Imagine a world in which Rogue Waves made the oceans too dangerous for ships to sail, and we had to stop cruise liners and container ships from sailing. It would change our world as we know it.
It is an extreme and alarmist scenario, with one of the worse cases for the impact of climate change and global warming. It's designed to keep us thinking about what needs to be done to mitigate the impact of extreme weather on our world.
It's not a horror movie, with spider-like robots clambering around the outside of buildings. This is the future of the $40 billion window cleaning industry, using robots. They can do more than clean, though - they do real-time, ongoing analysis of the external skin of the buildings, keeping a record of issues and greatly enhancing preventative maintenance.
This is just one example of the potential of predictive data analytics when applied to real world objects that are instrumented and analysed. How might you be able to these data analytic ideas to your business?
A company is suing its own AI chatbot for providing misleading information to a client. I wish I could make up a headline from the future that was better than this - its actually a real story from February 2024 involving Air Canada.
The practical lesson is that we need to be careful of automating our workforces, rather than augmenting them. People who use AI are better than people who don't. AI, though, is better when it is used by people than when it is left on its own.
Learn from Air Canada's mistake.
Would you trust an AI-driven algorithm to help choose your life partner? If people were honest about the data they entered into these systems, and genuine in their desire to find a true life-partner match, this would definitely be an improvement on the basically random, luck-based most of us rely on.
Happy Valentine's Day... from the Love Algorithm. ❤️
In the future, we will use smart devices and even implants to monitor our every move, maybe even our thoughts too. How will we use this data?
It could be for Big Brother style management of our lives, or it could be for our benefit and wellbeing. That will be up to us.
This is actually not a prediction about the future, but rather a scenario to help us think about what we should be doing in our world and our workplaces now.
Imagine arriving at the office, and the lighting and aircon are just perfect, there's exactly the right ambient noise, the desk is set up perfectly, the food and drinks easily available are precisely what you need... everything is set up just right to ensure you can deliver your best work.
This is the workplace of the future that adjusts in real time based both on who you are and what you're trying to achieve in the next few hours.
Elite sportspeople already use data analytics to craft the perfect work environment for themselves. We need to use the same approach in our workplaces - not to extract MORE from our people, but to help them give their BEST.
Imagine we voted for the managers of our teams at work. Imagine our workplaces worked like democracies should.
Today's episode has a bit of an activist and culture war tone about it, as I suggest that one possible future for corporations is being more democratic. You see, here's the problem: while the corporation is the cornerstone of Western democratic capitalism, there is almost no democracy in our workplaces at all. We don't vote for who our managers should be. We don't vote for how much we should be paid. We are hardly even consulted about strategy or what products and services we should sell to clients.
Why not?
In a democratic world that glorifies individual freedom and the rights to self-determination, why is the corporation so authoritarian, class-based and anti-democratic.
I really do believe that this is one of the keys to building the organisation of the future. I hope this video gets you thinking about ways you can change and improve your workplace today.
Come with me to January 2026, when a major company announces a new reward system for the senior Executives: part of your bonus depends on how well you sleep each night. That's right: we are going to measure your sleep, and reward you if you do it well.
The science is pretty clear: sleep is one of the most important factors in clear thinking, regulated emotions, good decision making, ethical judgements, strategic thinking, and actually almost everything that makes a good leader good. So, why wouldn't we insist that good leaders get good sleep? I think we should. I think we will. Soon.
This is just one idea in a series of "future of work" suggestions you'll be hearing from me this year. I am passionate about helping organisations getting the BEST out of the people rather than just the MOST. Speak to me for more ideas if you don't want to wait for future videos.
We decided to publish this edition on Monday, 15 January 2024 - welcome to the first "full on" week of the year and welcome to another year of significant shifts in the world of work.
In this video, we look at the ten trends we believe will have the most impact on the workplace and the workforce in the year ahead. For more information on these trends, and if you'd like us to help you think through how they will impact you and create opportunities for yourself and your teams, please be in touch for a no-obligations chat.
Have a great year!
CONNECT WITH GRAEME AND THE TOMORROWTODAY TEAM Let's start a conversation to find out where I can make the biggest impact in your journey to being future-fit. Email me graeme@tomorrowtodayglobal.com
In the first episode of ThrowFordward Thursday in the new year, we apply our "Grey Elephants" framework to give you some scenarios for what might happen in the year ahead. The biggest question is not "what might happen", but rather "are you set up to take advantage of the opportunities that uncertainty will bring in 2024"?
Speak to our team to find out how we can help you both anticipate tomorrow's disruption and prepare to take advantage of it today. Send an email to graeme@tomorrowtodayglobal.com to set up a time to chat. LINKS:
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