‘Industry 4’ produces 2.59 billion Google hits in 0.56 seconds. Consider this, at a reading rate of one minute per hit, it will take you just under 5,000 years to scan through all of them! Where are the days when my public librarian told me, “sorry son, we only have two books on dinosaurs. The rest are in the children’s section.” The fact is, everything is changing with a progressive acceleration towards this new reality now commonly known as The 4th Industrial Revolution. The aim of the article is not to recount the evolving history of the industrial revolutions (there are more than enough Google hits on that topic) but to shift from sharing the facts to gaining practical wisdom and understanding. My reasoning is twofold: First, there are so many different schools of thought on what Industry 4 is that I get nervous when any person takes to a strong position on it. Secondly, even if we could get all the facts cleared up, it does not necessarily address our immediate need as leaders on what to do next within our organizations.
The Evolution of Industry
Everybody is having a go at this topic, from the World Economic Forum to the lonely academic historian. Though terminology differs across the board, there are definite patterns. Consequently, here is a concise summary of the various past Revolutions:
- Industry 1 – The Industrial Revolution (1760s). Characterized by the shift from biological production and manufacturing to mechanized labor through the introduction of the steam engine. This was also the origin of the modern human-as-resource paradigm.
- Industry 2 – The Technological Revolution (1890s). Characterized by technologies that enhanced and replaced many of the Industry 1 components through the introduction of electricity. In essence, Industry 2 became the mature version of Industry 1 within the mass manufacturing and production space.
- Industry 3 – The Digital Revolution (1960s). Characterized by a world of data and information ‘micro’-processing, leading to automated technologies.
- Industry 4 – The Cognification Revolution (2020s). Characterized by smart systems that find expression through approaches such as artificially intelligent systems, the Internet of Things, additive manufacturing, etc. In the same way that Industry 2 became the upgrade version of Industry 1, Industry 4 leads Industry 3 to its fulfillment within the digital space.
But the story does not end here, because the pattern set before us does not only closely resemble a half-life trajectory but an increasing string of complexity. I don’t know about you, but I just can’t help myself to think about what is next. Here’s my best prediction:
- Industry 5 – The Cybernetic Revolution (2045s). Characterized by the integration of man and machine (and for the record, I am not a supporter of the self-awareness theory of an inanimate object).
- Industry 6 – The Energy Revolution (2060s). Characterized by breakthrough discoveries on suitable and renewable energy sources, including drinkable water.
- Industry 7 – The Colonization Revolution (we might begin to see a timeline overlap). Characterized by official inner solar system travel and colonization efforts of moons and nearby planets.
- Industry 8 – The Interstellar Revolution (TBC) – Characterized by interstellar exploration within reasonable timeframes.
Leading with the Future in Mind
No matter which angle I take on Industry 4’s accompanying leadership challenge, it remains an issue of intense deliberation. As a leader, it is the issue is more how my people will respond to the change and less the uncertainty of it. Leadership is, after all, a people science and people for most of the way do not enjoy change. Though numerous models have been presented to account for this new reality that we are all facing, few are as descriptive as the VUCA acronym – Volatility / Uncertainty / Complexity / Ambiguity. Considering VUCA in combination with an increase in the pace of life, it is said that the impact on people in Industry 1 was up to 10x; Industry 2 up to 25x; Industry 3 up to 50x. However, experts predict this time around it will be a minimum factor of 100 times! Prof. Klaus Schwab – Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum was quite right when he stated, “In the new world, it is not the big fish which eats the small fish, it’s the fast fish which eats the slow fish.”
Image from www.surfer.com
Allow me to explain this concept with a metaphor: surfing. Industry 1 can be compared with my 9-year-old who floats on his paddleboard in the calm sea, hoping for something of a small wave to push him out onto the beach. Industry 2 is more for the beginner type of surfers. In my current context of South Africa, it is perhaps comparable with the waves of Durban, laying waiting for a good wave now and then. Industry 3 is comparable to Jeffery’s Bay, arguably one of the best surfing spots in South Africa. You will require some serious skill and when you get thrown off your surfboard, you can bank on eating some of the sand as the waves roll you out onto the shore. For most people, all three environments remain reasonably safe.
However, you get some really interesting folks who go off to the northern parts of Hawaii to surf waves that are up to 25 meters in height! When these Big Wave Surfers fall off their surfboard the results could be fatal, a lifesaver needs to chase in with a jet-ski to rescue them before the next wave hits. Industry 4, its pace and the VUCA effect are forcing all of us to become Big Wave Surfers. Therefore, as a personal slogan of Industry 4, Gen. Eric Shinseki’s words hold much truth, “If you dislike change, you’re going to dislike irrelevance even more.”
Becoming a Student of Big Wave Surfing
When I look at the major global consulting houses, it is interesting to note how they assisted companies to navigate the Industry 2 / Industry 3 transition. Quite often, this was a laborious project that required a group of consultants to evaluate every aspect of the organization’s infrastructure. The outcome then served as both a reference point and often included a generalized approach to how they could optimize their transition. In all instances, this was accompanied by an expensive price tag.
As an organizational leader, how does one get on top of this transition? Thankfully, one of the most definitive responses lies in the revolution itself. We need to get accustomed to thinking in terms of Industry 4 attributes and technologies, such as Artificial Intelligent Systems. The four most obvious reasons for this proposition include speed (efficiency), accuracy (validity), comparability (benchmarked), and cost (real-time calculation).
How to Build the Bridge Through the use of Artificial Intelligence?
One such technology resides in the NXTmove AI system. Researched and constructed during the past decade, the system analyses your business’s structural integrity against over 60 million permutations, benchmarking it in five categories, each consisting of four elements, of global best practices. Appropriately PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) calls it the future-proofing of your organization (www.pwcnxtmove.com).
Exploring the construct of an organization’s structural integrity, it can best be compared to the structural integrity of a bridge. The five categories represent the five bridge pillars, each consisting of four elements. If four of the pillars are well designed and stable, the obvious problem resides in the fifth that needs fixing. The challenge we as leaders face is that we get fixated on our pet subjects, in which case we usually continue to strengthen the strongest pillar, being blindsided by the one that will eventually crack and break. And don’t take it personally, hardly any leader has the scope to juggle all 20 elements contained within a business’ infrastructure.
So what the NXTmove system does is as follow:
- The system maps these five categories of (a) Customer, (b) Product / Service / Experience, (c) People Enablers, (d) Technology Enablers, and (e) Business Coordination, in real-time and provide a heartbeat graph that indicates the strength of each component.
- The heartbeat graph provides a transition scale of the state of each element as:
o Seriously broken within an Industry 3 context;
o Surviving (for now);
o Well-constructed within Industry 3;
o In transition towards Industry 4;
o Already on par with Industry 4 standards;
o Those that can be compared to global standards.
- The real-time report of the analysis concludes with a fully integrated project management system. The system not only scoped all potential project required to further the transition of the organization towards Industry 4 alignment, but also supplies the project roadmaps on how to execute each one. This is truly and Industry 4 enable system at its best!
Image from www.canva.com
Concluding Thoughts
Reflecting on my role as an executive consultant and board advisor, I can no longer see how to function effectively without a NXTmove report in my hand. Yes, I am a fundamentalist when it comes to leadership gut, yet at the same time, I am a futurist when it comes to leading my organizations and clients to the best of my ability. For this wave, we need all hands (and technologies) on deck. Therefore, my concluding thought, is today perhaps not a good day to evaluate your organization’s structural integrity?
Post Script
For more information on the NXTmove AI system, please contact the author of the article – Dr. Marcel Hattingh, CEO of CCI Professional, at marcel.hattingh@cci.ac.za / +27 (0)83 608 7139, or any of the CCI Professional consultant team members. CCI Professional is a licensed user of the NXTmove AI system. Please take note, that though Dr. Hattingh is a passionate futurist, having studied under the likes of Prof. Jay Gary – Chair of the Association of Professional Futurists, all futuristic views expressed within this article should be treated as a matter of opinion and not scientific fact.
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