Putting the human back at the center
A good example is the current maze of hybrid working that has arisen as a result and is a challenge both organizationally and interpersonally. By implementing remote/hybrid work in a technocratic manner, employees have each found their own way of filling this role. As a result, they have acquired their own privileges, and individualism has gained the upper hand at the expense of the team's needs and the organization's goals.
Today, we face the challenge that individual employees are reluctant to lose these privileges. The consequence for many organizations is that leaders and employees miss each other and the 'sense of belonging' to the team and the organization, as a fairly individualistic culture has emerged. The pertinent question is: do we have a new status quo - also referred to as 'the new economy' - and should we take this new status quo as a starting point? Has the human become spoiled or is there even neglect at play? I believe the latter is certainly the case, but the first two are also true. This makes it very important that attention is still given to the human in the context of this change.
Organizations will need to shift their focus this year from individual needs to the real team needs. How do we play? The organizations that can make this shift and truly embrace it, placing the team at the center, will gain trust. They will be able to shift the perspective of the employee from the individual to the team, thereby developing the energy and resilience to be ready for any (unexpected) change. This will allow them to accelerate and significantly make a difference with their organization in realizing the strategy, projects, and the innovation potential needed to adapt to this new situation.
Innovation potential vs deployment of new technology
In recent years, we have also seen a development in the application of data, AI, and 'Edge' in organizational processes, customer engagement, product and service innovation. For these innovations and the deployment of technology, the real potential and true acceleration have not yet been reached. Mainly because we still have much to gain in trust in this technology. An important reason is that the change for this technology has also been approached quite technocratically so far.
There are countless examples of situations where the real implementation, after the pilot phase, never sees the light of day. Either the adoption falls short, or the technology is only very limitedly deployed and used, whether or not because the brakes are applied. It is not uncommon for concerns to arise about reliability, responsible use of data, security, manageability, and cyber risks. In response, the situation becomes 'politicized' and trust in the technology takes a hit, causing organizations and/or customers to become anxious. The consequence is that trust in the technology must first be restored.
Sustainability
If we, with what we know now, take the organization/human well into account in vision and regulation, collaborate smartly in diverse teams and ecosystems, and utilize structures such as the hub-and-spoke model, we will significantly increase the innovation potential in areas such as Edge and AI this year. This is also very welcome, as the need for the adoption of these innovations is now greater than ever. Looking at the priorities on the agenda of most organizations, the focus is now on sustainability and using energy more smartly and efficiently through the deployment of technology. But we must also deploy the technology itself more sustainably. On the other hand, there is a strong desire to increase productivity by smartly deploying technological innovations, such as AI and smart applications and devices. Especially considering the still significant tightness in the labor market in many sectors. All of this must be done in a way that is safe and trustworthy and does not cause unwanted, irreparable damage to the organization, customers, and employees.
At Dell Technologies, we have also learned and innovated a lot in these areas and looked at how we can better help our customers with this knowledge to support Edge projects smartly. Project Frontier is a good example of this. With it, we provide a software platform aimed at smartly organizing and managing Edge operations for all infrastructures and applications in any industry. Data and devices are everywhere and will continue to be. But it must remain manageable and controllable, so that you can truly derive value from these "new" data streams and genuinely innovate.
Innovating is vital in today's market. If you don't do it, you stand still and no longer participate.
LinkedIn: Isabel Moll, CEO of Dell Technologies Netherlands
