The company of the future

Artificial intelligence (AI) for organisations

AI, the beating heart of tomorrow, touches every organisation. Self-learning systems analyse, connect, and create anything imaginable. This presents opportunities as well as threats. How do we prepare for this technological revolution that demands new skills and a proactive approach to ethics and safety?

A new mindset, a new culture

Change is not about technology. It’s about the right mindset required for change, such as saying goodbye to old habits and being open to new ideas. It’s about embracing uncertainty as a source of innovation. We need a culture that exudes willingness to change and employees who are committed to realising this change. This requires freedom, independence, and servant management.

New skills

AI has found a growing number of applications in construction over the years. Besides autonomous machinery, it’s also used for planning and surveying, in safety and maintenance, and in the monitoring and analysing of structures. AI enables fully connected construction sites, where sensor-generated big data ensures increasing levels of efficiency and safety, and enables prediction and prevention of injuries.

Ecosystem

We are faced with major uncertainties, and there are many challenges ahead for the organisation of the future. It’s important for organisations to be ‘hyper-connected’ to the new world. We need to teach employees how to collaborate with external specialists, startups, scientists, and educational institutions. The quality of the ecosystem determines whether your organisation will succeed or fail.

Experimentation

In a rapidly changing world, experimentation is a prerequisite for continuity. Organisations that are constantly discovering are well equipped to adapt to the future. The organisation needs to be encouraged to experiment and make mistakes as part of the learning process. We can also call in ‘special forces’ to rapidly develop new products and services that complement existing business models.

Future scenarios

The world changes at a speed we’ve never experienced before. Changing our strategy will therefore have to keep pace with the speed of changes in the market. Furthermore, we need to prepare for an ‘imperfect’ future and develop a strategy that helps us adequately manage uncertainty – by using future scenarios. But how do we do this the right way?

Ethics

In many ways, people are no longer separate from technology. It is, therefore, important to keep an eye on the moral side of technological developments, consider the implications for the world of tomorrow, and ensure we take important ethical considerations into account. We need to determine our boundaries and voice our opinions about how people and machines should work together.

The future of leadership

Tomorrow's organisation needs to change faster than ever and needs a unique architecture of people, organisation, and culture. We need leaders who inspire and facilitate, who lead by listening, asking questions, and being vulnerable. Change is not only about strategy, but also about psychology. How do you motivate your employees to lead the organisation to the next phase?