A Role in Transition: What's the Future for CIOs?

Futurist Jack Uldrich

Futurist Jack Uldrich spoke yesterday on the changing role of CIO's within organizations and identified potential challenges and opportunities that this change could create for them

Acclaimed global futurist Jack Uldrich was in Phoenix for the third time this month yesterday to speak to CIOs at the Gartner CIO Leadership Forum. Uldrich frequently speaks to corporate leadership groups, and he applies his research and insights to help them better lead their organizations into a fast-changing future.

In his presentation yesterday, Uldrich shared insights from his upcoming book, Business as Unusual: How to Future-Proof Yourself Against Tomorrow’s Transformational Trends, Today. He outlined ten trends that could transform the world of tomorrow. Those trends include the explosion of artificial intelligence and workforce automation, data analytics, the growing importance of the internet of things to improve efficiency, and new security concerns due to increased digitalization. Uldrich also spoke about the challenges CIOs face in staying ahead of both business trends and technology trends, and shared his “Big AHA” method for future-proofing your business. 

It is not enough to deeply understand how one technology works. You have to understand how multiple technologies will converge to spin off to create new opportunities. The work I do is all about helping organizations prepare for the coming technological changes so that they can efficiently navigate and determine the course of their future.

Jack Uldrich, Futurist & Founder of the School of Unlearning

AHA is an acronym for Uldrich’s three-step approach: Awareness, Humility, and Action. He began by discussing trends that CIO’s specifically must be aware of and then he shared how these trends could transform everything from how employees do their work, to how the company provides their services to customers, clients and collaborators, to how they grow their businesses. He continued by talking about how each change in business requires humility, the second step in the Big AHA. With the world changing as fast as it is, we can’t always rely on “instinct” or what has worked in the past. Uldrich then shared specific strategies for CIOs to embrace humility when planning for the future. Uldrich concluded his presentation with concrete actions that those in the audience could take right away to create a successful tomorrow for themselves and their companies.

Regarding his work, Uldrich said: “It is not enough to deeply understand how one technology works. You have to understand how multiple technologies will converge to spin off to create new opportunities. The work I do is all about helping organizations prepare for the coming technological changes so that they can efficiently navigate and determine the course of their future.”

Uldrich is a frequent speaker on emerging technology, change management, and leadership, and has addressed numerous businesses, trade associations, and investment groups around the world, including IBM, Cisco, USAA, General Electric, Wipro, Verizon, General Mills, Pfizer, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

To learn more about Uldrich, watch videos of him speaking, or read his blog, please visit his site JackUldrich.com.

Source: Jack Uldrich & The School of Unlearning

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