
This is probably the single biggest emerging issue that has arisen with the explosion of Generative AI as highlighted by the trailblazing ChatGPT application from OpenAI. The ethical considerations are multi-dimensional and cover everything from the use of AI in principle (and the subsequent removal of jobs), through to bias (in the training materials), privacy, breach of copyright and trademarks and through to its wider potential implications for humanity as AI gets more sophisticated and “intelligent”. Ethics and AI will be a topic that will engage many governments, businesses, and civic minded organisations over the next decade. Every business will need to consider its own position, update their relevant policies and be ready with a communicable position on this since it is likely to appear in audit, procurement, regulatory and public interest forums.
Burnout
Note to Leadership; given the mounting expectations and pressures on the teams of people developing and supporting the Digital Core, organisations should ensure appropriate oversight into the workloads and stresses being introduced and keep an eye out for burnout.
In Summary
We are in and likely to remain in a VUCA world for the indefinite future. Our individual, professional and collective organisational response to this position, if, when and how we become hyperagile; how we understand the elements of the Digital Core, through which we live, work and play, will determine how successful we are in the safe and progressive navigation of this next phase of disruptive innovation.
If you would like to discuss more about the content of this blog and the issues being introduced, how to become hyperagile, or how to evolve a Digital Core and its implications for your executive team and business please do get in in touch. If. you simply want to contribute your thoughts and experiences to a wider piece of strategic transformational research and development, please get in touch here…
[1] Hyperagility is defined for the purposes of this update, as the ability for how an individual and collectively as an organisation (and executive team) (ie. A collection of individuals) can operate successfully in a VUCA world. It is the combination of a strategic view, a growth mindset, continuous curiosity, learning behaviours, collaborative nature, digital understanding, and adaptive, integrative execution.