Globally influential futurist exposes his vision of organizational revolutions and transformations to more than 600 business leaders gathered in four cities within TEC Business Summit 2023.
By FERNANDA MORALES BACA | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL
"The purpose of looking at the future is not prediction… it is to be better prepared," said German futurist Gerd Leonhard, keynote speaker at TEC Business Summit 2023.
The author of Technology vs. Humanity delivered the videoconference "The future of organizations: revolutions and transformations" to more than 600 business leaders who gathered in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Querétaro.
Leonhard explained that the key to being better prepared is to develop awareness to understand future changes in the industry.
"Reading, educating ourselves, should be part of our work since this will change our mentality and enable us to embrace the new technologies and opportunities that emerge," he said.
En la primera conferencia de #TECBusinessSummit, el futurista y #KeynoteSpeaker, @gleonhard, habló de la importancia de anticiparse al cambio y nos guió para desarrollar una mentalidad del futuro. pic.twitter.com/c43zKJZFC1
— EGADE Business School (@egade) April 26, 2023
Leonhard revealed at TEC Business Summit the three revolutions that will impact business:
- the ongoing digital revolution;
- the sustainability revolution, connected to green economies;
- and the purpose revolution, where companies must align their strategies towards actions that will positively impact people and the societies in which they live and work.
At present, he explained, the new generations are taking control, which is reflected in a change in politics, business, and all types of affairs, requiring, in the future, the fulfillment of a common purpose for the development of humanity.
There is an intense debate in this future, he stated, about how companies will generate earnings to grow, and a relevant approach lies in the 4 Ps: People, Planet, Purpose, and Prosperity.
"Green is the new digital," he stated.
Moreover, Leonhard affirmed that the four most relevant transformations for the future of organizations are information technology, energy and climate, biotechnology, and artificial intelligence, which warrant attention and investment.
"The development of these technologies will act as a double-edged sword in job loss owing to automation," he warned.
However, he added, although some jobs will disappear, others will be created to address the exponential demand generated by these transformations.
He also highlighted that Big Blue and Big Green would generate new jobs and economies. But, simultaneously, tasks that do not require creativity, coordination, or any human interaction will be handed over to machines to maintain efficiency.
"Machines are taking charge of routine, but this is not the end of human work," he said.
Leonhard pointed out that: "moving towards the future requires imagination, creativity, intuition, courage, agility, and resilience, which will take us towards the new normal."
He underscored that we must start expanding our horizons to develop the skills only humans can have instead of trying to compete with machines.
The futurist defined it as "a rebirth of the human renaissance."
TEC Business Summit is an updating and networking gathering for the business community in Mexico, promoted by the School of Business and EGADE Business School of Tecnológico de Monterrey.
The first edition took place on April 26 simultaneously at the academic institution's sites in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Querétaro.