The next seven years will see more change than the last 20 years combined in terms of network devices, data on the planet, and computational capabilities – we can see the change happening around us already, it’s a bit surreal watching the future unfold in front of our very eyes:
I was recently at the Kennedy Space Center with my family and we heard that colonizing Mars is the next tangible frontier for human exploration – there are challenges to pioneering Mars, but we know they are solvable. We are well on our way to getting to Mars, landing there, and living there! It is worth noting that 10 years ago private spaceflight, or even engagement of private companies was impossible. Today government agency NASA has partnered with private companies such as Boeing and SpaceX to make deep space exploration and colonizing Mars possible.
Additionally, speaking on the next wave of automation, Amazon’s chairman, Jeff Bezos, said recently, “It’s probably hard to overstate how big of an impact it’s going to have on society over the next twenty years“.
Without stating the obvious regarding trends to watch for in the coming years such as Robotics, IoT, Automation, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation which can be read here, here and here; I would instead, like to take a moment to reflect on learnings from 2016, specially in the context of the changing face of business-technology:
Today we are seeing lines between business consulting and agency work blurring, we are also seeing that technology plays an integral role in shaping business strategy and decisions.
Ad agencies and business consulting companies are working tirelessly to transform themselves into what they are not – business consulting companies are buying design houses to incorporate the design / human element into their offerings; Deloitte Digital recently acquired creative agency Heat , McKinsey acquired creative agency Lunar and Razorfish merged with Sapient to become SapientRazorfish. However changing the company name does not change the company culture. If the focus of the company is growing the account and the project team is compensated based on managing hours and resources on the project rather than solving a business problem, then most likely the company will not be lazer focused on helping clients and such companies have a short shelf-life. To further illustrate this point, in 2016 we saw McDonalds drop Leo Burnett after a 35 year relationship, and is partnering with DDB to setup an agency of the future called ‘We are Unlimited’ to be paid on its ability to drive Big Mac sales.
Agencies and consulting companies need to be aware that their competition includes independent Change Agents, who are business – technology leaders responsible for identifying business and technology process improvement opportunities and simplifying interfaces. These change agents have inserted themselves in key positions at various client organizations, they are intensely loyal and are looked upon as trusted advisors by clients.
They are a new breed of innovators who understand the ‘convergence’ of customer experience, business / digital strategy and technology and understand the customer and business priorities through the lens of customer experience.
These high-performing and experienced experts will make the difference between project success and failure because of their judgement, ability to understand data patterns and ability to immerse themselves in the client’s business.
So in closing I will say that no matter if you are a large conglomerate with a huge brand name or a small boutique shop, you are only as good as the project team at the client site. If your project team is not able to deliver results which almost always requires getting immersed in the client’s business and advocating change (sometimes radical change), your utility will be short lived.
Thats what I think, what do you think?
Niti Vaish's Blog 