Embracing the Future: Nine Key Strategies for Business Leaders to Thrive in a Changing World

One of the most important trends that Professors Meier and Wang see impacting the future of work is automation. Analytics, AI (artificial intelligence), and machine learning are here to stay. While most leaders see this trend, what may be a little harder for them to grasp is the accelerating pace of their adoption across industries. For example, the demand for robotics has increased exponentially over the last 20 years. If leaders are not prepared for what will happen in that market, they will lose out to competitors to take the initiative today.

From another vantage point, consider what has happened with digital platforms in the last decade. Internet and social media platforms have become extremely relevant. Leaders need to know how to digitalize their business, how to think about social media, how to think about digital marketing strategy and more. But, in the future, change will unfold more quickly. If executives are not flexible about how they operate now, they will fall behind quickly.

Not only will automation become more ubiquitous in the future, it will also be distributed across a more diverse set of stakeholders, connecting two key future technology trends with each other –automation and stakeholder complexity. Stakeholders refer to any party around a business that makes value creation possible for that business. For example, if you were operating General Motors in the 20th century, you would primarily be concerned about three types of stakeholders: suppliers, shareholders, and employees. Looking forward into the future, there are new types of technologies, like autonomous vehicles, that make the stakeholder map far more complex. For Nvidia, an important designer of semiconductors powering the AI boom, their stakeholder map entails not just suppliers, but also software companies, engineering firms, and even ride-hailing firms such as Uber that are involved in autonomous vehicles.

With the focus on data and stakeholder complexity being two key leadership trends that are becoming increasingly important to CEOs and leaders today, consider the experience of Uber Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In June 2020, a couple of months after the pandemic began shutting down the global economy, Khosrowshahi confronted social activists in front of his house who were demanding responses about what Uber was going to do about pandemic pay and other challenges. A few months later in 2021, Uber released a statement about how it was declaring new cultural values to combat the toxicity that had pervaded its internal culture. A couple of times that same year, Khosrowshahi made deliveries on behalf of Uber Eats or gave rides on behalf of Uber's ride-hailing app. This provided him with a first-hand perspective into both product and user experience to better inform his decision-making regarding customer experience. A few months after that, he was appointed to be on the board of Aurora Technologies, which took over Uber's autonomous vehicles arm. There, he had to be a technologist and R&D specialist. A few months after that, he led an earnings call, which required expertise in corporate finance. During that same month, he drew on his knowledge of regulatory strategy to work with the Biden administration on a national economic recovery strategy. Throughout these two years, Khosrowshahi had to employ many different skill sets that would have been difficult for the traditionally trained executive to respond to. An executive’s responsibilities today are not necessarily about knowing different domains, but rest on being open to constant adaptation and learning.

When it comes to the future of work and the future of business, the way to future-proof your business, according to Professors Meier and Wang, is that the "learn-it-all" strategy does better than the "know-it-all."

Today's executives and future leaders need the skills and ability to exercise command over many domains. To accomplish this, Professors Meier and Wang shared a basic framework, that they call the Learning Executives Framework, which helps executives become "learn-it-alls."

The Learning Executives Framework zooms out from an executive's internal capabilities to all the external stakeholders. A learning executive has to practice having a vision, delivering values, and the art of persuasion because, ultimately, they will be managing both internal and external stakeholders. Their internal responsibilities in their organization entail empowering employees, catalyzing and motivating the executive team, and aligning the company's goals with those of their shareholders and investors. For many leaders who have received their MBAs over the past three, four, or five decades, this is familiar. What might be unfamiliar is how these same skills can be applied externally. Today, the external stakeholders, such as policy-makers are social activists, have just as much to do with how a company and executives lead value creation and value capture as the internal stakeholders.

There are also major changes that the learning executive needs to be attuned to including digitization, technological adoption, and automation in many organizations, as well as big changes in the environment due to climate change.

With major changes coming to technology, digitalization, and automation, the Learning Executives Framework affects how we think about our future employees, it affects how we think about competition, and it also truly affects how leaders manage the future of work.

As seen in this slide from Deloitte, the future of work is decomposed into three parts that affect how we think about work:

1. What activities are humans doing?
2. What are machines doing?
3. How is the interaction between humans and machines?

This affects how we think about the future workforce including what skills are needed and how to upskill employees. Careers are going to be very different in the future because the half-life of knowledge and skills decreases so rapidly that within a couple of years what workers previously learned will have to be reimagined.

The future of work also extends from the workforce to the workplace. Will the future of work be onsite, remote, hybrid, or a combination of all three? Currently, there is a lot of uncertainty. Some companies, like Morgan Stanley, find being in person works best. Hybrid and remote don't work as well for their needs. Whereas some tech companies like to be all remote in the future. Then there are the companies that fall in between where it's a mix of in-person, hybrid, and remote. The future of work and the workplace is still in flux.

Reimagining the workplace forces us to ask three important questions:

When, where, and how do we do the most productive work?

We experienced during the pandemic that performing certain tasks remotely was more effective than in-person. While the traditional model was working in the office from nine to five, now we can think about unconstrained time. Does it matter that we have synchronous collaboration? Does it matter that we are in the office at the same time or can we come at any time? Does it matter where we are? Do we need to have synchronous time where we work together on Zoom or can we do work anywhere at any time?

What management and leadership practices need to change?

During the pandemic, we also learned that what we did before does not work in a remote or even in a hybrid workplace. We need to think differently about how we should lead whether leading small teams or a large organization.

What data do I need?

Pre-pandemic, it was clear that employees were mostly available nine-to-five. Now, the employee experience has changed. Some people prefer working earlier while some prefer working later. What data do you need to get that deeper understanding? During the pandemic, the number of emails that were sent between 6 p.m. and midnight increased by 52 percent. Do you know when your employees actually interact? In a consumer business, you wouldn't ask your customers once a year how they're doing and what they're doing. That's exactly what we currently do with our employees. Most company data points on employees come from a once-a-year engagement survey. That needs to change.

In today's world, there is great uncertainty. With all the rapid change, it can feel like a new world almost every day. To gain a competitive advantage in the future, Professors Meier and Wang suggest the following:

1. Embrace the Learning Mindset

One of the most critical strategies for leaders to embrace is the learning mindset, a concept popularized in recent years by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. The learning mindset encourages continuous pursuit of new knowledge to improve and evolve. By adopting a learning mindset, executives can foster and create an environment where they and their teams are open to change and challenge, eager to innovate, and prepared for whatever challenge the future holds.

2. Leverage Emerging Technologies

The rise of technology has dramatically impacted the way businesses operate. Executives must be proactive in exploring and leveraging emerging technologies to streamline processes, enhance communication, create, and optimize efficiency. It's important to stay informed about the latest technology advancements, such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, and big data, and incorporate these advancements into their organizations.

3. Navigate Geopolitical Challenges

In a globalized world, geopolitical events can have far-reaching consequences on businesses. As such, executives must be well-versed in the current geopolitical landscape and be prepared to adapt their organizational structures and strategies accordingly. Executives should consider the potential impact of global events on their business and develop contingency plans to mitigate risks and seize opportunities.

4. Foster Inclusive Leadership

As the workforce becomes more diverse, executives must adopt inclusive leadership strategies to effectively manage generational diversity within their organizations. It is important for leaders to recognize and embrace differences, encourage collaboration, and promote a culture of continuous learning. This helps create an inclusive environment where everyone feels that they belong, feel valued, and are empowered to contribute.

5. Prioritize Environmental and Social Responsibility

Modern businesses must navigate the growing importance of environmental and social responsibility within most organizations. Executives are urged to prioritize sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives within their organizations, as these efforts not only benefit the natural environment and society but also enhance a company's reputation and long-term viability.

6. Manage Remote and Hybrid Workforces

The COVID-19 pandemic has permanently altered the way we work, with many organizations embracing remote or hybrid work models. Executives are encouraged to develop strategies for effectively managing remote teams, ensuring clear communication, and fostering their teams' success through the support of a positive company culture, even when employees are not physically present in the office.

7. Adapt to Changing Consumer Demands

As consumer preferences and expectations evolve, businesses must adapt to meet these changing demands. Executives should stay informed about market trends, and companies regularly reassess their product and service offerings, and be willing to pivot their strategies when necessary to remain competitive and relevant in the marketplace.

8. Invest in Education and Executive Development Programs

Education is paramount in navigating and leading the changing business landscape not only for a leader's own development but also for leading their team. The Executive Development Program: Leading into the Future is specifically designed for seasoned professionals, offers an opportunity to refine leadership skills, learn new strategies, and network with other like-minded executives.

9. Build a Resilient and Adaptable Organization

It's important for executives to build a resilient and adaptable organization, capable of weathering the storms of change. By fostering a culture of agility, collaboration, and innovation, executives can ensure their organizations remain competitive and prepared for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

The world of business is changing at an unprecedented pace. Organizations and executives must adapt their leadership strategies to thrive and lead in this new environment. By embracing a growth mindset, leveraging technology, navigating geopolitical challenges, fostering inclusive leadership, prioritizing environmental and social responsibility, managing remote and hybrid workforces, encouraging continuous learning and development, adapting to changing consumer demands, investing in education and executive development programs, and building a resilient and adaptable organization, business leaders can navigate the complexities of the modern world with confidence and success.

By taking the wisdom and guidance of faculty experts at Columbia Business School to heart, executives can refine their leadership skills with a personalized approach that will help them make a difference in every room they enter. With the Executive Development Program: Leading into the Future, business leaders can take the necessary steps to lead them forward to thrive in this ever-changing world.