1. By Faisal Hoque
founder of:
LEADERSHIP IN
UNCERTAIN TIMES
The constant cascade of social, economic, and technological
change is reshaping our globe. Workforces are increasingly
dispersed, demanding of self-expression, and quite possibly
disengaged. Within this topsy-turvy context, leaders must spark
creaAvity, drive innovaAon, and ensure sustainability.
What are the remedies? The newest problems of the world find
soluAons in the oldest and Ameless pracAces such as mindfulness,
authenAcity, and perseverance―because Everything Connects.
Presented at:
Image: Nick Scheerbart
Leadership University

2. AGENDA
• Our Ever Changing World
• Everything Connects
• Growth And Disruption
• Capabilities And Platforms
• The Takeaway

3. “Unprecedented forces
are reshaping society,
economics, politics and
our planet .” - WEF

4. “Such change, however,
brings with it significant
globally interconnected
risks, risks which must
be factored into modern
life.” - WEF

5. “These tumultuous
times can present
us with ground-
breaking
opportunities for
changing how we
see the world, and
how we operate
within it.” - WEF

6. From big data to the gig
economy to social selling
to generation Z to AR/VR
to IoT, these buzzwords
are starting to have real,
mainstream impact.

7. Technological
transformations will
continue to reshape the
way the business world
is organized.

9. “Extinction is the
rule. Survival is the
exception.”
– Carl Sagan

10. GE was founded as an
electricity generator
and producer of lighAng
components to create the power
industry. But over its 130 plus year
history, it has conAnually challenged
itself to innovate and has produced
everything from jet engines
to industrial IoT.

11. In 1966, Nintendo started
producing electronic games
and consoles and eventually became famous
for Super Mario and Donkey Kong video
games. However, the company
existed several centuries
before that -- producing everything from
playing cards to vacuum
cleaners, and instant rice.

12. The right choices can
become the wrong
choices very quickly.

13. We can’t predict the
future. But we can make
sure that we are prepared
to live it, make sense of it,
and orchestrate its
upheavals as strategically
as possible.

14. Keep asking the
right questions,
and you'll be
wrong about the
future less often.

15. AGENDA
• Our Ever Changing World
• Everything Connects
• Growth And Disruption
• Capabilities And Platforms
• The Takeaway

16. - Everything Connects

17. The beRer we understand the nature of the
world, the beRer we can move in the world.
The better we understand the nature of
ourselves, the better we can move
within ourselves.

18. When we know ourselves, we can act
with a confidence that is our own.

19. DevoAon is our sustainable resource. With
it we can day by day improve ourselves,
our teams, and our world.

20. A humanistic,
holistic ‪mindful
‪leader arranges
moments of
progress with
‪gratitude and
‪empathy.

21. AGENDA
• Our Ever Changing World
• Everything Connects
• Growth And Disruption
• Capabilities And Platforms
• The Takeaway

22. DisrupAve leadership isn't about change
for the sake of change. It's about
integrating change into the modus
operandi of the company—which, of
course, is easier said than done.
The disruptive imperative

23. Fundamental forces at play that
cause resistance to change:
• An internal limitation that
causes a person to feel like
they are unable to change;
• The inability to keep up
with the external change
around them.
Equally applicable to
organizaAons as they are to
individuals.

24. How do we counteract these two forces and
become more open to change?
• Seek out serendipitous connecAons
• Build a diverse network of resources
• Encourage your team to do the same
Effective leaders develop a ‘beginner's
mind’ and are ‘intentionally omnivores’.

25. Not to guide an organizaAon along a
familiar course during difficult Ames,
but to keep the ship steady as it
steers in a new direction.
They guide others
through chaos

26. Leading by consensus has its place in
the business world, but you can't
focus-group your way to an
effective new playbook when the
landscape changes abruptly.
They're decisive

27. Modifying your assumpAons and adapting
your plans depending on your results is
the standard practice of the most
effecAve disrupAve leaders.
They thrive on uncertainly

28. AGENDA
• Our Ever Changing World
• Everything Connects
• Growth And Disruption
• Capabilities And Platforms
• The Takeaway

29. Agility is the ability to sense
changes in economic condiAons
and the compeAAve landscape, and
to proacAvely implement a
response.
Agile organizations learn to
radically reinvent their
competencies—including those
that made them the most
compeAAve only yesterday.

30. If vision is an expression of the soul of
an organizaAon, plaorm is its body.
The assets, whether internal or
external, lend the company its "core
competencies," which tend to grow
organically.
Competencies are platforms,
or assets with business
applications.

31. Crucial to sustainable growth
is the constant need to embrace
new ways of doing business
altogether.
This means new
structures, the creation
and sharing of new types
of information, and the
establishment of new
decision-making
processes.

32. Bringing in a persuasive leader or two
might help, but it comes down to the
ability of the leadership
team to foster collective
change-management
capabilities.

33. Look at processes,
not just people
• Closely examine your current
strategy.
• Next, analyze the impact of the
work of your team, partners, and
customers.
• Finally, evaluate your present
capabiliAes.

34. Start experimenting
and delegating
responsibilities
Change may or may not be
woven into the fabric of your
company culture, but
someAmes circumstances
require it. People often learn
more about each other when
they have to change
together.

35. AGENDA
• Our Ever Changing World
• Everything Connects
• Growth And Disruption
• Capabilities And Platforms
• The Takeaway

41. Shadoka’s por:olio of offerings enables
entrepreneurship, growth, and social impact. Our
customers and partners aspire to create sustainable
value. They are focused on repeatable and
measurable impact. We enable their aspiraAons.
We bring together the management frameworks,
digital pla:orms, and thought leadership for:
• EvaluaFon, execuFon, and monitoring of
innovaFon and growth programs
• Scaling sales, revenue, and profitability
• CreaFon and management of digital
communiFes and marketplaces
About SHADOKA
Follow us @shadokaventures
shadoka.com

42. About Me
Founder of Shadoka and other companies. Shadoka
enables entrepreneurship, growth, and social impact.
Formerly of GE and other global brands. Author of
several books, including Everything Connects – How
to Transform and Lead in the Age of CreaAvity,
InnovaAon and Sustainability (McGraw Hill) and
Survive to Thrive – 27 PracAces of Resilient
Entrepreneurs, Innovators, And Leaders (MoFvaFonal
Press).
Follow me @faisal_hoque
faisalhoque.com