In a few short years we have experienced the transformative power of the first wave of the Digital Revolution. The Internet has changed the rules for how the world works. Now we find ourselves on the threshold of a second wave that will be fueled by not one, but two engines and result in more change in the next decade than we have seen in the past twenty-five years.
Discover how the Internet of Things and Blockchain technology will produce new capabilities for improving the quality of life by expanding social collaboration, preventing illness and accidents, spawning new business and product models, generating new ways to create and distribute wealth, and ending the threats of hacking and fraud.
About the Speaker:
Rod Collins is the Director of Innovation at Optimity Advisors, a global strategy consulting firm, and the Innovation Curator at Salt Flats, a unique innovation ecosystem for creating growth in a rapidly changing world. Rod is a leading expert on the future of business and a regular blog contributor to Management-Issues.com. He is also the author of Wiki Management: A Revolutionary New Model for a Rapidly Changing and Collaborative World, which highlights the innovative tools and practices used by a new breed of business leaders to sustain extraordinary performance in a world reshaped by digital disruption.
More About Rod Collins By Nancy Van Schooenderwoert
A few years ago, we hosted Rod Collins as part of ANE’s program “Agile for Executives”. We were mesmerized by his compelling description of why business can no longer use the past as predictor of the future – not even in the short term! His book “Wiki Management” (which is about nimble management, not wiki websites) goes into depth on this.
Rod delved into why hierarchical business decision structures are now obsolete, and how their slowness led to a number of business failures. He then described an alternative – a consensus group called a “Work-Thru”. It taps the knowledge of a large group and enables them to step through a decision process together in real time.
As Chief exec of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employees Program, Rod had to build consensus decisions across many independent business entities within BCBS. There were often complex issues such as what insurance model to use, and it was important for all the parties to find a durable common ground.
As part of our “Agile for Executives” format, Rod took our group of over 70 people through the steps of a Work-Thru and had them come up with a decision that all could support. The steps are described in detail in his book. I mention it here as just one small example of how Agile at the exec level is different from at the delivery team level. As Agile moves into more areas of business, new practices like this will be needed so that Agile principles such as transparency and autonomy are served at the exec levels.
Organizations that need to address new situations like those posed by blockchain, IoT, and more will not have the maneuverability they need unless they have a foundation of well-functioning, Agile practices at all levels. Rod is someone who has built those foundations and understands the new capabilities they give to a business.
Nancy V. is a co-founder and past president of ANE. She heads the Agile for Executives program.
