NACD Northern California Chapter’s Post

From media rooms to investor meetings, from startup hubs to corporate boardrooms, we're all navigating intricate journeys in this ever-evolving business landscape. The standards we once considered essential, like predictability and linear growth, are being redefined. We're now in a time where rapid technological advancements and groundbreaking changes are the norm. Startups using the latest technologies, especially AI, are shifting how industries operate, often surprisingly fast. Meanwhile, the big players in tech, those we've known as market leaders, are always looking for new ways to innovate and keep their lead. From these changes, several insights emerge: - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧:We must rely on more than past methods. Anticipating change and positioning strategically are now paramount. - 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞: Being a big name doesn't mean you're safe from change. In today's world, agility and adaptability often outpace size. - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠: To remain relevant and ahead, adopting a continuous learning mindset and staying updated with new technologies and methodologies is essential. - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Strategic partnerships and cross-industry collaborations can pave the way for groundbreaking solutions and new avenues of growth. As we look ahead, it's clear that while the journey might not always be straightforward, it's filled with opportunities for those ready to adapt and innovate. Navigating the current environment is indeed complex and challenging, and that's why it's imperative to have organizational capabilities that support people's resiliency and leaders equipped with foresight. #growthstrategies #leadershipinsights #continuouslearning

Attention Founders 🚀: This is what McKinsey says CEOs are focused on this year: Highlights: 🌟 GenAI (duh! 😜), the Green Transition 🌱, investing in your management team 👔, boosting revenue 💵 & cutting costs ✂️. Quotables: “Innovators dominate headlines; scalers dominate markets.” 📈 Learn to do both! 🚀 Check out the details and the wealth of follow-on links 🔗 https://ow.ly/pMeT50RjClC ✨#Startups #Founders #Scaleup #StartupDevelopment

If every business is 'transforming', and everyone is a transformation expert, is anyone really? I used to think not. Having done a lot of work with growth-stage companies, it used to be hard to argue that they were transforming when they were just getting started and 'forming'. 📈 But then came ESG, and gen AI, and RTO, and the white-collar recession, and, and, and... Now, even growth-stage companies are sounding like there was a before and a NEXT. Isn't that a change? Possibly a transformation? 💡 The term transformation has really been overused to the point where today business = transformation, but so what? Well, businesses, experts, and markets celebrate the initiation of a transformation. The spark. The announcement. However, ONLY 22% OF TRANSFORMATIONS ARE A SUCCESS. 22%!! It's strange how little this is priced into market announcements. I've been a part of both those that succeed and those that stall (nothing fails, right?). And there's no secret sauce to why one succeeds and another fails, other than what has always worked for great businesses: a clear and strategic north star aligned with market foresight, committed and engaged teams, an actual risk tolerance (not just saying to each other how much of a 'startup mentality' you have), access to resources and time, a killer brand to bring it all together, and the patience and fortitude to implement the change. Transformation is not about the spark. The initiation. It is about the follow-through. So maybe all of us who exist in the transformation space should focus more on being implementers of success, and less initiators of transformation. Then things might really start to transform. 🚚 ➡ 🤖 #transformation #managementconsulting #implementconsultinggroup #implementation

Life is lived forward but understood backward. Most of our abundant data looks backward. This article (and the book in the 1st comment) give us ways to inform decisions we need to make when we sometimes need to 'leap before we look'. “Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there.” – Will Rogers. Excerpts: Summary.  One big challenge that leaders have when figuring out how or where their companies can grow is that a dearth of data about future problems and opportunities. In these situations, there are three techniques that leaders can employ to develop insights: look at customers and startups for signs of change, experience new technologies rather than just read about them, and practice “associative thinking,” which means connect two seemingly disparate concepts to develop a novel idea. It’s hard to set a strategic direction in the midst of uncertainty. One persistent problem is that the data to justify a course of action only becomes clear when it’s too late to act. This problem — or information-action paradox — demands a paradoxical solution. In this case, leaders need to act when the data tells them not to. Strategy making shouldn’t be left to guesswork or pure hunches either. Instead, leaders should deliberately wander to find fresh insight that can help them make sense and set a course through uncertainty. This article describes three specific ways to do just that. 1. Seek early warning signs of change. One of the pillars of Satya Nadella’s change program at Microsoft has been shifting from focusing on lagging indicators, such as revenues, to leading indicators, such as net promoter score. Lagging indicators result from past decisions. Leading indicators point to future problems or opportunities. Beyond having leading indicators on dashboards, executives should seek our early warning signs of change in two places. The first place is with customers. Understand how current customers are considering emerging solutions. Second, executives should have first-hand knowledge of the relevant startups in their sector. Most startup companies fail, of course, but paying careful attention can help to spot important changes early. 2. Experience tomorrow today. “The future is already here,” science fiction writer William Gibson once said. “It is just not evenly distributed.” Experiencing tomorrow today means getting hands-on experience with emerging technologies. 3. Practice associative thinking. About 15 years ago, MIT’s Hal Gregersen and Brigham Young University’s Jeff Dyer led a fascinating study to determine the characteristics of successful innovators. One of their key findings, summarized in the book The Innovator’s DNA (coauthored by Clayton Christensen), is that innovators excel at “associative thinking.” That is, they connect two seemingly disparate concepts to develop a novel idea. #disruption #strategy

For corporate innovators, BCG’s 2024 report is pretty clear.   👇 You’re either leading the pack or lagging behind – and the majority are lagging. Too many laggards are stuck in a single model like internal labs, in an isolated island of innovation that won't spread across the mainland organization. 🏝️ Advanced innovators are focusing more attention outside the organization, adopting an open innovation model to rapidly match demand-driven problems with adoption-ready solutions. And they are using a systematic approach to achieve repeatable outcomes at enterprise scale. These “innovation pack leaders” are seeing higher returns with lower investments. They can also apply their innovation systems to accelerate other corporate priorities including AI transformation 🤖 and meeting ESG commitments ☀️ Recently I’ve teamed up with other experienced innovation executives to guide industry associations who want to be pack leaders by helping their members de-risk and accelerate return-on-innovation. Do you want to be a pack leader?  Let’s talk.  ✌️ (and I'm still helping startups and NFPs be pack leaders too) 😎

🚀 Innovation Unlocked: Insights from the World’s Most Innovative Companies 🌟 Fast Company, in collaboration with Deloitte, reveals key findings from their annual Most Innovative Companies list, showcasing how leading organizations embed innovation into their DNA: 🧬 Culture of Innovation: 65% weave innovation into their mission statements, with 49% saying CEOs drive innovation directly. 💵 Commitment Amid Uncertainty: 69% continue investing in innovation, despite economic challenges, emphasizing in-house R&D. 💡Challenges and Solutions: Innovators face obstacles like scaling and disruptive technology adaptation, yet thrive by fostering broad coalitions and embracing new tech, including generative AI. 🌍 Diverse Perspectives: Prioritizing diversity, 83% of companies recruit diverse voices, unlocking new ideas and markets. 🤝 Ecosystem Leverage: Successful innovators extend their capabilities through partnerships, especially with academic institutions, to maintain innovation readiness. “In this new era of convergence, standing still is the fastest way to move backwards,” says Deborah Golden, Deloitte U.S. chief innovation officer #Innovation #Technology #Leadership #Sustainability #FastCompany #Deloitte #businesstrends

Don't miss Hanno Stegmann, Managing Director & Partner at BCG X, as he delves into the world of AI! 🤖 Hanno, a key figure in BCG's tech build and design unit, brings innovation and entrepreneurship together with deep industry expertise: 📊 Member of BCG X leadership team 🚀 Leads BCG X Ventures in Southeast Asia 💼 Pioneers category-changing businesses, launching over ten new ventures in various industries with billion-dollar impact Join us on #TIAConference main stage: 📚 Session: AI: How companies can adapt, adopt, and advance 🧠 Learn about the startup dilemma: Build or buy AI infrastructures to stay ahead in the AI disruption landscape. 🌟 Explore opportunities and challenges of AI applications, from revenue-driven to cost savings. 🌐 Dive into ethical considerations like job displacement, stakeholder management, privacy issues, and more. Few weeks left to secure your tickets at 40% off! Grab your tickets now: https://buff.ly/3Pxe3wV

🌟 Celebrating Innovation Excellence: Toronto-Based Companies in Top 100 🌟 Exciting news from the innovation frontier! Fast Company and Accenture have just unveiled their 5th annual Best Workplaces for Innovators report, shining a spotlight on organizations, leaders, and teams who have cultivated robust cultures of innovation. Out of 1000+ global contenders reviewed by a panel of CEOs and thought leaders, the list was narrowed down to a prestigious top 100. We're thrilled to highlight five exceptional Toronto-based companies that have secured positions on this roster, thanks to their creative and effective approach to work. #2 DealMaker 🚀 Dealmaker is a crowdfunding platform helping traditionally underfunded groups to raise funding on their terms. To foster internal innovation, Dealmaker has focussed on building a team with high emotional intelligence (EQ) and adaptability quotient (AQ) - the ability to quickly adapt to a rapidly changing work environment. #21 Alida ⚡ Alida is a Total Experience Management Platform which uses highly-engaged and verified customer insights to help clients make smarter decisions. Alida employees vote on the best big ideas and team collaborations to recognize colleagues with the Thunderbolt award, while another internal program singles out the company’s Unsung Heroes. #26 BMO 💼 BMO and Chicago-based accelerator 1871 partnered to launch the WMNFINtech accelerator - the largest nonprofit fintech incubator for women entrepreneurs in North America. WMNFINtech provides participants mentoring from industry experts and BMO executives, resources and support, and access to venture capitalists. #89 Spin Master 🪀 Spin Master is a leading children's toys manufacturer with products supplied to over 100 countries across the globe. Spin Master sponsors a Women in Toys Empowerment Day where women entrepreneurs pitch their concepts to a panel of experts. #93 Tadiem 🎨 Tadiem is a creative agency collective that includes Bensimon Byrne, NARRATIVE PR, OneMethod, and others. They have recently launched The Combine, which is a creative and experimental reimagining of the traditional workspace by blending with arts, retail, and creative events. Join us in congratulating these Toronto-based trailblazers for their remarkable achievements and unwavering dedication to innovation! 🎉🚀🔥 #InnovationLeaders #WorkplaceExcellence #TorontoInnovates

Board Director, Tech Entrepreneur, and Investor Mr. Ryan McManus, USA The 50th Cofounder of Our Global Mandela Leadership Movement for Change. COMING SOON: “ESG: How to Sustain Sustainability” Radical Transformation vs. Automation to Drive Lasting Change Our thoughtful, bold leader joins us from the Big Apple in New York City. He is a globally recognized tech entrepreneur, investor, former managing director of a venture capitalist firm, board director, and business advisor. He built and founded the digital transformation practice for Accenture, a Fortune 500 information technology services and consulting company, and led its corporate strategy and international expansion practice. He also built the world’s leading ‘smart product ecosystem,’ which enabled the digitization of trillions of physical products. He served as a Board Director and Chair of the Science and Technology Committee for Nortech Systems, Chair of the Board for empowerHER, and President of the New York chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Tune in, Sign Up, and Share. The world needs you to lead boldly, too. 🌎 Mr. Ryan McManus is the 50th cofounder of more than 100 courageous cofounders in our Global Mandela Leadership Movement for Change. Our collective purpose is to transform the leadership crisis worldwide, remind our generation, and empower and inspire the next. #leadingboldlyintothefuture #ESG #sustainability #mandelamoments #nelsonmandela