Here is my presentation that closed the Digital Work Disruption virtual conference on 26 August 2020. I was asked to "join the dots" of all the topics covered at the conference, as well as suggest what's next. It covered the shift from linear thinking to exponential thinking. It covered the massive disruption and the shift to working from home that we have all just experienced. I give my perspective on the technology backdrop that has got us to today's complex fourth industrial revolution. We need a new kind of leadership, and a more distributed and networked approach to the way our organisations work. we discussed the importance of community, and how we need to reteach the lessons of the last 15 years of enterprise collaboration. Above all we need to focus on why we do what we do, and get better at telling our stories.

1. Bringing the Dots Together For Enabling
Change in a World of Complexity
@DT & @BloorResearch on Twitter | | 26 August 2020
David Terrar | Founder & CXO - Agile Elephant | Sales & Marketing Director – Bloor Research

2. Bringing the Dots Together For Enabling
Change in a World of Complexity
@DT & @BloorResearch on Twitter | | 26 August 2020
David Terrar | Founder & CXO - Agile Elephant | Sales & Marketing Director – Bloor Research

3. 20th Century
We live in Exponential times
2000-2019
2020

5. “Suddenly work was something you did,
and not somewhere you went”

7. The Digital Enterprise Wave
ride it
or go under!

8. The Digital Enterprise Wave

9. The Digital Enterprise Tsunami
tectonic shift / earthquake

12. We live in a time of converging ideas
• Disintermediation – digital cuts out the middle man person
• Disaggregation – breaking and opening up closed value chains
• Dematerialization – physical to virtual, atoms to bits
• Products -> platforms
– products have features, platforms have communities
• Everything as a Service
• “In 2000 you needed a Website, in 2010 you needed a mobile app, in 2020 you will
need an API”
– John Musser, founder of Programmableweb.com
• Design and SEO for your website -> conversational commerce
– Hey Google, Alexa, Siri

13. Evolution of Business Systems
Before Now Next
On-Premise Software,
Hardware, Networks
Software as a Service,
Cloud infrastructure
Marketplaces
Ecosystems
Public Data
Services

14. We live in Exponential times
• 200,000 years of linear thinking
• From Complicated to Complex
• Small changes make
disproportionate impact
• You can’t plan but you can prepare
• We should have listened to Bill
Gates

16. Mutable Business

17. Mutable Business - People

18. Future of Work – a frame of reference

21. Doing things right
Efficiency
Doing the right things
Adaptability

22. © GettyImages - John Kirk

23. Strategy
© Simon Sinek - https://www.startwithwhy.com/

24. Business as Usual Characteristics Mutable Business / Exponential Thinking Characteristics
Top-down, Command and Control, Hierarchical Flatter org chart, Team of Teams, Connected, Empowered employees
Departmental and Divisional silos Cross-functional teams, Collaboration culture, Social tools over email
Driven by financial outcomes, Quarterly reporting, KPIs
Understand their “why”, Purpose oriented, Dashboards, OKRs (Objectives and Key
Results)
Focus on shareholder value Improving the state of the world, Customer centric, Driving stakeholder value
Linear, Closed, Sequential thinking Experimentation, Autonomy, Open, Exponential thinking
Innovation primarily from within, R&D based innovation Design Thinking, Innovation at all levels, Partnerships, Collaboration, Crowdsourcing
Strategic planning based on history, Long term cyclic planning Agile thinking, Agile management, Iterative, Short throws, Continuous improvement
Risk intolerance Experimentation, Fail Fast mentality, Startup Mentality
Process Inflexibility Autonomy, Experimentation, Responsive, Agile
Owns or controls its own assets Focus on core, Outsource non-core, Leveraged assets
More FTEs, In-house resources
Less FTEs, More Outsourcing, Automation, Algorithms, Gig Economy, Workers on
demand
Business as Usual Characteristics Mutable Business / Exponential Thinking Characteristics
Top-down, Command and Control, Hierarchical Flatter org chart, Team of Teams, Connected, Empowered employees
Departmental and Divisional silos Cross-functional teams, Collaboration culture, Social tools over email
Driven by financial outcomes, Quarterly reporting, KPIs
Understand their “why”, Purpose oriented, Dashboards, OKRs (Objectives and Key
Results)
Focus on shareholder value Improving the state of the world, Customer centric, Driving stakeholder value
Linear, Closed, Sequential thinking Experimentation, Autonomy, Open, Exponential thinking
Innovation primarily from within, R&D based innovation Design Thinking, Innovation at all levels, Partnerships, Collaboration, Crowdsourcing
Strategic planning based on history, Long term cyclic planning Agile thinking, Agile management, Iterative, Short throws, Continuous improvement
Risk intolerance Experimentation, Fail Fast mentality, Startup Mentality
Process Inflexibility Autonomy, Experimentation, Responsive, Agile
Owns or controls its own assets Focus on core, Outsource non-core, Leveraged assets
More FTEs, In-house resources
Less FTEs, More Outsourcing, Automation, Algorithms, Gig Economy, Workers on
demand
Mutable Business™ - Bloor
Research

26. What happens next?
• How long till it gets back to normal?
• How long will we have to social distance?
• What happens to our offices and call centres?
• How do we future proof our business?
• Will there be fundamental change?

27. What do we do next?

28. Global Working Culture
and Social Business are
all about getting more
out of the work we
already do. It is about
executing faster and
better than we do today.
It is about taking full
advantage of our
collective know-how. It is
about engaging with the
world around us to move
ourselves and our
business forward.
Internal and external
social business are two
equally important ‘must-
win’ battles for Grundfos.

29. Agile thinking and management
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember.
Involve me and I learn. - Benjamin Franklin
AGILE
LEAN
DESIGN THINKING
FAIL FAST
TIME TO MARKET
INNOVATION
RAPID ITERATION
ABILITY TO ADAPT

30. Change policy like Siemens
“The coronavirus crisis has triggered a surge in digitalization. We’ve always had mobile
working at Siemens, but now we’re taking it a step further. The basis for this forward-
looking working model is further development our corporate culture. These changes
will also be associated with a different leadership style, one that focuses on outcomes
rather than on time spent at the office. We trust our employees and empower them
to shape their work themselves so that they can achieve the best possible results. With
the new way of working, we’re motivating our employees while improving the
company’s performance capabilities and sharpening Siemens’ profile as a flexible and
attractive employer.”
Roland Busch, Deputy CEO and Labor Director of Siemens AG
https://press.siemens.com/global/en/pressrelease/siemens-establish-mobile-working-core-component-new-normal

31. think

32. #ADNLeadership

33. https://www.comingsoon.com
Share our expertise and experience

34. Leadership
mindset, teamwork, vision, purpose, openness, sharing

35. Leadership needs to communicate the big idea
https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/pixar/storytelling
The key skill - story telling!

36. When the wind of change blows,
some build walls, while others build windmills.

37. Thank you!

38. References
https://www.bloorresearch.com/2020/08/changing-location-and-travel-patterns-for-future-of-work/
https://marketoonist.com/2020/04/digital-transformation-2.html
https://marketoonist.com/2020/04/transformationclarity.html
https://www.zdnet.com/article/effective-strategies-and-tools-for-remote-work-during-coronavirus/
https://www.startwithwhy.com/
https://www.constellationr.com/blog-news/blueprint-post-pandemic-cio-playbook
https://www.perlego.com/book/778801/abundance-pdf
https://www.bloorresearch.com/2020/04/we-need-to-shift-from-linear-thinking-to-mutable-thinking/
Mutable Business™ - Bloor Research
https://press.siemens.com/global/en/pressrelease/siemens-establish-mobile-working-core-component-new-normal

39. David Terrar
Agile Elephant | Bloor Research
m: +44 (0)7715 159423
e: dt@d2c.org.uk & dterrar@bloorresearch.com
w: http://theagileelephant.com &
https://impossiblethings.fyi
w: https://BloorResearch.com
skype: david_terrar
twitter: http://twittter.com/DT @DT
linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidterrar
blog: http://theagileelephant.com/blog
& https://www.bloorresearch.com/blog/bloor-blogs/